2022 College Football - Week 3
Sept 15, 2022 16:32:07 GMT -6
Funkytown, Danchat, and 1 more like this
Post by Uncle on Sept 15, 2022 16:32:07 GMT -6
After a very surprisingly entertaining Week 2, I think there are several intriguing matchups on-deck for Week 3. We only get two matchups of ranked teams facing each other (BYU @ Oregon and Miami @ Texas A&M), but there are a bunch of other games that should be very entertaining and we could see a few upsets this weekend, too.
To further that point, there was a mailbag-style article in The Athletic this week in which someone asked if anyone outside of Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama they felt was "elite"? The short answer was "no", as you have teams ranked as high as Oklahoma at #6 who were only up on a 0-2 Kent St team 7-3 at halftime last week. You had last week's #1 ranked team, Alabama, nearly lose at unranked Texas and had two Top 10 teams beaten. It's not quite at the level of "everybody can beat everybody", but it's closer to that than it is the days of ranked teams hammering on unranked teams.
Friday, 9/16
Florida St @ Louisville - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
For the 2nd straight week, the Cardinals will be the early Friday night game. Last week they won a sloppy & desperate game at UCF, but this week they'll need to be much sharper during their home opener to beat a suddenly rejuvinated FSU program. The 'Noles Week 1 win over LSU was the jolt in the arm they needed and they are nearly "back" on the national map - a win at Louisville will put them in the Top 25 rankings and start generating some "buzz" in the ACC. The knives are out for Louisville HC Scott Satterfield and if the 'Noles run away with this during the Cardinals home opener in primetime, the seat will be plenty hot. If you have zero rooting interest here, then watch this one for Florida St 2023 DE/EDGE prospect Jared Verse, who is generating the same sorta of buzz that vaulted Jermaine Johnson up Draft Boards last year; he's a 6'4" 250 lbs transfer from Albany that exploded onto the national scene during that LSU game.
#5 Jared Verse 3-min video highlights vs LSU (including blocked FG and 2 crucial sacks):
Saturday, 9/17
#6 Oklahoma @ Nebraska - Noon ET (FOX)
I haven't watched any Sooner football this year and they haven't played anyone, either. Nebraska just fired their HC so you'd like to think this should be a cakewalk for the #6 team in the country vs a 1-2 Nebraska team, right? Something tells me that the Cornhuskers are going to be a little fired up for this game and this is going to be much closer than people might think. I'm particulary interested to see how Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel does - I saw plenty of him at UCF and I'm curious if he can play at that next level up in competition.
Purdue at Syracuse - Noon ET (ESPN2)
The other Noon game to possibly keep an eye on is this one. The Oranagemen are 2-0 and a win here vs a "decent" BIG10 team would certainly put a feather in their cap as they head into a tough ACC schedule (NC State, FSU, Clemson, Wake Forest, Pitt). On the other side, Purdue lost a nailbiter to Penn St in Week 1 and needs a big bounce-back type of win to keep them headed in the right direction under their 2023 QB prospect, Aidan O'Connell. The matchup to watch here is O'Connell vs Garrett Williams, a Day 1/Day 2 CB prospect from Syracuse.
Tulane vs Kansas St - 3PM ET (BIG12 / ESPN+)
Normally I wouldn't highlight this type of game, but, if you're really interested in watching 2023 QB Draft prospects, this game offers one for each team. As I wrote in my Week 2 notes in the "2023 QB Watch" thread, Tulane QB Michael Pratt is an under-the-radar 2023 QB prospect that casual fans don't know about and is the only one with a QB RAT still above 200. Tulane doesn't get many chances to play Power 5 teams so looking good at a tough venue like Manhattan, KS will be a feather in Pratt's cap if he can sustain the play he's having. On the other side, KSU's QB Adrian Martinez (transfer from Nebraska), needs to have a bit of a statement game to get his name back into the mix for 2023. Although I would expect the Cats to come out on top here, this could be a fun one to watch right before the BYU/Oregon kickoff.
#12 BYU @ #25 Oregon - 3:30PM ET (FOX)
The Cougars are coming off a thrilling win at home vs a Top 10 Baylor team. I do think BYU has the makeup to possibly be this year's Cincinnati and be another non-Power 5 team to crash the CFP party. They are led by QB Jaren Hall who I thought looked real solid last week in the "W", even without his top two WR's. If they can win at Oregon and at Notre Dame later this year, they get their other tough game at home in #10 Arkansas, and then end the season @ Stanford - if they run that table, they should be "in", even without playing in a Conference Championship game. Oregon needs a victory vs a good opponent coming off the absolute thumping they took vs Georgia in Week 1. I'm just not sure I can trust Oregon QB Bo Nix (transfer from Auburn) to deliver a good performance on the national stage - he's been there so many times and has come up empty, the latest that Week 1 game vs the Bulldogs.
