Noon:

• North Carolina @ Georgia Tech (ESPN): UNC will be the first quality opponent we’ve played all year. They boast the first real challenging offense we will face, and thus the first real test for our new 4-3 look defense. The claimed strength of our defense is the secondary, but that’s mostly theory at the moment I’d say. We’ll know for sure in 9 hours or so. The forecast calls for rain, which I would ordinarily say favors a running offense, but for an option offense it’s sort of a mixed blessing as a wet ball doesn’t make an option pitch easier to catch than a throw. Either way this contest goes, I don’t really expect a repeat of last year’s 68-50 scoreline.
• San Jose State @ Minnesota (ESPN2): Minnesota.
• Louisiana Tech @ Kansas (FS1): It’s hard to make any definitive statements about this game other than that it’ll probably be a pretty awful football contest. If this were last year’s Louisiana Tech squad with last year’s Louisiana Tech coach I would have the Bulldogs in a rout. But it’s not, and so far this year they’ve been blown out by NC State and have lost to Tulane. Tulane is a not a very good football team. I think I will have to go with KU to get their first FBS win since September 10, 2011. (Fun fact: their current FBS losing streak started with a 66-24 rout by Georgia Tech in Lawrence.)
• Marshall @ Virginia Tech (ESPNU): VPI should be able to score enough to beat these guys, though if their defense is as good as it seems then 3 points should be enough. 
• Vanderbilt @ Massachusetts (ESPNEWS): I’m still fascinated by the concept of live football on ESPNEWS, but it’s a bit baffling at the same time because I’m pretty sure there’s lot of folks out there who don’t get ESPNEWS in HD or at all. Either way, Vandy in a walkover.
• Wake Forest @ Army (CBSS): More mediocre-to-bad football here. Let’s pick Army just for the hell of it, because if there’s any “major” team they could potentially run over it’d be Wake.

12:30:

• Pittsburgh @ Duke (ACC): I have Duke penciled in as going to a bowl again, mostly because I think they can go 4-0 against their out-of-conference schedule (though Navy may give them fits, we’ll see in a few weeks) and probably picking up two ACC wins. This isn’t one of them.
• Tulane @ Syracuse (ACC/FSN): The hits just keep one coming. The ‘Cuse aren’t very good, but they shouldn’t need to be to beat Tulane.

3:00: Houston vs. Rice (@Houston, TX; FSN): I wish I go back to different parts of the past 10 years and pick a different Rice and Houston team for this game, but alas, I cannot. Stuck in the present, I’ll have to go with the Cougars.
3:30:

• Michigan State @ Notre Dame (NBC): This is probably the best game of the day. I still don’t really “believe” in Sparty’s offense, and it’s almost impossible to judge their defense at this point owing to a lack of data. Notre Dame is probably just “okay” on both sides of the ball, though probably slightly more okay on offense that defense. So if it’s coming down to who is likely to actually score 28 points, then I have to give the edge to the Irish.
• Tennessee @ Florida (CBS): This game will probably because slugfest, but if there’s any team that can win a 9-7 game this year it’s the Gators. 
• Purdue @ Wisconsin (ABC/ESPN2): Well, I’ll bet that if Wisconsin ever finds themselves in a late game clock-management situation again, they probably won’t spend 10 seconds complaining to the officials as the clock continues to run. Anyway, such a scenario is exceedingly unlikely to unfold again with the Boilermakers.
• Utah State @ Southern California (ABC/ESPN2): I need to see one more bad loss by the Trojans before I can buy into the “USC is burning” narrative. Utah State is good, but they already lost to Utah. So yeah, if USC loses here, than sure, I’ll say they’re awful. But for now I think they win.
• Arkansas @ Rutgers (ESPN): This is another difficult game to call. I’m tempted to give a slight edge to the Razorbacks because “ESS-EEE-CEE” and all but that narrative sure didn’t work for them last year. Perhaps worrying for the Scarlet Knights is that they were outgained by Eastern Michigan last weekend, though that was in the passing game so perhaps it doesn’t apply to Arkansas’s seemingly potent rushing attack.
• West Virginia vs. Maryland (@Baltimore, MD; ESPNU): I don’t believe Maryland’s 3-0 record, so I’m going to roll with the Mountaineers here.
• Kent State @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): I guess the guys at the LSU frat that made fun of the Kent State shooting weren’t big CSNY fans. Anyway, Penn State should probably get this one.

