Week Three Guides: Games to Watch

Welcome to Week Three of the College Football Season.

The Hawkeyes are back in Iowa City this Saturday looking for a bounce back against the UMass Minutemen after falling to Iowa State last weekend in Ames. While Iowa and UMass likely won’t play the most competitive game ever, but there’s plenty of good football set to be played around the country. If you are someone who sets up 2-3 TVs, like me, that means watching several games at a time. We’ve got you covered with what to watch. Once again, let’s skip an extended intro and just get into the games. HawkeyeReport breaks down the top games to watch during week three of the college football season.

***All betting odds/lines are provided by Bet MGM***

Must Watch Game of the Week: #6 Georgia at #15 Tennessee

Game Info: Saturday, September 13th – 2:30pm CT – ABC Line: Georgia -3.5

I know most of us around here aren’t too fond of the SEC, but this is probably the right choice for the must-watch game this weekend. Although they’re an obvious CFP contender, it feels like Georgia hasn’t gotten much talk through two weeks and that’s due in large part to the fact that they’ve played Marshall (45-7) and Austin Peay (28-6). The Vols really haven’t been tested either, but they did beat Syracuse 45-26 in the opener. Both quarterbacks, Gunnar Stockton (UGA) and App State transfer Jesus Aguilar (UT), are still trying to prove themselves, although Stockton did start in the CFP against ND last year. This is the first big test for both teams, so there will be a lot to take away from this matchup.

Best Weekday Game: NC State at Wake Forest

Game Info: Saturday, September 11th – 6:30pm CT – ESPN Line: NC State -7

This is far from one of the top games of the weekend, but it’s a solid game for Thursday night if you don’t plan on tuning in to Packers-Commanders. NC State quarterback CJ Bailey is an underrated player and has led the Wolfpack to wins over East Carolina and Virginia. As for Wake Forest, they had to escape Kennesaw State in the opener but handled Western Carolina 42-10 last week. Their running back Demond Claiborne rushed for 185 and three touchdowns in the win. These two teams have met every year since 1910, making it the second-longest continuous FBS rivalry behind Minnesota-Wisconsin.

Best 11:00am Game: #12 Clemson at Georgia Tech

Game Info: Saturday, September 13th – 11:00am CT – ESPN Line: Clemson -3.5

It’s really hard to know what to expect in this game. Can Clemson get on track and look like the team many expected or are they just an average top 25 team? Can Georgia Tech get a breakthrough win and show they’re a dark horse ACC contender? Who knows. The Tigers avoided disaster last week scoring the final 24 points to beat Troy 27-16, but Cade Klubnik and Co have not looked good. If the Yellow Jackets are going to pull the home upset, they’ll need quarterback Haynes King who missed their 59-12 win over Gardner-Webb with an injury. He passed for 145 and rushed for 156 in the opener against Colorado. Georgia Tech has lost nine in a row to Clemson dating back to 2014.

Best Primetime Game: #16 Texas A&M at #8 Notre Dame

Game Info: Saturday, September 13th – 6:30pm CT – NBC Line: Notre Dame -6.5

Could the CFP hopes for the reigning runners-up be on the line this weekend? The Irish lost a tight one in the opener to #5 Miami FL, but an 0-2 start without another currently ranked team on the remaining schedule would reduce the margin of error to zero. Quarterback CJ Carr was solid in the opener, but the run game had little success against the ‘Canes. Texas A&M has put up 86 points in two wins over UTSA and Utah State, but they’d love to add a signature win to the early season resume. However, the Aggies are 1-10 straight up in their last 11 as an underdog, so they’ll need to flip that script. Quarterback Marcel Reed has looked the part with 509 yards and seven touchdowns through two games.

Best After Dark Game: Minnesota at California

Game Info: Saturday, September 13th – 9:30pm CT – ESPN Line: Minnesota -1.5

If you can stay awake long enough, this will be one to watch into the wee hours of Sunday morning. The Gophers have dominated in their two wins, but California is a much different test compared to what they got from Buffalo and Northwestern State. If redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey can lead Minnesota to a win on the west coast, then they might be worth watching out for in Big Ten play because they’re strong on defense too. The Golden Bears appear to be a bit underrated through two weeks, with true freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele leading them to wins over Oregon State and Texas Southern. Big Ten teams were 8-21 when traveling two time zones last season, so that’s something to keep in mind for the Gophers, especially playing at 9:30pm CT.

Underrated Game of the Week: #18 South Florida at #5 Miami FL

Game Info: Saturday, September 13th – 3:30pm CT – CW Network Line: Miami -17.5

Is South Florida the biggest surprise through two weeks of the college football season? The Bulls blasted Boise State 34-7 in the opener and followed it up with an 18-16 upset win over Florida in The Swamp. Quarterback Byrum Brown has almost 600 yards passing and rushing, but how about the USF defense allowing just 23 points so far? Miami FL asserted themselves as a top five team right off the bat taking down Notre Dame at home and followed it up with a blowout win over Bethune-Cookman. They’ve got a strong defense, but Georgia transfer Carson Beck has been an early story with how he looked against the Irish. Can USF go three for three against ranked teams to start the year?

