Friday Tailgate: Week 3 games that most impact the Playoff
The weekend is upon us, college football fans. The 2015 campaign has not yet reached the quarter pole, and we can’t really say the Playoff picture has even taken shape to this point. As always, we’ll know a bit more after some upcoming results. Here are the five most important games in Week 3.
1. No. 11 Mississippi at No. 2 Alabama, 9:15 p.m. ET, ESPN. These are now the two highest-ranked teams in the crowded SEC West as far as the polls are concerned. The winner, therefore, gets an early leg up on the rest of the field. The campaign won’t be over by any means for the loser, however, with the remaining schedule offering plenty of opportunities. The Crimson Tide offense hasn’t exactly been flashy, but RBs Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake are both averaging over seven yards per rushing attempt. The battle at the line of scrimmage between their blockers and the Rebels’ defensive front will be key. Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly has been quite efficient thus far, but the Alabama defense figures to be a tougher nut to crack.
2. No. 15 Auburn at No. 14 LSU, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. Auburn’s narrowly-averted disaster against Jacksonville State did not doom the Tigers’ playoff hopes, nor does it prove unequivocally that their preseason expectations were misplaced. It is equally true, however, that they have to play better as the season progresses, and that has to start immediately against the Bayou Bengals. QB Jeremy Johnson has borne the brunt of the criticism, but Auburn’s ground defense was leaky as well. That might be the worst news as the unit prepares to face LSU’s Leonard Fournette. Though LSU is already in the win column in the SEC standings, coach Les Miles would like to see his charges finish with more authority.
3. No. 16 Georgia Tech at No. 10 Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC. Without the benefit of a conference championship to pursue, the last of the FBS independents will almost certainly have to present a spotless resume to the committee at season’s end if they hope to be among the final foursome. Two such programs find themselves in eerily similar circumstances in Week 3, facing major hurdles without their opening-day starters at quarterback. The Fighting Irish, who had already lost TB Tarean Folston, must now count on signal caller DeShone Kizer to keep things moving in place of Malik Zaire. It helps having WR William Fuller in his formation. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, have their own goals to chase. QB Justin Thomas is an option veteran, but he must know the whereabouts of Notre Dame LB Jaylon Smith at all times.
4. No. 22 Brigham Young at No. 12 UCLA, 10:30 p.m. ET, FS1. The Cougars’ Tanner Mangum, no ordinary freshman to be sure, has etched his name in BYU lore in two short weeks. A win against the Bruins in the Rose Bowl would elevate the hype to a level not seen in Provo since Ty Detmer was winning the Heisman Trophy. OF course, the Bruins have a top-notch rookie passer of their own in Josh Rosen, as well as superb TB Paul Perkins. Even so, UCLA would be advised to maintain a lead of more than a touchdown in the closing moments.
5. Stanford at No. 7 Southern California, 8 p.m. ET, ABC. There’s a two-fold silver lining to the Cardinal’s loss at Northwestern — it occurred in Week One, and it didn’t count in the Pac-12 standings. But a loss at the Coliseum would all but eliminate them from the conversation, and they don’t appear to have the personnel in place to pull off an Ohio State-like renaissance. The numbers have been solid for the Stanford pass defense, holding its first two opponents to a sub-50% completion rate. The Trojans’ aerial attack, however, will be a different animal with Cody Kessler choosing from speedy targets like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Isaac Whitney.
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