College Football Week 3 Predictions: Missouri/BC, Kan St/Ariz, LSU/USC, Wash/Wash.St and more 

Week 2 saw a major upset by Northern Illinois over Notre Dame, as well as dominant performances from Texas, Tennessee, and Nebraska, not to mention a fair amount of almost-upsets.

Week 3 is yet another low-key week on paper. It appears to be lighter than last week in terms of closely matched games. Call me a broken record, but week 2 was entertaining as hell, so don’t be surprised if week 3 plays out in a similar fashion.

Marquee Matchups

#6 Missouri vs. #24 Boston College: The Missouri Tigers are the deserved favorites versus Boston College in one of the two ranked vs. ranked matchups in Week 3. The Tigers are coming off a tremendous 11-2 season but have yet to face a stiff challenger thru 2 games. The Eagles have a win over FSU of course what does that equate to given the Seminoles are 0-2.

With just two current ranked teams on their schedule left Mizzou needs all the quality wins they can get for late season positioning. So far in 2024 Boston College has been able to run the ball successfully which should keep them in this contest well in to the 4th quarter. The talent and returning players at key positions favors Mizzou by a mile but it won’t be a walk in the park.

The Pick: Missouri wins. Boston College +16.5

#14 Kansas State vs. #20 Arizona: K-State managed to sneak by Tulane last week and now face the high-powered offense against Arizona. To be fair, Arizona, although missing some starting players, looked like crap against Northern Arizona. Zona committed 10 penalties and were 0-10 on third downs. Also, Arizona didn’t look all the good in the first half of the New Mexico game.

This matchup will show us if K-State has been holding back QB Avery Johnson from running instead of staying in the pocket more than one would expect thus far. Randomly this game won’t count as a conference win or lose due to scheduling issues not able to be resolved. This one will come down to if K-State can win the time of possession by running the ball facing a poor rush defense. This College Football podcast is not fully confident in Arizona with all the changes that took place after a stellar 2023. Home field tells me the home team wins but will they cover?

The Pick: K-State wins. Arizona +7 from a late TD.

Under The Radar

#16 LSU vs. South Carolina: A week ago I would have thought nothing of it to pick LSU to win. The Tigers looked shaky last week while South Carolina beat down Kentucky, which is strange because the Gamecocks struggled mightily with Old Dominion in Week 1. The Tigers have issues with their running game and defensive secondary so I expect LSU to lean into the passing attack. In fact both teams will pass a lot but you will see South Carolina with more balance to help the time of possession. Look for LSU to put it together for their best outing of this year.

The Pick: LSU -7

Kansas vs. UNLV: The Jayhawks lost last week to Illinois while UNLV has dominated their opponents. Against Houston, UNLV was an underdog and won 27-7. This will be a run heavy Big-12 vs. Mountain West matchup. These teams are averaging a combined more than 600 rushing yards per game. Turnovers, red zone offense, and who will hit a few explosive pass plays will determine a winner on Friday.

The Pick: Kansas wins but UNLV covers +8.5.

Saturday Upset Special

Florida shows up in the swamp in a minor upset as a +3 dog vs. Texas A&M.

Hawaii upsets Sam Houston as a +4.5 road dog.

Hardcore Barnburners

Florida State vs. Memphis: Florida State looks to get off the schneid sitting winless on the season. Memphis won’t just roll over as some experts are picking the Tigers to compete for a playoff spot. This is a truly fitting matchup for the hardcore College Football fan. FSU containing the Tigers rush game will be so important.

The Pick: FSU -6.5

Washington vs. Washington State: It feels strange to for the Apple Cup to be taking place in September but I’ll take it. Both 2-0 heading into this rivalry tilt so someone’s ‘0’ has to go as they say in boxing. I have more faith in Washington on the defensive side to make enough plays relatively speaking of course.

The Pick: Washington -4.5 and over the 55 total points. 

Against The Spread

Tulane +13.5 versus #15 Oklahoma

North Texas +10 versus Texas Tech

New Mexico +28 versus Auburn

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Quick Hits Recap

-Texas outgained Michigan 143 to 80 on the ground in their 31-12 stomping of the Wolverines.

-Nothern Illinois gained 102 more total yards in their shocking defeat of Notre Dame.

-Somehow Arkansas lost in double-overtime to Oklahoma State 39-31 although the Razorbacks put of a whopping 648 yards of offense.

-Iowa State kicker Kyle Konrardy nailed a 54-yard field goal to finish the comeback over interstate rival Iowa 20-19.

-Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty once again stuffed the rushing stats with 25 carries for 192 yards and 3 touchdowns in a losing effort to Oregon.

-Kansas State rushed for 215 yards and touchdown in their dramatic 34-27 over Tulane that included a 60 yard fumble returned for a TD.

-Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for 5 TD’s as the Tigers racked up 712 offensive yards in a 66-20 rout of App State.

Written by Chris Carlson Host of The College Ball Show Podcast available at blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio &

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