10 Fearless Week 3 College Football Takes to Shake Things Up

10. Vanderbilt Shocks South Carolina

It's extremely rare to have a similar opponent data point after only two weeks of the college football season. However, we have it with this game as both Vanderbilt and South Carolina have played Virginia Tech. South Carolina is the more talented team, but I refuse to doubt that Diego Pavia and the Gamecocks are a work in progress. Give me the Commodores to win outright in Columbia.

Week 3: Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-6.5)

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2. Georgia Tech Upsets Clemson in Atlanta

The Clemson Tigers improved to 1-1 with a win over the Troy Trojans, but the performance did not put any concerns to bed. They trailed Troy at halftime by a score of 16-0, and the Clemson offense has not been anywhere near the expectation level thus far in the campaign. The toughest team wins the game, and that spells trouble for Clemson as they go on the road to play Haynes King and the Brent Key-led Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech wins this game outright.

Week 3: Clemson (-3.5) at Georgia Tech

3. Tennessee Ends Streak Against UGA

The Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs are rivals, but the series has been decidedly one-sided in recent seasons. UGA has won this game eight straight times, and none of them have been particularly close. In fact, Tennessee has not been closer than 14 points in this matchup since 2016. That changes this Saturday. Tennessee has been impressive through two weeks, and I don’t have faith in Georgia’s passing attack to scale against a quality defense. The Volunteers win a tense and low-scoring battle.

Week 3: Georgia (-3.5) at Tennessee

4. Taylen Green Fireworks in Oxford

Taylen Green has started as well as any player in the country. You don’t need to point out Arkansas’ schedule. I’m well aware that they have not played anyone of particular note. That doesn’t mean the quarterback’s ridiculous stat line should be ignored entirely. Green has completed 71.9 percent of his passes for 561 yards with ten touchdowns and only two interceptions. In addition, he has 192 rushing yards and another touchdown as the Hogs are averaging 7.46 yards per carry. They now face a much stiffer test, traveling to play Ole Miss in Oxford. Green is going to continue to rack up impressive numbers on Saturday, and Arkansas has a real shot to win this game.

Week 3: Arkansas at Ole Miss (-8.5)

5. Old Dominion Upsets Virginia Tech

We don’t get everything right, but we’ve nailed the Virginia Tech Hokies thus far. Brent Pry is in significant trouble after starting the season 0-2, and it will get worse this season. In-state rival Old Dominion comes to Blacksburg, and the Monarchs are going to beat the Hokies. Colton Joseph is an explosive runner at quarterback, and the defense is stout enough to cause an inept VT passing game some issues.

Week 3: Old Dominion at Virginia Tech (-7.5)

6. Tulane Drills Duke in New Orleans

The Duke Blue Devils are playing at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans this Saturday, and their quarterback will be very familiar with the surroundings. Darian Mensah left Tulane for Duke and got a huge paycheck, but he won’t be getting a win against his former team. Jon Sumrall is an excellent coach (who will probably be in the SEC next season), and the Green Wave already has one win over a Power Conference opponent this season. Duke looked extremely mistake-prone against Elon and Illinois.

Week 3: Duke (+1.5) at Tulane

7. Navy Blows Up Tulsa's Run Defense

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane has gotten off to a 1-1 start thus far with a win over Abilene Christian and a close loss to New Mexico State. Tulsa has extremely low expectations, but they have surrendered only 1.5 yards per rush, good for the sixth-best in the country. That number is going to get blown up on Saturday as they take on the Navy Midshipmen. Navy is fifth in the country in rushing yards per game. They are averaging 295 yards per contest, and Blake Horvath is running that offense with extreme efficiency and command, and the Midshipmen will roll.

Week 3: Navy (-13.5) at Tulsa

8. Pitt Hammers WVU in Backyard Brawl

I like the near-term future of the West Virginia program under head coach Rich Rodriguez, but the offense is currently nowhere near what you’d expect from his teams, and they have a long way to go to become a competent squad. The group doesn’t fit with what he wants to do. The Mountaineers beat Robert Morris, but only scored ten points last week against Ohio, and only gained 250 yards. They were outgained by 179 yards by the Bobcats! Pittsburgh is not great, but the Panthers have some firepower, and West Virginia doesn’t have near enough juice on offense to keep up. Pittsburgh wins big!

Week 3: Pittsburgh (-6.5) at WVU

9. Texas A&M Becomes Playoff Contender but Loses to ND

Texas A&M has made some nice progress on offense, and they’ll be tested in a big way with a trip to South Bend to play Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are 0-1 and had a very early bye week to try and figure out some of the things that cost them at Miami. Texas A&M will have a hard time winning this one, but I believe the Aggies will be very competitive, and they have a schedule that sets up pretty nicely. The Aggies are going to impress on offense, and they’ll run the ball really well before coming up short due to deficiencies on their defensive line. The loss will come while proving they are a legitimate playoff contender, and they’ll win four games in a row after this loss and find themselves in the top ten by the end of October.

Week 3: Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5)

10. Vanderbilt Shocks South Carolina

It's extremely rare to have a similar opponent data point after only two weeks of the college football season. However, we have it with this game as both Vanderbilt and South Carolina have played Virginia Tech. South Carolina is the more talented team, but I refuse to doubt that Diego Pavia and the Gamecocks are a work in progress. Give me the Commodores to win outright in Columbia.

Week 3: Vanderbilt at South Carolina (-6.5)

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