FAVORITE TEAMS

Here are my takeaways from Week 3:

• Did I not say be careful Big Ten? Did I not say that for the past 2 weeks??? Penn State, Iowa, and Minnesota (again) avoided upsets. Maryland lost to a good Temple team. Illinois lost to Eastern Michigan, Michigan State was upset by Arizona State and Purdue got crushed by TCU. The Big Ten is taking a beating before conference play and Wisconsin and Michigan already have a big matchup this weekend.
• Kansas State, Kansas, and West Virginia made a statement against Power 5 opponents (Mississippi State, Boston College, and NC State). Wake Forest, Virginia, and Air Force came away with big wins.
• The Top 6 teams looked legit, but I’m waiting to see where things go with Georgia and Alabama may have questions on defense. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts is definitely out to prove something this season. Boomer Sooner!!!
• Upsets, upsets, and more upsets. Loving the shift in the Top 25.
• UCF could make a serious run this season, but don’t look too far ahead.
• Teams I’ve yet to be sold on after Week 3: Notre Dame, Georgia, Michigan, Cal, and Florida.

5) TENNESSEE (1-2) AT #9 FLORIDA (3-0) – 9AM PT/ 12PM ET [ESPN]

I’m unsure why I chose this matchup but here are the details. Tennessee may have found their groove last week, may have. But the program’s in a flux and have yet to defeat a Division I opponent this season. Florida’s dealing with more injuries, including losing quarterback Feleipe Franks for the season. I want to see how Kyle Trask looks because he’s not tested in big games yet. Florida’s defense have tackling problems and David Reese has to be the example. Luckily, they haven’t allowed 30 points this season thus far. Tennessee can score points at will, so the Gators better “chomp” at the bit on every play. Tennessee still has talent to compete, but their last win at Gainesville was in 2003 and they’re currently on an 11 road game losing streak too. If any questions about their program needs to be delayed for awhile, this win would do it.

4) #22 WASHINGTON (2-1) AT BYU (2-1) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [ABC/ESPN2]

BYU continues to have work cut out for them. However, they start 2-1 despite losing to their rival, Utah. In BYU’s last two wins, they’ve scored 29 plus points. By defeating an SEC team and a ranked USC, this team’s confident to potentially equal the score after Washington broke their hopes last season as a ranked team. Washington looks new and different, but they still have coach Chris Petersen on the sidelines and the talent to do well. Washington suffered their first loss against California (twice in 2 seasons). I can’t assume that one loss affects them because Cal has a good defense, but they haven’t played anyone good outside of that team. Let’s see how they do on the road against BYU, because no team’s under more pressure than the Huskies.

3) APPALACHIAN STATE (3-0) AT UNC (2-1) – 12:30PM PT/ 3:30PM ET [ACC NETWORK X]

This is the second all-time matchup since 1940. This is also UNC’s fourth straight game in the state of North Carolina. Gotta love that state! Anyway, this is one of App State’s biggest games if they’re prepared for an undefeated run. They have the talent on both sides, but their only competition was against Charlotte. Despite the loss to Wake Forest, the Tarheels still have that Cardiac Heel mindset when playing the second half. Last week, they didn’t allow one touchdown and only three points in the second half. Coach Mack Brown may be ahead of schedule as far as the Tarheels’ progression goes, but I said in my ACC Underrated preview that they have talent despite the 2-win 2018 season. Check it out if you haven’t already. This is potentially the biggest non-Power 5 matchup for the Mountaineers and I advise UNC not to overlook them. If App State wins, they may have South Carolina as their only biggest matchup to go undefeated this season.

2) AIR FORCE (2-0) AT #20 BOISE STATE (3-0) – 6PM PT/ 9PM ET [ESPN2] (FRIDAY)

This matchup doesn’t sound all that exciting for some, but if you paid attention to Air Force and you’re a Boise fan, tread lightly. Air Force has competed in every game last season even with a losing record and now they look better and ready for another challenge. Boise State’s quarterback Hank Bachmeier has a bright future. If he’s anything close to Kellen Moore, watch out people. Boise has a challenge on their hands that most people don’t know. Air Force won three straight against Boise in the past. Boise is currently on a two-game winning streak, but last year, they won by only 10 points. Even they host Air Force, is their defense prepared for Air Force’s triple option attack? Air Force already upset Colorado that upsetted ranked Nebraska the previous week before. An upset against ranked Boise State would be the talk of the weekend and they could be a threat to the Mountain West.

1) #10 UTAH (3-0 OVERALL; 0-0 PAC-12) AT USC (2-1 OVERALL; 1-0 PAC-12) – 6PM PT/ 9PM ET [FOX SPORTS 1] (FRIDAY)

This is one of Utah’s biggest games of the season and their schedule’s beefing up for a long one too, but let’s focus on this matchup. They haven’t been tested since playing BYU, but their defense is nasty. Their defense allowed nearly 10 points per game in three games and their opposers haven’t reached 20 points yet. USC looked good in three games, but they lost to BYU on the road. They play another Utah-based team…Utah, and USC’s offense has a lot on their plate for that team. I mentioned Utah’s defensive stats, but USC’s offense averaged 34.3 points per game including their 45-point win over Stanford. I heard good things about backup turned starting quarterback Kedon Slovis, but let’s hope he can expand his touchdowns over his interceptions to give this team a chance to win. Here’s a couple of tidbits to know. Utah hasn’t won in Los Angeles since 1916. In the last six games of this matchup, all were home wins. So the advantage aims slightly towards USC despite Utah being the favored by a field goal.