Trent's Touchdown: Six Week 3 College Football Games to Watch

Welcome to Week 3 of the college football season!

I think ESPN calls this “Road Test Weekend.” While an apt title, I wonder who comes up with this stuff. If any games this week are as thrilling as the Notre Dame-Michigan game last week, we’re in for a treat.

Anyway, on to the Touchdown:

1) No. 1 Oklahoma at No. 5 Florida State – 8:00 PM on ABC

This game is a must-win for both these teams if they want to play in the National Championship. Oklahoma no longer has a conference championship game to show off in, and FSU belongs to an overall weak conference, so this is it.

Both teams have been impressive to start the season, but that’s inconsequential, as the opponents have all been easy.

So here’s what we know: Oklahoma can light it up offensively. I may not like Landry Jones, but he can spread the ball around and make plays (when he’s not throwing interceptions).

The Oklahoma defense will have their hands full with Seminoles quarterback E.J. Manuel. While I don’t trust Manuel, he has the ability to fire up his team and take off running if needed. He can be a little erratic when throwing the ball, but he’ll most likely be targeting Rodney Smith at wideout. FSU will definitely have problems running the ball against the tough Oklahoma defense.

Oklahoma probably has the most well-balanced offense in the country and has a good-enough defense to contain most of the teams they’ll face this year. The Sooners need to come out fast, take the crowd out of it and give Landry Jones enough of a cushion so he doesn’t feel pressured to have to perform (like last year’s game against Missouri).

Oklahoma wins this one by two touchdowns, but FSU keeps it interesting into the second half.

2) No. 15 Michigan State at Notre Dame – 3:30 PM on NBC

This game last year put everyone on notice that Michigan State was for real. This could be just the statement game they need to get everyone’s attention this year again.

With all the talk about conference realignment in the Big Ten, Wisconsin being the team to beat, and Ohio State’s drama, Michigan State has flown under the radar. Proof positive of that statement is the fact that 0-2 Notre Dame is actually favored to win this game.

In my mind, Kirk Cousins is probably the best quarterback in the Big Ten. He throws quality balls and doesn’t make dumb mistakes. He should have no issues throwing on the Notre Dame defense, as they need to stay cognizant of the MSU rushing attack, which can eat up a defense if it isn’t prepared.

Things don’t look good for Notre Dame, especially after that last-second loss to Michigan last week. The worst part about that is the fact that Notre Dame had the ability to put that game away early and let the opportunity slip through their fingers.

The decision by Brian Kelly to start Tommy Rees is actually starting to look like a good decision. While he did have two picks, he was effective moving the ball through the air. MSU is going to need to blanket Michael Floyd, as Rees always goes to Floyd when he’s in trouble. The Irish need to use Cierre Wood and the running game to ensure that MSU doesn’t focus solely on the pass.

All signs point to this being a close game. Notre Dame has the ability to keep every game close before finding a way to lose. Michigan State pulls this one out in the last two minutes of the game, leaving Irish fans miserable, despondent and clinging to the argument that Rees is better than Crist.

3) No. 6 Stanford at Arizona – 10:45 PM on ESPN

Finally, I can stop talking about the running game. This game features Nick Foles and Andrew Luck, the two best quarterbacks in the Pac-12. Okay, I will bring up the running game, but it won’t be complimentary.

If you don’t know who Andrew Luck is, just stop reading right now, because college football is not for you. Even though Stanford has had no real competition, they have done what good teams do against inferior opponents: given us a few minutes of Sportscenter highlights. Stanford has also used its running game to make defenses stay honest. Stepfan Taylor isn’t going to light the world on fire, but he can give you 50 to 75 yards a game.

Arizona, on the other hand, has no running game. I think I can gain more rushing yards than Keola Antolin and Ka’Deem Carey combined. The Arizona offense is all on the shoulders of Nick Foles. Foles has a completion percentage above 75 percent and nearly double the passing yards of Luck.

However, with such a one-sided offensive attack, it’s easy for defenses to key on Foles and not have to worry about any other threats. Expect the Stanford defense to do just that. Arizona will have a much tougher time on defense, as the Stanford offense is a more balanced attack.

If you’re a fan of aerial displays, this is the game for you. If Arizona goes down early, they’ll give up all pretense of running and let Foles throw it until his arm falls off. Stanford wins this game, but it’ll be closer if Arizona finally learns how to run the ball.

4) No. 21 Auburn at Clemson – 12:00 PM on ABC

This is a rematch of last year’s game, which pretty much told the world that Cam Newton was for real. Thankfully for Clemson fans, Newton is in the NFL and they don’t have to worry about him anymore. Of course, neither do Auburn fans, but that’s another point entirely.

The defending national champions are getting no respect this year, mostly for good reason. This year should be a window into what would have happened to Auburn last year if Newton wasn’t around. Their offensive running game is suspect, which is kind of sad when you have Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb in the backfield. If that isnt enough, the defense is pretty bad, and that’s not a description you want when you’re in the SEC West.

Clemson has been offensively sound, with Andre Ellington running the ball for big yards. However, they let bad teams stick around for far too long in games. This is going to come back to bite them if they don’t take advantage of the opportunities they have. The Clemson defense isn’t too great, either, and gave up huge rushing numbers to Wofford.

Like last year, this game will be close. However, unlike last year, Clemson will be able to pull it out in the end.

5) No. 23 Texas at UCLA – 3:30 PM on ABC

For all you Texas fans out there, last year this game marked the beginning of the end. We’ll see if this year will bring about different results.

The most intriguing part of this game is the quarterback situation for both teams. Let’s start with Texas, since I’m giddy that we have another McCoy at Texas. That’s right: Case McCoy came off the bench to save Texas’ bacon against BYU last week. He rallied the team around him and led them to victory. Don’t expect to see Garrett Gilbert any time soon.

As for UCLA, Kevin Prince left last week’s game with a minor concussion, but he is cleared to play. It’s just a question of whether he’ll start, as Richard Brehaut did pretty well in relief. Even with the UCLA quarterback situation in flux, you can count on Derrick Coleman to put up some good rushing yards to help out.

I learned a long time ago to never bet against a Texas team led by a kid named McCoy. If only for that reason, I’m thinking Texas wins it. It’ll be close though, considering Texas is getting used to a competent quarterback.

6) No. 17 Ohio State at Miami – 7:30 PM on ESPN

This game is fun just because you can come up with so many jokes for it. How about the Convict Bowl? Can we just use this game as a scared-straight video for kids about to start playing in college? Is this game sponsored by the NCAA Investigations Department? Come on, think up your own, it’s fun.

Extra Point:

If you’ve paid attention to college football this week, you know that the NCAA smacked down Boise State for rules violations. They will lose nine scholarships over a three-year span, and the athletic department will be on three year’s probation. In addition, the NCAA also reduced the number of spring and preseason practices BSU can hold.

Before the NCAA handed down the penalties, Boise State did what all good college programs should do. They created self-imposed sanctions. While the school did reduce the number of scholarships and practices, the NCAA felt this wasn’t enough.

Head coach Chris Petersen said he was “surprised by the findings.” Actually, anyone who has followed college football for the last year shouldn’t be surprised. The NCAA has a bit of a black eye over the last year, with a vacated national championship, a vacated Heisman Trophy, and a vacated ACC championship. Let’s not forget the Ohio State and Miami scandals.

The NCAA needed to drop the hammer. While in the past the self-imposed sanctions would have been enough to let the NCAA walk away from this, the current climate in college football today necessitates that the NCAA call down the thunder on the slightest indiscretion. Know this: if your favorite team is the target of a NCAA probe, prepare for the worst.