It's Gonna Be A Great Saturday! (Week 3 College Football Preview)
Tyler Tate. Shutterstock Images.We got a GREAT slate of college football games on our hands for Week 3!
Clemson/Georgia Tech, Georgia/Tennessee, Texas A&M/Notre Dame and Florida/LSU are all headliners with a solid undercard led by USF/Miami.
Let's do a little dive and make some picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook shall we?!?!?
Georgia Tech (+3) vs. Clemson (Sat 11am)
HUGE ACC early season matchup here!
This line has moved down from 6.5 all the way to 3.
Clemson fell 17-10 to LSU at home Week 1 in a hyped showdown then responded with a lackluster 27-16 win over Troy after trailing at half. Pre-season Heisman candidate QB Cade Klubnik and the offense have struggled to get untracked but the Tigers do have a solid defense.
Georgia Tech is led by tough as nails dual threat QB Haynes King and a pretty good defense. Coach Brent Keys has done a HELLUVA job resurrecting the Yellow Jackets from the ashes. Georgia Tech has won several games as an underdog recently too.
A win here makes them an instant threat in the ACC Title race and I believe they pull it off again!
Clemson looks to be in a rut…..
Georgia Tech 27 Clemson 21
Tennessee (+4) vs. Georgia (Saturday 2:30pm)
Can the Vols FINALLY take down big bad Georgia?!?!?! Georgia has OWNED this series for years but this one could be the year….
Georgia still has their usual physical stout defense but there are lots of questions on offense.
The jury is still out on QB Gunner Stockton. OC Mike Bobo is under FIRE and this WR corps led the nations in drops last year. And oh yeah the offensive line also struggled in pass protection……
Georgia beat the sisters of the poor the first two week and this is their first real test on the road in a ROWDY Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee actually caught a huge break this offseason dodging paying a mediocre QB in Nico millions of dollars. App State Transfer QB Joey Aguilar looks to be an upgrade and the Vols threw up 45 on Syracuse in Week 1.
Both of the Vols starting CBs are out but can Gunner Stockton make them pay? I have my doubts……
The VOLS pull the upset as home dog.
Tennessee 23 Georgia 20
South Florida (+17.5) at Miami (Sat 2:30pm)
The USF Bulls are America's Darlings off a huge in state upset of Florida in the Swamp & thrashing Boise State in first 2 weeks. Can they do it again?
Alex Golash's squad has a stud dual threat QB in Byrum Brown who gives them a chance every week and the defense played great in Gainesville.
Georgia transfer QB Carson Beck justified the 4 million $$$ price tag in the week 1 win over Notre Dame! The U looked damn good until they took their foot off gas in 2nd half. The Canes also have edges with homefield and are coming off basically a bye week against Bethune Cookman.
The pubic is all over South Florida but the 3rd week in row is just too much for the Bulls. Miami pulls away in 2nd half as USF is out of gas…..
Miami 34 USF 14
Ole Miss (-6.5) vs, Arkansas (Sat 6pm)
Lots to unpack here starting with Ole Miss QB Austin Simmons sprained ankle from 4th quarter at Kentucky. How much will the injury impact his mobility & confidence? There is no denying the arm talent but 4 INTs in 2 games are concerning.
The Rebels do have the cure for these issues in breakout RB Kewan Lacy who leads the SEC in rushing. Expect him to be fed A TON against a depleted Arkansas defensive front.
Arkansas has a dangerous QB in Taylon Green and OC Bobby Petrino knows how to dial up some play calls. But can the defense do their part?
Despite the 2024 Ole Miss thrashing, games are usually real sticky in this series. The Rebs pull it out behind a monster game from Lacy…..
Ole Miss 34 Arkansas 27
Texas A&M (+6.5) at Notre Dame (Sat 6:30)
I am making my 1st trip to a Notre Dame game for this one! Pretty excited I must say…..
Aggies speedy QB Marcel Reed is dealing with a left shoulder injury but did practice all week. How will it hold up?
He has plenty of weapns in RB Leveon Moss and a deep WR crew led by stud NC State transfer KC Concepcion. Lots of speed on this squad but has Reed improved his passing enough?
A&M also three early NFL Draft picks off their front 7 on defense. They have had some issues stopping the run and that could be a BIG problem against the combo of Love & Price for the Irish.
Notre Dame is also off a bye week and at home in an early season must win for playoff chances after falling at Miami week 1. Young QB CJ Carr rallied the Irish late to have a shot but they MUST run the ball more in this one.
Notre Dame tends to play lots of close games under Marcus Freeeman and this will be no different. The Irish get it done but barely…..
Notre Dame 27 Texas A&M 24
LSU (-7) vs. Florida (Sat 6:30pm)
Throw out the record books anytime this two meet in what is one of the wilder series in college football year to year. Literally anything could happen.
Florida Coach Billy Napier is under a ton of heat off the USF loss. He also was passed over by LSU for Brian Kelly 4 years ago for the job.
The Gators offense STRUGGLED badly only scoring 16 points last week. Questions abound about the health of QB DJ Lagway after offseason hamstring & shoulder surgeries. The defense ain't the problem at least…..
LSU is 2-0 but the talented offense has not gotten untracked yet. The Tigers were a mess against Louisiana Tech only scoring 23 points. Can Nuss & the lightning quick WRs finally get in sync Saturday?
LSU is also dealing with injuries on offensive line and will be without rising star TE Treydez Green.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers have to be extremely encouraged after spending big NIL $$$$ to fix the unit. They shut Clemson out in the 2nd half and have only allowed 17 points in two games.
This game is going to be a war as it always is but LSU gets it done.
LSU 27 Florida 20
South Carolina (-3) vs. Vandy
Everyone and their mother is on Vandy this week after routing Virginia Tech 44-20 on the road. The line has gone down from -5.5 to -3.
QB Diego Pavia does not lack for confidence either….
Both teams have beaten Virginia Tech in 1st 2 weeks as a common opponent and the Dores looked much better in doing so.
South Carolina has one of the top QBs in country in LaNorris Sellers. This dude is harder to get on the ground than any QB I have seen in years!
The Gamecocks also have two other large advantages in the best pass rusher in the nation (Dylan Stewart) & a raucous home crowd on Saturday night. They also murdered Vandy in Nashville last October.
This is one of those spots where too many pubic fans are on Vandy and I am going the other way behind the Gameocks home crowd.
South Carolina 24 Vandy 17
Duke (+1.5) at Tulane (Sat 7pm)
Gotta give some well deserved love to this one in NOLA with the storyline of Duke QB Darian Mensah making his return to Tulane after a strong freshman year down there.
Tulane Coach Jon Sumrall and the Green Wave had this game starred all offseason after Mensah took the $$$ and ran to Duke. And I can't say that I blame him!
Duke got rolled by Illinois at home last week but Mensah looks pretty good.
On the Tulane front, the defense is stout on the defensive line and the offense caught a gift from the Gods when Tulane landed BYU QB Jake Retzlaff before fall camp.
The Wave have serious playoff aspirations in 2025 and exact revenge on their former starting QB in NOLA on Saturday Night!
Tulane 31 Duke 20
As always, do not forget to take advantage of DraftKings Sportsbook promotions on Saturday from parlay boosts to games of the week boosts.
New players can sign up then bet $5 to get $200 in Bonus Bets & over $200 off NFL Sunday Ticket too!