Here’s your full viewing guide for Week 3. (All times are in EST, and we’re skipping Friday’s games although that Florida State vs. Boston College game is worth your attention if you’re around a TV on Friday night.)
The Early Slate
FRONT AND CENTER
Noon: Illinois at North Carolina (-8) (ESPN3)
Another Saturday, another round of lazy early afternoon games. If anything, this one has some serious scoring potential, what with Illinois’ 96 points in its first two games and North Carolina’s high-tempo offense and skill players. You’ve got to watch something to get the day started, and football’s football.
SECOND SCREEN SPECIAL
12:30 p.m: Northwestern at Duke (-3.5) (ESPN3)
This is probably the best overall game of the first batch, and it’s relegated to ESPN3. Although they probably didn’t expect Northwestern to beat Stanford and be ranked when they made the schedule. As Smart Kid Bowls go, this is a good one. Duke could sure use a win like this to show the Blue Devils are a contender in the ACC again and are deserving of our respect, and a win like this by the Wildcats over another Power Five opponent would be huge for the Big Ten.
Dog Day Afternoon
FRONT AND CENTER
3:30 p.m.: Georgia Tech (-3) at Notre Dame (NBC)
Now we’re talking. This very well might be Paul Johnson’s best team at Georgia Tech, now that the offensive line is finally beefed up, the defense is improving, and Justin Thomas is in the driver’s seat. The Yellow Jackets are getting a Notre Dame team that already had to make a quarterback change, with Malik Zaire out for the year, and DeShone Kizer in his place. Kizer was the hero against Virginia, but can the Fighting Irish score enough to keep up with that prolific Georgia Tech offense?
3:30 p.m.: Auburn at LSU (-7) (CBS)
If SEC tilts are more your speed, this one offers plenty to enjoy. Auburn is hoping to put that overtime win over Jacksonville State behind it, and LSU still needs to figure out how in the heck it’s going to generate any sort of offense outside of Leonard Fournette. Auburn’s Rudy Ford seems to think it won’t be “much of a challenge,” with that Tigers’ front seven, but that’s obviously easier said than done.
SECOND SCREEN SPECIAL
3:30 p.m.: Nebraska at Miami (-3) (ABC/ESPN2)
While it doesn’t have the panache of the other two major games at 3:30, this one should be close throughout. Brad Kaaya is one of the most underrated passers in the country, and Nebraska is still finding its identity under new coach Mike Riley. The Cornhuskers took the match-up last season, and Miami will be looking for revenge – as Al Golden continues to be put under the microscope in Year 5.
Under The Lights
FRONT AND CENTER
8 p.m.: Stanford at USC (-9.5) (ABC)
If USC really is the elite team it’s supposed to be this year, with all those weapons, all that speed, and all those bluechip recruits, then the Trojans should be able to handle Stanford easily. Slip up, and it’ll be just another year of “would have, could have, should have” for USC. This will be a good test to see if the Cardinal really have put the Northwestern loss behind them and have any shot at challenging in the Pac-12, or if this really is a down year.
SECOND SCREEN SPECIAL
6 p.m.: South Carolina at Georgia (-16) (ESPN)
That is a giant spread for such a big rivalry game. The Georgia offense still needs to prove it can do, well, anything outside of Nick Chubb (and Sony Michel), and if there’s ever a time to make it happen through the air it’ll be against the Gamecocks. Steve Spurrier’s team probably had no business beating Georgia a year ago, though, so anything can happen.
7:30 p.m.: California (-6.5) at Texas (FOX)
If you haven’t watched Jared Goff this season, you’re missing out. The Cal quarterback has improved a ton from year to year, and he enters this season as one of the best quarterbacks not only in the Pac-12, but in all of college football. We saw what Malik Zaire was able to do against that Texas defense, and Goff will be looking for more of the same.
The Late Show
FRONT AND CENTER
9:15 p.m.: Ole Miss at Alabama (-7) (ESPN)
That Ole Miss offense sure has looked like it’s for real so far this season, although the competition hasn’t exactly been of Bama-caliber. Alabama, as mentioned by Bleacher Report’s Michael Felder on the it me, college football podcast this week, isn’t better than last season and has lost a lot more on both sides of the ball than people think. Beat a supremely talented and improved Ole Miss team (that was able to beat the Tide last year), and maybe this year’s bunch is for real. Lose, and the SEC West really is up for grabs.
SECOND SCREEN SPECIAL
10:30 p.m.: BYU at UCLA (-17) (Fox Sports 1)
This seems like a pretty disrespectful line to a BYU team that already has wins over Nebraska and Boise State, and not many teams can say they have two wins that good this early on in the year. Tanner Mangum is not just another freshman, and the Cougars are playing against a freshman quarterback who will make mistakes even if he already seems like a superstar. I know this is getting second-screen treatment in favor of that SEC showdown, but you’ll get plenty of time to get this one up close and person in the late hours of the evening.
