- The start of conference play in Week 3 of the college football season increases the likelihood of upsets.
- Quarterbacks Taylen Green of Arkansas and Joey Aguilar of Tennessee are predicted to have standout performances.
- Other potential upsets include Texas A&M over Notre Dame and Georgia Tech defeating Clemson.
The college football season has already reached the Week 3 schedule and that means the start of conference play for many teams. It also means there’s a greater likelihood for upsets as teams are more familiar with each other.
There some challenge games Saturday for SEC contenders. No. 3 Georgia must hit the road against a ranked opponent. No. 4 LSU hosts a team smarting off a embarrassing loss. No. Mississippi struggled at Kentucky last week and returns to home to face a dangerous offense. Is this where the surprises happen or could they come in other locations across the country?
That’s why the USA TODAY Sports college football staff is here. Matt Hayes, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Blake Toppmeyer weigh in with their bold predictions for Week 3 of the college football season:
Arkansas stuns Mississippi behind Taylen Green
Arkansas and Sam Pittman are in need of an important SEC road win to build momentum in a critical season for the coach and the team. Razorbacks quarterbck Taylen Green will make a major move to join the Heisman Trophy race with a big performance (and Hogs win) at Ole Miss. — Matt Hayes
Joey Aguilar jumps into Heisman race with win over Georgia
The marriage between Aguilar and Tennessee couldn’t have gotten off to a better start, but the journeyman quarterback faces his toughest test yet against Georgia. The Volunteers haven’t been able to defeat the Bulldogs in the last eight attempts, but this feels like the perfect opportunity to flip the script. Aguilar puts on a dazzling display that gets him into Heisman Trophy consideration as Tennessee beats Georgia for the first time since 2016. — Jordan Mendoza
Florida rebounds with defeat of LSU
Florida bounces back from the loss to South Florida to beat LSU and get its season back on track. A win might even save Billy Napier’s job. With more than a handful of games against ranked opponents to come, Napier probably has more work to do. But beating LSU would be huge for the Gators and just awful for the Tigers and coach Brian Kelly, who seemed to have exorcised some demons by beating Clemson in the opener. — Paul Myerberg
Texas A&M takes down Notre Dame
The foundation of the Fighting Irish’s run to the College Football Playoff title game was their strength in the trenches. With most of the offensive line returning, it was expected Notre Dame would have an elite run game. That didn’t materialize in the opener against Miami. Now comes another difficult assigning against the Aggies, who comes to South Bend looking for some revenge after last season. Look for Texas A&M to to slow down the Irish and get enough offense from quarterback Marcel Reed to escape with a win. — Erick Smith
Georgia Tech pulls off upset of Clemson
Clemson’s setback against LSU a couple of weeks ago marked the fourth time in five years that the Tigers dropped their season opener. In two of those previous three seasons, Clemson sustained a second loss by the end of September.
But even without that recent history, the Tigers’ upcoming road date with Georgia Tech feels like an upset in the making. The Clemson offense has been nondescript at best, and Yellow Jackets’ quarterback Haynes King should be back after sitting out the tune-up against Gardner-Webb. The ACC race is about to get a major shakeup as Georgia Tech pulls off the win. — Eddie Timanus
Northwestern gets easy treatment from Oregon
After what happened to Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State in their trip to Oregon, Northwestern coach David Braun showered Ducks coach Dan Lanning in praise. So, Lanning will take mercy on Braun’s Wildcats and call off his Oregon Ducks in a 66-3 road victory. — Blake Toppmeyer