Hall with pinpoint NFL-level accuracy for the TD vs Baylor:
#22 Penn St @ Auburn - 3:30PM ET (CBS)
Last year, Penn St was the "darling" of the early part of the BIG10 season after their primetime win vs Auburn at Happy Valley - it was a great atmosphere and a really well-played game. There aren't quite as many Draft prospects lining up on both sides in this one and Auburn is still sorta "rebuilding" a bit, but if you remember last year's Iron Bowl near-win vs Alabama, Auburn does have a ferocious DL, led by EDGE Derick Hall, a 6'3" 250 lb 3-4 OLB prospect who's more of a Day 2 "depth" guy than Rd 1 (he's bad against the run), but if the Vikings are looking for 3-4 OLB depth in 2023, you should pay attention to Hall.
Mississippi St @ LSU - 6PM ET (ESPN)
Miss St QB Will Rogers is off to a fast start with Mike Leech's Air Raid offense and Brian Kelly will have his hands full trying to defend it in Death Valley. This could be a fascinating contrast of styles as you have Leech's Air Raid offense on one side with LSU's more ball-controlled approach under dual-threat QB Jayden Daniels on the other and both are 2023 QB Draft prospects. Brian Kelly has received a whole bunch of "heat" after the FSU loss and needs a decent win to keep the press off his back, but Miss St and Rogers will be firing away. I'm interested to see how Rogers plays in this one - LSU does have some solid 2023 Draft defensive prospects so this will be a real test of how his Air Raid style of play suits up against better competition.
#11 Michigan St @ Washington - 7:30PM (ABC)
This is strength vs strength here as Indiana QB transfer Michael Penix, Jr leads the Huskies potent passing attack vs the Spartans fearsome pass-rush led by LB Jacoby Windmon, who's generated some pass rush "buzz" early in this college season. Michigan St needs this game a bit more because they have a real tough BIG10 schedule this season and they need all the solid "W's" they can get. Both teams are 2-0 coming into this early season BIG10 vs PAC12 game and someone is coming out looking good headed into Conference play.
#4 Jacoby Windmon's 6'1" height is evident as he constantly "dips" below OT's to rush the passer:
#13 Miami (FL) @ #24 Texas A&M - 9PM ET (ESPN)
The Game of the Day as an up-and-coming Miami team (seemingly on their way "back" to the national scene) travels to College Sation to take on an Aggies team still stunned from being beaten at home to an unranked App St team. Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher has had top recruiting classes, and he's had some solid wins here and there (beat Alabama last season), but he can't put a complete season together it seems, and here comes a Miami program that wants to take advantage of a bad situation for Jimbo to vault themselves up the rankings and into CFP conversations. The big reason I'm watching is 2023 Round 1 QB prospect Tyler Van Dyke who plays for Miami - he's not a mobile QB (more of a traditional pocket passer), but I haven't seen him play and I definately want to see what the hype is about and if he can handle the primetime lights of College Football in a big-time atmosphere (Kyle Field is one of those places that holds 100k+). Are the Hurricanes back? Is Tyler Van Dyke a Round 1 QB prospect next year? Can Jimbo Fisher get a big-time win ahead of the always tough SEC West schedule?
Can Tyler Van Dyke come up with these throws in a hostile environment?
Fresno St @ #7 USC - 10:30PM (FOX)
If the Miami/Texas A&M game turns into a dud, or you want to flip to something worthwhile during halftime and come back to that one in the 4th, I suggest checking out this game. Fresno St is a very gritty team led by 2023 QB prospect Jake Haener, a bit on the smaller side at 6'1" and only 200 lbs, but he's been putting up great numbers for the past few seasons (and again this season) and the Bulldogs always seem to score a whole bunch of points. USC might have a great offense under Lincoln Riley, QB Caleb Williams and 2023 1st Rd WR prospect Jordan Addison, but their defense is whole other story. This game is in the Coliseum, but even so, I expect this to be a score-fest and the Trojans need to bring their "A" game to avoid an upset this week vs Fresno St, or next week when they travel to Corvallis to take on a resurgent Oregon St team.
