Week 3's slate appears a little lighter but there are several intriguing inter-conference matchups and two AP Top 25 games on the third full weekend of the young college football season. Penn State making the return trip to the Plains for a tilt with Auburn and Miami rolling into College Station for SEC/ACC bout are the biggest highlights of the week. Of course, a banged-up Gamecock defense has no time to rest as the nation's #1 ranked team and defending National Champions visit Williams-Brice this weekend.
Note: We lock the lines in on Sunday night so they will likely be different on the publishing date.
Stay with us throughout the weekend for the best Gamecock Sports coverage on the web. We will have plenty on this game throughout the week leading right up to kickoff.
The Hilltoppers have been one of the least impressive 2-0 teams in the country. They struggled in Week 0 to get past FCS Austin Peay and then allowed a truly terrible Hawaii team to stick around way longer than they should. Former South Carolina offensive lineman Vincent Murphy is WKU's starting right guard. Considering the light schedule, the Hilltoppers' stats on both sides of the ball are underwhelming. This is likely the last time a WKU game is going to show up on in this column.
Gamecock Scoop's resident film room analyst, Perry McCarty, is not high on the Hoosiers, in fact, you'll see below he has the Hilltoppers bringing home a win from Bloomington this weekend. Indiana is one of the least impressive 2-0 Power Five schools. Gamecock fans will also recognize the man under center for the Hoosiers. Connor Bazelak was the starting QB for Missouri last year when they defeated Carolina. Bazelak is completing only 55% of his passes and has two interceptions to only three touchdowns. Senior linebacker Cam Jones was a tackling machine in Indiana's Week 1 win over Illinois. Jones had 12 total stops and a sack.
Autzen Stadium has a reputation for being one of the loudest stadiums in the country, unless you ask Mike Leach. Oregon had a week to lick their wounds and rough-up FCS foe Eastern Washington, Cooper Kupp must have sat that one out. As we sit here in Week 3, it is safe to say that Oregon is not an elite team, see the Georgia game, but that they aren't a bad team either. The same can be said about their enigmatic starting QB Bo Nix. We will know more about Dan Lanning's club after a visit from the 2-0 Cougars. Oregon put up 604 yards of offense and 70 points last week.
BYU is fresh off a win over the defending Big12 champion Baylor Bears. This week they'll take their shot at the defending PAC12 North champion. No one can accuse BYU of ducking (pun intended) competition. The Cougars opened their season 2,300 miles away from Provo in Tampa, crushing USF and then beating Baylor. The Cougs also play Notre Dame, Arkansas, Boise State, Liberty, and Stanford in 2022.
If you are looking to bet this one, wait until you get the status of BYU receivers Gunner Romney and Puka Nacua, the Cougars' best deep-ball threats. This should be one of the better games of the day. The Ducks have won 20 straight in Eugene and BYU is 5-1 in its last six road games.
Perhaps no one has more riding on a single game this week than Bryan Harsin. The seat is always warm at Auburn, especially with Nick Saban at Alabama, but Harsin's seat is coated in spices from Paqui's #OneChipChallenge. (One of our staff members found out how hot the one chip was last weekend in Fayetteville). The Tigers trailed San Jose State last weekend at halftime in Jordan-Hare. Had Auburn lost that game, Harsin might have joined Scott Frost skydiving with their golden parachutes. The Tiger offense is led by former LSU signal-caller, T.J. Finley. He's the same guy you remember, not the one that lit up Will Muschamp's Gamecock defense in 2020, but the one you remember from every other game in his career. He's thrown three picks and one touchdown this season. Auburn was able to run for 210 yards last week with three touchdowns. Auburn always has good running backs and this year is no exception with Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter.
Statistically, there is a lot to like about Penn State. This offense is balanced with 6th-year quarterback, (not a typo), Sean Clifford, and backup Nick Singleton. Singleton went for 179 yards off just ten touches last week against Ohio. Western Kentucky transfer receiver Mitchell Tinsley has ten catches and two touchdowns. The Nittany Lion defense has allowed under 50% completions on the season.
Eventually, someone is going to overlook Liberty's Hugh Freeze's checkered past and give him another Power 5 opportunity. Freeze is 28-11 in his fourth year at Liberty. The Flames have won three bowls and had a top 20 finish in 2020. Under Freeze, Liberty has wins over Virginia Tech and Syracuse and pushed Ole Miss and NC State in road defeats. Flames signal-caller Kaidon Salter is a true dual threat who's led Liberty in rushing in both of their one-score victories, totaling 144 yards on the ground thus far. Liberty's defense has allowed 252 and 241 rushing yards in its two wins.
Dave Clawson is one of the most underrated coaches in the country. Future NFL quarterback Sam Hartman showed no signs of any lingering injury against Vandy, throwing 300 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Demon Deacons host Clemson next Saturday, and they could get caught in a classic look-ahead situation this week.
Year 3 of Mike Leach in Starkville. Mississippi State is averaging 44 points per game in wins over Memphis and at Arizona. Leach announced his presence in the SEC in 2020 when Bulldogs won his debut in Tiger Stadium against defending National Champion LSU. Two years later and Leach is 13-13 overall and 7-11 in the SEC. This is likely his best team yet in Starkville. Junior quarterback Will Rodgers has improved each season under Leach and historically Leach's signal-callers have career seasons in year 3. Rodgers is 77-98 passing with nine touchdowns and two interceptions.
