It’s week three and in-state teams are starting conference play. Alabama hosts Ole Miss and Auburn goes to LSU. There are a couple of other intriguing match-ups as well with Kentucky taking on Florida, and South Carolina facing Georgia.
Nationally, the biggest game is probably Ole Miss and Alabama after Alabama lost to the Rebels last year, but also Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame will be a big one. One of the hottest teams in BYU takes on UCLA to see what they are really made of.
First, here is the top 10 after week two. Ohio State is still at the top, but barely after last week. Take a look…
Top 10
1. Ohio State
Not a great win against Hawaii, but this past weekend was the weekend of “playing bad against teams you should beat by 70”. Still the best…for now.
2. Michigan State
The one team that I might struggle with putting over Ohio State is now Michigan State. We’ll see what happens when they face off at the end of the season, but Sparty looked good against Oregon. They belong here for now.
3. Alabama
Alabama didn’t look great against MTSU, but you could tell they were just going through the motions for the most part. Derrick Henry is still the main Heisman front runner with Nick Chubb and Drake is still solid as well. Coker was eh, but we’ll see what happens next week. The defense gave up way too many yards after what they did against Wisconsin, but I’ll still credit it to playing uninspired.
4. Ole Miss
I don’t care that they have played stupidly weak teams, putting up 70+ two weeks in a row shows something. This team is still probably one of the main teams that can beat Alabama, even on the road. Chad Kelly has done a decent job so far, and they have split carries between what seems like everyone on the roster (even Robert Nkemdiche has shown up on the stats for rushing AND receiving…and he’s a defensive tackle). If Ole Miss looks good and beats Alabama, they are on track for a playoff run.
5. Texas A&M
This is mostly going off their first week performance, but they are still one of the better teams so far this season. After Arkansas’ embarrassing loss, they may not really have a challenge until Alabama comes in on October 17.
6. BYU
Can we talk about how BYU is now 2-0 with wins over Nebraska and Boise State, and playing with their back-up QB? BYU has become the new Notre Dame with their independent scheduling, and if they could somehow pull another miracle out against UCLA this week, they could be a legit playoff contender if they continue to win. For now, BYU is among the top ten teams in the country. That could easily come crashing down after they take on UCLA this week, but you have to give credit where credit is due.
7. UCLA
UCLA is 2-0 with a couple of easy wins. Josh Rosen is going to be a legit QB, and they will be one of the better Pac 12 teams. It will be interesting to watch them against BYU this weekend though to see how they play in that game.
8. USC
USC has crushed Idaho and Arkansas State, not that that means anything. They take on Stanford this week…not that that means anything either after how Stanford has played this season. Their first real test will be the next week against Arizona State, so for now, they are definitely a top 10 team.
9. Oklahoma
Oklahoma belongs in the top 10 after going to Tennessee and coming back in an environment like that. You have to give Bob Stoops and the team credit for not giving up when they got down by 17.
10. TCU
TCU is still this low, despite putting up 70 on a cupcake this week, because of that first game against Minnesota, who played a similar game and had to go to OT with Colorado State this past weekend. So TCU will stay at the bottom of my top 10 until they do something against a team that matters…which may not come until November when they have Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Baylor. At least with their game this week against SMU, you can compare to Baylor.
Now on to the picks. Lines are as of Wednesday morning from MGM.
Week 3 SEC Games
Alabama (-7) Ole Miss
LSU (-7) Auburn
Georgia (-17) South Carolina
Florida (-3) Kentucky
Tennessee (N/A) Western Carolina
Arkansas (-11.5) Texas Tech
Texas A&M (-33.5) Nevada
Missouri (-21) Connecticut
Mississippi State (N/A) Northwestern State
Vanderbilt (N/A) Austin Peay
Week 3 National Games
Georgia Tech (-2) Notre Dame
UCLA (-16.5) BYU
Clemson (-5.5) Louisville