2023 QB Watch:
Early Games:
Stetson Bennett (Georgia) @ Spencer Rattler (South Carolina)
Afternoon Games:
Michael Pratt (Tulane) @ Adrian Martinez (Kansas St)
Jaren Hall (BYU) on the road @ Oregon
Evening Games:
Will Rogers (Miss St) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
Tanner Mordecai (SMU) @ Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland)
Tyler Van Dyke (Miami, FL) on the road @ Texas A&M
Late Games:
Jake Haener (Fresno St) on the road @ USC
To further that point, there was a mailbag-style article in The Athletic this week in which someone asked if anyone outside of Georgia, Ohio State and Alabama they felt was "elite"? The short answer was "no", as you have teams ranked as high as Oklahoma at #6 who were only up on a 0-2 Kent St team 7-3 at halftime last week. You had last week's #1 ranked team, Alabama, nearly lose at unranked Texas and had two Top 10 teams beaten. It's not quite at the level of "everybody can beat everybody", but it's closer to that than it is the days of ranked teams hammering on unranked teams.
Friday, 9/16
Florida St @ Louisville - 7:30PM ET (ESPN)
For the 2nd straight week, the Cardinals will be the early Friday night game. Last week they won a sloppy & desperate game at UCF, but this week they'll need to be much sharper during their home opener to beat a suddenly rejuvinated FSU program. The 'Noles Week 1 win over LSU was the jolt in the arm they needed and they are nearly "back" on the national map - a win at Louisville will put them in the Top 25 rankings and start generating some "buzz" in the ACC. The knives are out for Louisville HC Scott Satterfield and if the 'Noles run away with this during the Cardinals home opener in primetime, the seat will be plenty hot. If you have zero rooting interest here, then watch this one for Florida St 2023 DE/EDGE prospect Jared Verse, who is generating the same sorta of buzz that vaulted Jermaine Johnson up Draft Boards last year; he's a 6'4" 250 lbs transfer from Albany that exploded onto the national scene during that LSU game.
#5 Jared Verse 3-min video highlights vs LSU (including blocked FG and 2 crucial sacks):
Saturday, 9/17
#6 Oklahoma @ Nebraska - Noon ET (FOX)
I haven't watched any Sooner football this year and they haven't played anyone, either. Nebraska just fired their HC so you'd like to think this should be a cakewalk for the #6 team in the country vs a 1-2 Nebraska team, right? Something tells me that the Cornhuskers are going to be a little fired up for this game and this is going to be much closer than people might think. I'm particulary interested to see how Oklahoma QB Dillon Gabriel does - I saw plenty of him at UCF and I'm curious if he can play at that next level up in competition.
Purdue at Syracuse - Noon ET (ESPN2)
The other Noon game to possibly keep an eye on is this one. The Oranagemen are 2-0 and a win here vs a "decent" BIG10 team would certainly put a feather in their cap as they head into a tough ACC schedule (NC State, FSU, Clemson, Wake Forest, Pitt). On the other side, Purdue lost a nailbiter to Penn St in Week 1 and needs a big bounce-back type of win to keep them headed in the right direction under their 2023 QB prospect, Aidan O'Connell. The matchup to watch here is O'Connell vs Garrett Williams, a Day 1/Day 2 CB prospect from Syracuse.
Tulane vs Kansas St - 3PM ET (BIG12 / ESPN+)
Normally I wouldn't highlight this type of game, but, if you're really interested in watching 2023 QB Draft prospects, this game offers one for each team. As I wrote in my Week 2 notes in the "2023 QB Watch" thread, Tulane QB Michael Pratt is an under-the-radar 2023 QB prospect that casual fans don't know about and is the only one with a QB RAT still above 200. Tulane doesn't get many chances to play Power 5 teams so looking good at a tough venue like Manhattan, KS will be a feather in Pratt's cap if he can sustain the play he's having. On the other side, KSU's QB Adrian Martinez (transfer from Nebraska), needs to have a bit of a statement game to get his name back into the mix for 2023. Although I would expect the Cats to come out on top here, this could be a fun one to watch right before the BYU/Oregon kickoff.
#12 BYU @ #25 Oregon - 3:30PM ET (FOX)
The Cougars are coming off a thrilling win at home vs a Top 10 Baylor team. I do think BYU has the makeup to possibly be this year's Cincinnati and be another non-Power 5 team to crash the CFP party. They are led by QB Jaren Hall who I thought looked real solid last week in the "W", even without his top two WR's. If they can win at Oregon and at Notre Dame later this year, they get their other tough game at home in #10 Arkansas, and then end the season @ Stanford - if they run that table, they should be "in", even without playing in a Conference Championship game. Oregon needs a victory vs a good opponent coming off the absolute thumping they took vs Georgia in Week 1. I'm just not sure I can trust Oregon QB Bo Nix (transfer from Auburn) to deliver a good performance on the national stage - he's been there so many times and has come up empty, the latest that Week 1 game vs the Bulldogs.