LSU is two games into the Brian Kelly era. Kelly tabbed Arizona State transfer, Jayden Daniels, as his starter prior to the Florida State game. Daniels has adjusted nicely to Kelly's system throwing 5 touchdowns to no interceptions in his first two games. Former Gamecock Kolbe Fields saw his first action last week for the Tigers in their blowout win over Southern. Fields is not on the LSU two-deep but will likely be a factor in Baton Rouge in the coming years.
Red Raider Head Coach Joey McGuire is looking to become only the fourth head coach in Texas Tech program history to go 3-0 to start his career, joining the likes of Dell Morgan (1941), Mike Leach (2000) and Kliff Kingsbury (2013). The Red Raiders didn't miss a beat with backup quarterback Donovan Smith taking over for the injured Tyler Shough. Smith threw for 351 yards but he also was intercepted three times in the Red Raiders' upset of Top 25 Houston. He'll need to protect the football better against an NC State program that has won 11 in a row on their home field. Texas Tech is led on defense by corner Marquis "Muddy" Waters, his real nickname. Waters has 41 career starts and is coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season. Waters is familiar with the Wolfpack having played four seasons at Duke.
The Wolfpack easily handled Charleston Southern after surviving a trip to Greenville, North Carolina, in week 1. ECU missed a field goal that would have given the Pirates an upset win over their in-state rivals. If State can get by Texas Tech, they should be undefeated when they travel to Clemson on October 1.
This is one of those lines that is a head-scratcher. Michigan State is ranked 11th and they are the underdog to an unranked Washington team. (Side note: the AP Poll is almost totally useless at this point. Vegas should be in charge of ranking the Top 25 as they are far better at evaluating teams). Former Indiana Hoosier starting quarterback Michael Penix, Jr. is off to a fast start for Huskies, albeit against a soft schedule to open the season. Husky Stadium can be a sneaky tough place to play. It is also a spot where every college football fan should catch a game as it is one of the most picturesque spots in the country.
Mel Tucker's Michigan State Spartans bring a swarming defense to Seattle. The Spartans already have 12 sacks this season. As with most Power 5 teams at this point in the season, Sparty has yet to play anyone of note. Spartan senior linebacker Jacoby Widemon has been a one-man wrecking crew. In just two games he has 5.5 sacks and has forced four fumbles. Last season he had 118 total tackles.
While this game doesn't have any significance for Carolina, it could be one of the two or three most interesting games to keep an eye on this weekend.
After the stunt that Mike Locksley and company pulled in the recruitment of Jaishawn Barham, Gamecocks fans should wish the same fate upon the Terrapins that they do Clemson and Georgia. I'd almost go as far as to say that I might actually pull for Clemson over Maryland as long as Locksley is the head coach, almost. For those wondering, Barham has started for Maryland at middle linebacker and has four tackles this season. Maryland is 2-0 with wins over Charlotte and Buffalo. SMU will be a significant step-up in competition. The Terrapins begin their annual BIG 10 debacle next week at Michigan.
It's also tough to gauge SMU as the Mustangs have also easily defeated North Texas and Lamar. Former Auburn and Miami assistant, Rhett Lashlee is in his first season as the Mustangs' head coach. Lashlee has long been seen as an up-and-coming offensive coach. If he guides SMU to success in the AAC, he could get a call for a Power 5 job as Chad Morris and Sonny Dykes did before him. GO MUSTANGS!
These two schools have met three times with Miami winning the last two in 2007 and 2008. This was pegged as the marquee game of the week until Appalachian State happened. Generally, when a head coach makes more millions of dollars than he has wins, he loses his job. Jimbo Fisher makes 9 million dollars annually. Fisher is 35-15 in this his fifth season in Aggieland. With games against Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Alabama coming up, this is a must win for A&M to salvage their season.
One has to think that the LSU transfer quarterback Max Johnson, son of former NFL QB Brad Johnson, should get a look this week after starter Hayes King's 13-20 for 97 yards performance against App State. To King's defense, it's hard to fill the stat sheet when your opponent holds the football for 41:30 minutes. Fisher, the offensive specialist, is currently directing the 103rd most prolific attack in FBS football.
The 13th-ranked Hurricanes have yet to face a true test. They've blown-out Bethune-Cookman and Southern Miss. The turnover chain is out, and Head Coach Mario Cristobal is in from Oregon. Cristobal has some momentum going as Miami is currently ranked 12th in the Rivals Team Recruiting Rankings. The Hurricanes are led offensively by quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and running back Henry Parrish Jr. Time will tell if "The U" is truly back, but the Miami teams of the 80s and early 2000s would not take kindly to being the underdog in a game like this one.
As good as the Trojans' offense has been with Caleb Williams under center, the defense is not far behind. Southern Cal has come away with eight turnovers in two games, including three pick-sixes in the opener against Rice. If you recall this offseason, Jordan Addison essentially announced himself as a free agent entering the transfer portal from Pitt and creating a bidding war for his services. Addison currently leads the PAC12 in receiving at 113 yards per game. The aforementioned Williams is hitting on 79.6% of his passes. Fresno State could hardly slow down Oregon State in a week 2 35-32 loss, Lincoln Riley's guys should have no problem marching up and down the LA Coliseum field.
Fresno State is coached by former Cal coach Jeff Tedford. Under Tedford's tutelage, Jake Haener has completed 75% of his passes and has thrown for 737 yards in just two games. There is a reason the total is 73.5 for this one. Look for these two talented passers to light up the Los Angeles night.
Miami +5.5 @ Texas A&M