Two weeks of games isn’t enough to get a clear picture on every college football team, but we’re starting to get an idea of how a lot of relevant teams look. College football’s Week 3 has a few more big games to add into the data bank as we continue to evaluate contenders.
Two of those games were circled before the season: No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee and No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame. The third top-25 matchup of the week features two schools from Florida, but only one of them entered the season with preseason hype.
South Florida has arguably the best combination of wins in the country with a 34-7 waxing of Boise State in the season opener, followed by Saturday’s 18-16 win at Florida. By the end of the season (or even perhaps the end of the month if you look at Florida’s schedule), both of those wins could look far more middling, but South Florida has beaten a ranked team both weeks so far. No other team in the country can say that, even if neither of those teams is ranked in the current polls.
The No. 18 Bulls will continue to be on parade against a ranked opponent when they head to No. 5 Miami on Saturday. The school called South Florida will head to what is actually geographically South Florida as a 16.5-point underdog on BetMGM. The Bulls beat Boise State as a 5.5-point underdog and beat Florida as a 17.5-point underdog, so this game could be more interesting than that lopsided spread indicates.
USF’s win took some of the luster away from Florida’s trip to No. 3 LSU. Remember that comment about Florida’s schedule? Well, the Gators already have a home loss and now face the No. 3 team on the road before heading to No. 5 Miami, hosting No. 7 Texas and traveling to No. 16 Texas A&M. It’s hasty to predict an 0-4 record for Florida during that stretch, but it at least seems plausible we could be staring at a 1-5 Gators team in a little over a month. Surely, that would go over well in Gainesville. As for this Saturday, LSU is favored by 9.5 points.
The SEC schedule has another marquee game on the schedule in Georgia-Tennessee, but neither fanbase has the pitchforks out … yet. Georgia didn’t look great on offense in a 28-6 win against Austin Peay, but the game did have a weather delay, so overreact at your own peril. The Volunteers put up 72 on East Tennessee State, so they weren’t lacking in meaningless style points. The Bulldogs, who have won eight straight in the series, are favored by 3.5 points.
As for the Aggies and Fighting Irish, Notre Dame is a 6.5-point favorite. Last year, ND’s early-season win in College Station propelled the Irish’s College Football Playoff resume. Back then, A&M had Conner Weigman at quarterback, and he threw for only 100 yards and had two interceptions. Marcel Reed will present a different matchup for Notre Dame’s defense to worry about.
Here are the odds for every game involving an AP Top 25 team, as well as some other notable Week 3 games. No. 10 Florida State is the only AP Top 25 team on bye. Odds for FBS vs. FCS games are not posted yet, but will be live later in the week.
College football Week 3 odds
All games on Saturday unless otherwise noted. Looking for game tickets? Find them here. For information on streaming, click here.
NC State at Wake Forest (Thursday)
ESPN
Indiana State at No. 22 Indiana (Friday)
Big Ten Network
Colorado at Houston (Friday)
ESPN
Kansas State at Arizona (Friday)
FOX
No. 4 Oregon at Northwestern
FOX
No. 12 Clemson at Georgia Tech
ESPN
No. 13 Oklahoma at Temple
ESPN2
Wisconsin at No. 19 Alabama
ABC
Central Michigan at No. 23 Michigan
Big Ten Network
South Alabama at No. 24 Auburn
SEC Network
Villanova at No. 2 Penn State
FS1
No. 6 Georgia at No. 15 Tennessee
ABC
Oregon State at No. 21 Texas Tech
FOX
USC at Purdue
CBS
Pitt at West Virginia
ESPN
No. 14 Iowa State at Arkansas State
ESPN2
Louisiana at No. 25 Missouri
ESPN+
UTEP at No. 7 Texas
SEC Network
No. 18 South Florida at No. 5 Miami
The CW
Ohio at No. 1 Ohio State
Peacock
Western Michigan at No. 9 Illinois
FS1
Arkansas at No. 17 Ole Miss
ESPN
Florida at No. 3 LSU
ABC
No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame
NBC, Peacock
Vanderbilt at No. 11 South Carolina
SEC Network
No. 20 Utah at Wyoming
CBSSN
Duke at Tulane
ESPN2
Minnesota at Cal
ESPN
Boston College at Stanford
ACC Network
(Photo of DeVonta Smith and Marcus Freeman: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)