4:00: Louisiana-Monroe @ Baylor (FS1): Speaking of rematches of games from last year that involved a ton of points, well, seeing as how the Warhawks only put up 21 on Wake Forest last week, I’m not optimistic for a repeat performance.
7:00:

• Arizona State @ Stanford (FOX): This will be one of the more entertaining games of the day. And before you say “well, that’s not saying much” realize that we’ll get a classic contrast of styles matchup here, between Stanford’s hard-nosed, old-school approach and the Sun Devils’ more West Coast friendly aerial game. That said, they faced similar attack in Wisconsin last weekend and only made it out because of what will probably be the year’s biggest end-of-game officiating debacle, so I’ll go with the Cardinal here.
• Colorado State @ Alabama (ESPN2): Alabama.
• Southern Methodist @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (ESPNU): SMU’s throwback unis should not be enough to come anywhere close to TAMU, but we did see last week with both Michigan and Notre Dame that even good teams can have a bit of a hangover effect. Then again, they both won, and TAMU is probably better than either of them. 
• Texas State @ Texas Tech (FSN): This one should not stress the Red Raiders too much. 

7:30:

• Oregon State @ San Diego State (CBSS): These two have something in common: losses to FCS teams! But Oregon State lost to a good Eastern Washington team, while SDSU got routed by Eastern Illinois. That does not bode well for the Aztecs, even in this rare home game with a power conference team.
• Troy @ Mississippi State (SEC/FSN): I think that Miss State will probably have less trouble against this team from the state of Alabama, which would bring their record against such to 2-1 on the year.

7:45: Auburn @ Louisiana State (ESPN): Tigers win! Okay, with that out of the way, it’s still hard to see how Auburn will have the talent with this point to move the ball against LSU’s defense. Combined with LSU’s newfound ability to actually score points, and we have the makings of a potential SEC “darkhorse” candidate if there ever was such a thing.
8:00:

• Kansas State @ Texas (ABC): Considering how big of a disaster Texas is shaping up to be this year, does it really matter who their quarterback is? I say no. Also for that reason I’m going with K-State here. 
• Michigan @ Connecticut (ABC): This 8 o’clock timeslot pretty well encapsulates everything that’s wrong with this week’s slate of games. I have Michigan here. 
• Missouri @ Indiana (BTN): Mizzou, probably.

10:15:

• Utah @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): Utah gave up 170+ yards rushing to their other in-state rival, so it’s hard to see how they’re going to stop the Stormin’ Mormons in this edition of the Holy War.
• Wyoming @ Air Force (ESPNU): Air Force’s defense has been pretty porous in their other two Mountain West games so far, and it’s hard to see that trend abating against Wyoming.

10:30:

• New Mexico State @ California-Los Angeles (PAC12): If UCLA is as good as everyone says they are, they’ll win thus one easily. They’d win either way to most likely, but still. 
• Idaho @ Washington State (PAC12): Wazzou is probably going to have a field day with these guys.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• California-Los Angeles @ Nebraska (ABC): I’m still a bit boggled that either, much less both, of these teams are ranked, but that’s Week 3 for you. I’m going to roll with Nebraska in this one.
• Louisville @ Kentucky (ESPN): I’m finding it incredibly easy to pick against the team that lost to Western Kentucky in Week 1. Hint: it wasn’t Louisville.
• Tulsa @ Oklahoma (ESPN2): Maybe instead of conference moves I should’ve made a table of coaching moves because I keep forgetting that Derek Dooley is now the head coach at Tulsa. It should probably not be a huge surprise, then, Tulsa hasn’t been very good this year and that a potentially intriguing game is now likely to be a laugher.
• Virginia Tech @ East Carolina (FS1): It’s difficult to really predict that VPI will lose this game, though exactly how they will score any points is unclear.
• Bowling Green @ Indiana (ESPNU): This doesn’t happen very often, but, well, I’m going to pick a MAC team over a Big Ten team.
• Stanford @ Army (CBSS): As noted in my Pac-12 out-of-conference scheduling preview, Army fans should enjoy the sights from Michie Stadium, as the action on the field likely won’t be as appealing as the scenic beauty of the Hudson River Valley.
• Akron @ Michigan (BTN): I don’t really need a lot of convincing to pick Michigan here.
• Southern Mississippi @ Arkansas (SEC): It looks like it won’t just be a one-year funk for Southern Miss. As noted elsewhere, their best bet for a win in the first two months of the season was against Texas State and they blew it. Their odds are not any better against the Razorbacks.

