NCAA Week 3 preview

Hurricane Irma diminished swiftly when it made landfall, allowing many southern Florida games to be played this weekend. Two games were still affected:  Miami at Florida State (which is being rescheduled for November) and Georgia Tech at UCF (which may not be rescheduled).  For the rest of the FBS, it's business as usual.

Thurs Sept 14
New Mexico Lobos at Boise State Broncos:  While Boise State has not been as dominant as usual (in other words, not leading the Group of 5), they are still a strong team, especially at home.  BOISE STATE

Fri Sept 15
Illinois Fighting Illini at #23 South Florida Bulls:  We'll see how much Hurricane Irma interrupted the Bulls practice.  Two weeks ago I would have picked an easy win for South Florida; now I'm not so sure.  Illinois has proven to be a much-improved team, and South Florida looked a little shaky in their only FBS match-up.  I'll still pick the Bulls, but the Illini might stretch them.  SOUTH FLORIDA

Massachusetts Minutemen at Temple Owls:  UMass is struggling, while the Owls seem to have a pretty good squad this year.  This should be a nice win for Temple.  TEMPLE

Arizona Wildcats at UTEP Miners:  Neither team has looked impressive, but Arizona tackles tougher competition, so they should play a little tougher.  ARIZONA

Sat Sept 16
Colorado State Rams at #1 Alabama Crimson Tide:  Another easy win for the preseason favorite.  Not much of a warm-up before SEC play, however.  ALABAMA

Tulane Green Wave at #2 Oklahoma Sooners:  The Sooners get a nice easy contest after exhausting themselves running up and down the field against the Buckeyes last week.  Maybe some of their players will have a chance to heal up before Big XII play.  OKLAHOMA

#3 Clemson Tigers at #25 Louisville Cardinals:  Farewell to the Top 25, Cardinals.  Despite Lamar Jackson, the Cardinals will be rolled by the Tigers.  This is the featured game on Saturday night, but I don't think it'll be close.  CLEMSON

Georgia State Panthers at #4 Penn State Nittany Lions:  The Panthers are now an FBS team, so Penn State gets lots of points to impress the national committee.  PENN STATE

#5 Wisconsin Badgers at BYU Cougars:  It hasn't been a good season for BYU so far.  This game will make it worse.  WISCONSIN

#6 Oklahoma State Cowboys at Pittsburgh Panthers:  Pitt couldn't use their in-state rivalry to stay close to Penn State last week, so how much energy and incentive do these guys have left?  After this game, only conference play can get them motivated.  OKLAHOMA STATE

Air Force Falcons at #7 Michigan Wolverines:  It's never fun coming into the Big House to play.  Michigan's defense will make it even more difficult for grounded Air Force.  MICHIGAN

#9 UCLA Bruins at Memphis Tigers:  Memphis' only advantage is the early start time for the West Coast visitors.  After halftime, though, it'll be all Bruins.  UCLA

#10 LSU Tigers at #20 Mississippi State Bulldogs:  LSU's defense gives them the edge, but watch out for the home team!  Mississippi State has pulled off some exciting upsets at home in recent years, and this one has the makings of another.  LSU

#19 Texas Longhorns at #11 USC Trojans:  This is where the Longhorns really prove if their Week 1 loss to Maryland was opening jitters or not.  Truthfully, I don't think they have the defense to slow the Trojans and they don't have the offense to keep pace.  USC

Fresno State Bulldogs at #12 Washington Huskies:  Not much of a challenge here.  WASHINGTON

Mercer (FCS) at #13 Auburn Tigers:  Obvious.  AUBURN

Samford (FCS) at #14 Georgia Bulldogs:  Jeez, don't the SEC teams have it easy this week.  GEORGIA

#15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Boston College Eagles:  BC usually plays Notre Dame tough, but they're really going to have to extend themselves to pull off this upset.  I don't think so.  NOTRE DAME

#17 Stanford Cardinal at San Diego State Aztecs:  Great chance for the Cardinal to bounce back from a pretty poor showing against USC last week.  STANFORD

Army Black Knights at #18 Ohio State Buckeyes:  The Buckeyes' defense had trouble tackling Oklahoma last week, but Army is primarily a running team.  The Buckeyes' defensive line is strong, so this game should give twitchy QB JT Barrett a chance to get his groove back.  OHIO STATE

SMU Mustangs at #22 TCU Horned Frogs:  SMU has looked pretty good, but now they face a real challenge.  Unfortunately, I think this is a little too much for them, but they might hold their own for three quarters.  TCU

Big Ten
Northern Illinois Huskies at Nebraska Cornhuskers:  Believe it or not, this will be a real test for Nebraska.  The Cornhuskers have seemed a bit out of sorts, especially in terms of communication between quarterback and receiver.  If they can't get it together for this game, the Huskies are strong enough to beat them.  I think Nebraska might edge it out, as I suspect it will be a close game, and Nebraska seems to push close games in their favor late in the fourth quarter.  NEBRASKA

Morgan State (FCS) at Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  At least Rutgers won't go winless before Big Ten play begins.  Given the strength of the conference this year, this might be the Knights only win of the season.  RUTGERS

Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at Minnesota Golden Gophers:  Minnesota shone last week, overcoming a slightly sluggish performance in Week 3.  If they keep improving, they can't be beaten here.  MINNESOTA

Florida International Golden Panthers at Indiana Hoosiers:  When this was scheduled, Florida International thought it might be a chance to showcase their rejuvenated team.  Instead, it will be a spotlight for Indiana's awesome offense.  INDIANA

North Texas Mean Green at Iowa Hawkeyes:  Iowa should bounce back from a tight win against in-state rival Iowa State to take this one.  IOWA

Purdue Boilermakers at Missouri Tigers:  How badly are the Tigers struggling?  I'm picking the Boilermakers to win.  PURDUE

Bowling Green Falcons at Northwestern Wildcats:  Fortunately it's a down year for the Falcons, or I might consider the upset.  NORTHWESTERN

Other Games of Interest
Baylor Bears at Duke Blue Devils:  The Bears are having a rough year, and Duke showed their power last week against Northwestern.  I'm picking the upset.  DUKE

Ole Miss Rebels at California Golden Bears:  Neither team has been impressive so far.  This is an important win for someone.  I think Ole Miss a bit more gas in their offensive tank than Cal, but watch out for those Bears!  OLE MISS