Other Games to Watch

Wisconsin (+20.5) at #19 Alabama (Saturday – 11:00am CT – ABC)

Two fanbases that aren’t all that thrilled with what their respective coaching staffs have done since their arrival, this game was much more exciting when it got put on the schedule however many years ago. The Badgers are without their starting transfer quarterback (for like the 4th straight year), so sophomore Danny O’Neil will lead them into Tuscaloosa. He’s been pretty good all things considered. As for Alabama, they were pretty clearly upset with the season-opening loss to Florida State and took out on ULM with a 73-0 win. The fanbase is still pretty upset with Kalen DeBoer, so he’ll need a wide margin of victory in this one.

Pittsburgh at West Virginia (+6.5) (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – ESPN)

The 108th edition of the “Backyard Brawl” is worth watching no matter where Pitt and West Virginia are or aren’t ranked. It’s just one of those rivalries. Pittsburgh enters with a 2-0 record, totaling 106 points through their first two games, with sophomore quarterback Eli Holstein tossing eight touchdowns. Meanwhile, WVU is headed in the wrong direction after putting up just ten points in their loss at Ohio last week. Rick Rodriguez hasn’t named a starting quarterback and now their starting running back and WR2 are out for the year. This is a huge rivalry and it’s at Milan Puskar Stadium, so don’t count WVU out.

Florida at #3 LSU (-7.5) (Saturday – 6:30pm CT – ABC)

This was supposed to be a matchup between two highly ranked teams, but the Gators loss to South Florida last weekend dropped them out of the AP Top 25. They’re still a capable team, but the DJ Lagway led offense managed just 16 points against the Bulls. LSU already picked up a marquee win over Clemson and might have Heisman contender at quarterback with Garrett Nussmeier. Their defense has allowed opponents to convert on just 6 of 26 third downs to start the year, which is notable against Florida, as they were just 4 of 12 against USF. Feels like LSU might be a bit better than preseason expectations, while Florida a little bit worse.

Vanderbilt at #11 South Carolina (-4.5) (Saturday – 6:45pm CT – SEC Network)

Both of the squads are trying to have a breakthrough, but in different ways. For South Carolina, this is the highest they’ve been ranked under Shane Beamer and even with a brutal schedule, they feel like they have a team that can be in the discussion for the CFP. As for Vanderbilt, they’re trying to have a breakthrough win to prove that they can compete with teams in the upper half of the SEC. Quarterback Diego Pavia made lots of offseason comments and now we get to see if the Commodores can follow through. Bold offseason comments worked for Thomas Castellanos and FSU, so maybe it works for Vandy too, who knows.

Texas State at Arizona State (-14.5) (Saturday – 9:30pm CT – TNT)

If you stay up late enough to watch Minnesota-California, then you might as well tune in to this one as well. Many are wondering if the reigning Big 12 champion Sun Devils were overrated with their top 15 ranking after falling to Mississippi State in Starkville last weekend. Some ASU fans will overlook this matchup, with a trip to Baylor on the horizon, but Sam Leavitt and Co cannot take this game lightly. The Texas State offense is humming along, totaling 95 points in two games. Quarterback Brad Jackson has thrown for 500 yards, while running back Lincoln Pare has already rushed for 328 yards. The Bobcats are 1-11 all-time against the Big 12 and will need their defense to be a bit better (63 pts allowed) if they’re going to pull the upset.

Week Three Big Ten Schedule

• Indiana State at #22 Indiana (Friday – 5:30pm CT – BTN)
• New Mexico at UCLA (-15.5) (Friday – 9:00pm CT – BTN)
• #4 Oregon at Northwestern (+27.5) (Saturday – 11:00am CT – FOX)
• Central Michigan at #23 Michigan (-27.5) (Saturday – 11:00am CT – BTN)
• Houston Christian at Nebraska (Saturday – 11:00am CT – FS1)
• Towson at Maryland (Saturday – 11:00am CT – Peacock)
• Villanova at #2 Penn State (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – FS1)
• USC at Purdue (+21) (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – CBS)
• Norfolk State at Rutgers (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – BTN)
• Youngstown State at Michigan State (Saturday – 2:30pm CT – BTN)
• Ohio at #1 Ohio State (-31.5) (Saturday – 6:00pm CT – Peacock)
• Western Michigan at #9 Illinois (-27.5) (Saturday – 6:00pm CT – FS1)
• UMass at Iowa (-35.5) (Saturday – 6:30pm CT – BTN)