12:30:

• New Mexico @ Pittsburgh (ACC): Similarly, losing to Texas-San Antonio is also not a great sign, so I’ll take Pitt here.
• Louisiana-Monroe @ Wake Forest (ACC): I have actually seen at least one person suggest that Jim Grobe is on the hot seat. I wasn’t aware that a Wake Forest football coach could ever even have a warm seat, but here we are. The problem is that I still have a tough time taking a Sun Belt team over an ACC team, so I’m going to stick with Wake.

3:00: Boston College @ Southern California (FS1): Look, I know Washington State is bad and all, but it’s hard to ignore that on paper USC out-classes Boston College so thoroughly I’m not sure how I could pick against them in this situation. So I won’t. But I won’t be surprised if they lose, either. (In fact, I’ll probably think it’s hilarious.)

3:30:

• Alabama @ Texas Agricultural and Mechanical (CBS): Well, here we are. The Game of the Week of the Year of the Century, for Week 3. All available evidence suggests that both these teams are really good. If anything, I still think that Alabama is slightly better, especially on defense. Looking back over last year’s game, the thing that stands out to me is A.J. McCarron’s uncharacteristic 2 interceptions. In addition, Alabama also had a fumble. In a five-point game, three turnovers is more than likely to be the difference. I don’t think Alabama will make those mistakes again, and come away with the win.
• Tennessee @ Oregon (ABC): Apparently my worries were unfounded and Tennessee and Oregon fans get along just fine. Of course, Oregon should also notch a win here without much resistance, which may help.
• Nevada @ Florida State (ESPN): Losing to UCLA by 38 does not bode well for the Wolfpack heading into Tallahassee.
• Georgia Tech @ Duke (ESPNU): Few things make me feel older than, perhaps, the regular staff of writer for the only Georgia Tech blog I read, From the Rumble Seat. (As A5 often notes, the downside of not having a journalism school is that means GT doesn’t really turn out a lot of interesting bloggers, and trust me, I do not think I am interesting.) One such example was that in their pre-season previews, one of them mentioned that he couldn’t remember the last time Georgia Tech lost to Duke. Well, I can, because it happened my freshman year. And that’s when I remember that my freshman year was 10 years ago. And then I feel old.
  So, yes, in addition to feeling the inevitability of aging, there are some other things going on here. We, unhelpfully, had a bye in Week 2. I probably would’ve preferred to have that in the middle of conference play, but oh well. Other fun facts: Duke is by far Tech’s most-played ACC opponent (this will be their 81st meeting) and they have met every year since 1933. The last time the game was played in neither November nor October was 1996. Also, Duke will be without their first-choice quarterback, but from what I’ve read there wasn’t that much of a difference between the starter and the backup anyway. They both represent a departure from the Sean Renfree years, as apparently Cutcliffe is going toward more the read-option style and away from the classic NFL-style QBs that got him where he is today (read: the Manning brothers). This also means that what most people tabbed as one of GT’s strongest units – the pass defense – will be negated somewhat. Duke, unlike Tech, has played a FBS opponent this year, though it was Memphis and they only won by 14. Since otherwise the teams have only played FCS teams, there’s just no way to make any definitive judgments here.

4:00: Ball State @ North Texas (FSN): UNT is in C-USA now? Huh. Either way, Ball State looks better so far.

6:00:

• Iowa @ Iowa State (FS1): Well, at least Iowa beat the the FCS team they played. This could well be a trainwreck game, which in fairness is still a little interesting since it is a rivalry game and all. I’ll go with Iowa but I’m not sure why.
• Washington @ Illinois (BTN): Perhaps one of the most surprising results of this young season was Illinois’s domination of a slightly well-regarded Cincinnati team last weekend. Washington’s dominant win over Boise State is probably still more impressive, and plus, I think everyone had this one as a walk-over for the Huskies so may as well stick with it.

7:00:

• Ohio State @ California (FOX): Seeing as how Cal already lost to Northwestern by two touchdowns back in Week 1, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to pick the Buckeyes here.
• Vanderbilt @ South Carolina (ESPN): I watched the South Carolina-Georgia game last weekend, and I have to say, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen an offense so dedicated to avoiding one particular defensive player like Georgia avoided Clowney in that game. I am pretty much convinced the call was always that the play-side would be the opposite of whatever side he lined up on. That said, while this is new and improved Vandy, the Gamecocks are still the superior squad and will be seeking to re-assert that in this game.
• Mississippi State @ Auburn (ESPN2): I can’t really come up with anything nice to say about either of these teams, other than the score will probably not be 3-2 again and that I’m going with the Bulldogs.
• Kent State @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): LSU.

7:30: Kansas @ Rice (CBSS): What’s worse than only having only two games of data? Only having one! But that’s what we have here. I guess I’ll pick Kansas and we’ll see what happens.

