Week 3 college football picks: Alabama-Ole Miss, Ohio State-Oklahoma, more
Most college football analysts and fans expected Week 2 to be a letdown after a thrilling Week 1. Instead, it produced a number of thrilling games and unexpected results, including Arkansas' double overtime win at TCU and Central Michigan's controversial upset of Oklahoma State. By contrast, the expectations for Week 3 are sky high thanks to a glut of intriguing matchups between high-profile teams. Ohio State visits Oklahoma in a crucial bout for the Big 12's College Football Playoff hopes. Louisville can shake up the ACC by knocking off Florida State at home. Alabama will look to avoid a third consecutive loss to SEC West foe Ole Miss in a trip to Oxford.
That's a partial list. You'll have something interesting to watch from noon to early Sunday morning. Below a panel of SI.com's college football writers and editors (Andy Staples, Pete Thamel, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton, Joan Niesen, Colin Becht and Gabriel Baumgaertner) makes its picks for every big game.
Roundtable: Who can most afford to lose in Week 3?
| Staples | Thamel | Schnell | Hamilton | Niesen | Becht | Baum- |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houston at Cincinnati | |||||||
Florida State at Louisville | |||||||
Temple at Penn State | |||||||
Miami at App. State | |||||||
Oregon at Nebraska | |||||||
Alabama at Ole Miss | |||||||
Pitt at Oklahoma St. | |||||||
BC at Va. Tech | |||||||
W. Mich. at Illinois | |||||||
Miss. St. at LSU | |||||||
Texas A&M at Auburn | |||||||
Mich. St. at Notre Dame | |||||||
Georgia at Missouri | |||||||
Ohio State at Oklahoma | |||||||
USC at Stanford | |||||||
UCLA at BYU | |||||||
Texas at Cal | |||||||
LAST WEEK | 12-2 | 12-2 | 11-3 | 10-4 | 10-4 | 10-4 | 7-7 |
SEASON | 23-7 | 22-8 | 22-8 | 22-8 | 21-9 | 20-10 | 17-13 |