Ranking the 10 Best College Football Games in Week 3
TJ Inman
Host · Writer
Week 3 is not completely loaded, but there are still some awesome games well worth your time. Here are the ten best, with Georgia versus Tennessee highlighted!
1. Georgia at Tennessee – 3:30 on ABC
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. This game will have ramifications on the College Football Playoff and the SEC title race.
Week 3: UGA (-3.5) at Tennessee
2. Texas A&M at Notre Dame – 7:30 on NBC
Texas A&M and Notre Dame squared off last season in College Station, and the return game to South Bend is on Saturday night on NBC. The Fighting Irish had a rare Week 2 bye after losing to Miami to open the regular season. Texas A&M has a strict schedule, but it actually sets up pretty nicely after this weekend, so a win over Notre Dame would put them in a tremendous position for a College Football Playoff bid. At the same time, the Fighting Irish could use a solid home win. Both teams figure to want to pound the ball on the ground, and this will be a physical contest.
Week 3: Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5)
3. South Florida at Miami – 4:30 on The CW Network
The South Florida Bulls have beaten Boise State, and they followed that up by stunning the Florida Gators in Gainesville last Saturday. The Bulls are, again, 17.5-point underdogs as they make the short trip to Miami to play the Hurricanes. Miami is 2-0 after beating Notre Dame and Bethune-Cookman. USF is now in pole position to earn the Group of Five’s College Football Playoff bid, while Miami could add to a nice early resume with a win.
4. Clemson at Georgia Tech – Noon on ESPN
The Clemson Tigers are 1-1, but it took more stress than it should have to dispatch the Troy Trojans. Dabo Swinney’s team trailed 16-3 at the half before putting their foot down and pulling away in the second half for a victory. The offense needs to find its rhythm, and the defense will need to be prepared for the rushing attack of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and battering ram quarterback Haynes King. This is a gigantic game in the ACC Championship Game race.
Week 3: Clemson (-3.5) at Georgia Tech
5. Pittsburgh at West Virginia – 3:30 on ESPN
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 personnel just doesn’t fit 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. Throw the numbers away because strange things happen in the Backyard Brawl!
Week 3: Pittsburgh (-6.5) at West Virginia
6. Arkansas at Ole Miss – 7:00 on ESPN
Before the season, the week three game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Ole Miss Rebels was an afterthought. Head coach Sam Pittman is still on the hot seat, and two wins against overmatched opponents don’t change that, but Arkansas has looked really good, and Ole Miss is going to need to be very careful. The Rebels are 2-0 after beating Kentucky, but Arkansas has an offense that can cause some real problems.
Week 3: Arkansas at Ole Miss (-7.5)
7. Vanderbilt at South Carolina – 7:45 on SEC Network
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. Vanderbilt should be ranked right now, and they very well could be after this game if they can knock off South Carolina in Columbia.
8. Florida at LSU – 7:30 on ABC
What’s the quickest way to pick up your head coach after a devastating loss to in-state foe South Florida? Going to Baton Rouge and beating the LSU Tigers. Embattled Billy Napier and the Florida Gators take on Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers this Saturday, and the Gators’ loss certainly takes some luster off, but that was not an SEC game, and there is still everything to play for. LSU is No. 3 in the country, but questions remain after a less-than-convincing performance against Louisiana Tech, combined with Clemson’s struggles against Troy.
9. Duke at Tulane – 8:00 on ESPN2
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. This line has jumped around with both teams seeing time as the favorite.
10. Minnesota at Cal – 10:30 on ESPN
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 2-0 after beating Buffalo and then dominating Northwestern State. They get a test on the road against the Cal Golden Bears in a late-night contest in Berkeley. Cal beat Oregon State in Week 1 and followed it up with a win over Texas Southern. They look better than expected, and freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele clearly has quite a bit of talent. This will be an interesting litmus test for both teams.
Week 3: Minnesota (-1.5) at Cal
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