Hall with pinpoint NFL-level accuracy for the TD vs Baylor:
#22 Penn St @ Auburn - 3:30PM ET (CBS)
Last year, Penn St was the "darling" of the early part of the BIG10 season after their primetime win vs Auburn at Happy Valley - it was a great atmosphere and a really well-played game. There aren't quite as many Draft prospects lining up on both sides in this one and Auburn is still sorta "rebuilding" a bit, but if you remember last year's Iron Bowl near-win vs Alabama, Auburn does have a ferocious DL, led by EDGE Derick Hall, a 6'3" 250 lb 3-4 OLB prospect who's more of a Day 2 "depth" guy than Rd 1 (he's bad against the run), but if the Vikings are looking for 3-4 OLB depth in 2023, you should pay attention to Hall.
Mississippi St @ LSU - 6PM ET (ESPN)
Miss St QB Will Rogers is off to a fast start with Mike Leech's Air Raid offense and Brian Kelly will have his hands full trying to defend it in Death Valley. This could be a fascinating contrast of styles as you have Leech's Air Raid offense on one side with LSU's more ball-controlled approach under dual-threat QB Jayden Daniels on the other and both are 2023 QB Draft prospects. Brian Kelly has received a whole bunch of "heat" after the FSU loss and needs a decent win to keep the press off his back, but Miss St and Rogers will be firing away. I'm interested to see how Rogers plays in this one - LSU does have some solid 2023 Draft defensive prospects so this will be a real test of how his Air Raid style of play suits up against better competition.
#11 Michigan St @ Washington - 7:30PM (ABC)
This is strength vs strength here as Indiana QB transfer Michael Penix, Jr leads the Huskies potent passing attack vs the Spartans fearsome pass-rush led by LB Jacoby Windmon, who's generated some pass rush "buzz" early in this college season. Michigan St needs this game a bit more because they have a real tough BIG10 schedule this season and they need all the solid "W's" they can get. Both teams are 2-0 coming into this early season BIG10 vs PAC12 game and someone is coming out looking good headed into Conference play.
#4 Jacoby Windmon's 6'1" height is evident as he constantly "dips" below OT's to rush the passer:
#13 Miami (FL) @ #24 Texas A&M - 9PM ET (ESPN)
The Game of the Day as an up-and-coming Miami team (seemingly on their way "back" to the national scene) travels to College Sation to take on an Aggies team still stunned from being beaten at home to an unranked App St team. Texas A&M HC Jimbo Fisher has had top recruiting classes, and he's had some solid wins here and there (beat Alabama last season), but he can't put a complete season together it seems, and here comes a Miami program that wants to take advantage of a bad situation for Jimbo to vault themselves up the rankings and into CFP conversations. The big reason I'm watching is 2023 Round 1 QB prospect Tyler Van Dyke who plays for Miami - he's not a mobile QB (more of a traditional pocket passer), but I haven't seen him play and I definately want to see what the hype is about and if he can handle the primetime lights of College Football in a big-time atmosphere (Kyle Field is one of those places that holds 100k+). Are the Hurricanes back? Is Tyler Van Dyke a Round 1 QB prospect next year? Can Jimbo Fisher get a big-time win ahead of the always tough SEC West schedule?
Can Tyler Van Dyke come up with these throws in a hostile environment?
Fresno St @ #7 USC - 10:30PM (FOX)
If the Miami/Texas A&M game turns into a dud, or you want to flip to something worthwhile during halftime and come back to that one in the 4th, I suggest checking out this game. Fresno St is a very gritty team led by 2023 QB prospect Jake Haener, a bit on the smaller side at 6'1" and only 200 lbs, but he's been putting up great numbers for the past few seasons (and again this season) and the Bulldogs always seem to score a whole bunch of points. USC might have a great offense under Lincoln Riley, QB Caleb Williams and 2023 1st Rd WR prospect Jordan Addison, but their defense is whole other story. This game is in the Coliseum, but even so, I expect this to be a score-fest and the Trojans need to bring their "A" game to avoid an upset this week vs Fresno St, or next week when they travel to Corvallis to take on a resurgent Oregon St team.
2023 QB Watch:
Early Games:
Stetson Bennett (Georgia) @ Spencer Rattler (South Carolina)
Afternoon Games:
Michael Pratt (Tulane) @ Adrian Martinez (Kansas St)
Jaren Hall (BYU) on the road @ Oregon
Evening Games:
Will Rogers (Miss St) @ Jayden Daniels (LSU)
Tanner Mordecai (SMU) @ Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland)
Tyler Van Dyke (Miami, FL) on the road @ Texas A&M
Late Games:
Jake Haener (Fresno St) on the road @ USC
... and neither is this Chris guy.