8:00:

• Notre Dame @ Purdue (ABC): I try to keep this joke in reserve and only use it once a week: <Team> Status: Still awful! So I think you can put the pieces together here.
• Marshall @ Ohio (ESPNEWS): Still fascinated by the fact that ESPNEWS is showing live football games. Not so much by this game, though. Marshall’s… probably going to win?

9:00: Western Michigan @ Northwestern (BTN): Northwestern.

10:00: Oregon State @ Utah (FS1): I think this is probably a minor upset, but I’m going with the Utes here.

10:30:

• Wisconsin @ Arizona State (ESPN): This may be the most underrated game of the day, and is certainly a boon to those of us in the West. I mean, I think it’s still pending whether or not Arizona State is going to be any good, but the Badgers are at least a known, above-average quantity. There will definitely be a bit of fun in the contrasting style, with Wisconsin bringing the typical Midwestern cloud of dust offense and the Sun Devils supplying the West Coast aerial goodness. Which will prevail? Well, I’m going to go with the Badgers.
• Texas-San Antonio @ Arizona (Pac12): Arizona.

As usual, all times Eastern and all predictions wrong.

Noon:

• Florida @ Miami (ESPN): This has always been an under-played rivialry, with the two in-state foes having only met 55 times. (Though as EDSBS is fond of saying, football didn’t really exist in the state of Florida before 1980.) I personally have to give Florida the edge in this one, as they seem to exist in some sort of version of existence where offense is entirely optional.
• Cincinnati @ Illinois (ESPN2): Cincy isn’t great or anything, but Illinois isn’t really even good, so that’s what this one is probably going to come down to.
• South Florida @ Michigan State (ESPNU): Let’s just say that it is very difficult to pick in favor of a team that lost to McNeese State last weekend.
• Oklahoma State @ Texas-San Antonio (FS1): Oklahoma State.
• Eastern Michigan @ Pennsylvania State (BTN): Penn State.
• Western Kentucky @ Tennessee (SEC): Tennessee.
• Miami @ Kentucky (SEC/FSN): Kentucky?

12:30: Middle Tennessee State @ North Carolina (ACC): Well, MTSU won its last game against an ACC team, but nonetheless I like UNC’s chances here.

3:30:

• Oregon @ Virginia (ABC/ESPN2): Oregon.
• San Diego State @ Ohio State (ABC/ESPN2): Ohio State.
• Buffalo @ Baylor (FSN): Baylor.
• Toledo @ Missouri (ESPNU): Mizzou?
• Utah State @ Air Force (CBSS): This might be the most interesting game of this bunch, which is kind of saying something. I would go with Utah State here after their close loss to big brother Utah last weekend, but I’m going to roll with the Air Force.

4:30: South Carolina @ Georgia (ESPN): And we’re finally out of the doldrums. This one is going to be pretty good I think, but unfortunately I have to give UGA a slight edge at home. I don’t want to, but there it is.

6:00: Syracuse @ Northwestern (BTN): Northwestern had a pretty good drubbing of Cal last weekend, good enough to make be feel good enough about their chances at home against the Orange.

7:00:

• West Virginia @ Oklahoma (FOX): West, er, Frickin’ Virginia will get its first chance to show that may actually play defense this year in what will probably be difficult conditions. It’s hard to see them passing the test.
• Texas @ Brigham Young (ESPN2): Texas can probably take care of business in Provo. Probably.
• Alabama-Birmingham @ Louisiana State (ESPNU): LSU.
• Colorado State @ Tulsa (CBSS): Hey so is Tulsa any good this year… (checks) … let’s see… lost to Bowling Green 34-7. Off. Going with the Rams.

7:30: Arkansas State @ Auburn (SEC/FSN): The fact I had to think about this for a second says way more about Auburn than Arkansas State. Still going with Auburn though.

8:00:

• Notre Dame @ Michigan (ESPN): Game of the day, but is this really going to be that close? Emotion can only carry you so far. That said, we have precious little data at this point of the season, what with both teams having dispatched their designated patsies last week. So, yeah, basically I’m just guessing here, and my guess is going to be the Irish.
• Hawaii @ Oregon (PAC12): Oregon.

10:30:

• Washington State @ Southern California (FS1): Southern Cal?
• Arizona @ Nevada-Las Vegas (CBSS): Arizona.
• San Jose State @ Stanford (PAC12): Stanford.

Sorry for the abbreviated preview, but that’s what you get when this is written at 37,000 feet somewhere over eastern Nevada. We’ll be back in full next weekend.