At Sierra, discover great deals on top brand workout gear, like high quality bikes, which might lead to another discovery. Oh, getting back in the saddle isn't always comfortable. Good news is, Sierra has massage guns and shave wipes, too. Discover top brands at unexpectedly low prices. Sierra, let's get moving. We all know it's a big week, and this is something that was told to me, I think, the day after I took the job, not that I was looking at that in particular as the whole thing happened, but over a year and a half ago, this was something that was brought up. Hello, and welcome. It's always College Football. I'm your host Greg McElroy, and today is a Thursday edition of ACF. It's September 12th, and we hope that you're enjoying the show, wherever it is you're getting the show. Whether it's on the podcast platform, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, you name it, you got it. ESPN's College Football YouTube channel, hit that thumbs up button, like, rate, subscribe, all that wonderful stuff. As you guys know, this is our bread and butter. Thursdays are our favorite day of the week. We like to preview the games. Nobody dives as deep. Nobody gives you as many different talking points. Like, I listened to some podcasts and like, well, this quarterback's playing this quarterback, and let's just see who plays better, and I'm going to take the favorite. Like, that's the breakdown that you get in other places. We like to dive a couple layers deeper. I think those are great. I like those previews as well. I listened to many of those previews, to be honest with you, because I tend to get in the weeds a little bit, and those help bring me back up to the surface. So, we will dive in today. A lot of games to look forward to this weekend. Usually, we do like our five big game previews. We have a few more this weekend, so we're not going to dive quite as deep, and then we give you a lot of things to look for on some of the matchups that we also find very intriguing. So, let's not put it off. Let's dive in some of the biggest games of the weekend here in Week #3 of College Football. Let's kick things off in a Big Ten SEC showdown from Madison, Wisconsin. It's the Alabama Crimson Tide, traveling to Wisconsin. It's going to be noon Eastern time on Fox. Alabama is north of a two touchdown favorite. At the moment, they are 15 and 1 in road opening game since 2008. So, questions of this matchup. Number one, Ken, Wisconsin, take advantage of a young secondary. And if you look really since Luke Fickle took over and Phil Longo, his offensive coordinator, took over, at Wisconsin, it's been a little bit of a work in progress. It has not been some dynamic dynamo with the amount of points scored. They averaged 24 points a game last year, actually 23 and a half, but I was rounding up. And the passing yardage really hasn't been what we've kind of come to expect. They've averaged since the beginning of the Fickle era, about six yards an attempt in the passing game, but they have been able to run the ball with some consistency, which is what Wisconsin's always done. Here's what they got to do though against Alabama. If you watched last weekend, Alabama against USF, there were a couple opportunities early in the game in which USF had receivers that were open and the throws were missed. Wisconsin might be able to take advantage of some guys that are still playing early in their careers, several freshmen, the factor into the rotation. Wisconsin has not been a group that has manufactured a ton of big plays this year. They had just three big plays created in their week one win. One of those big plays, by the way, was just 13 yards. So it's not like they've been, you know, those big plays are 50 yarders, all right? Clearly, they made it a priority in week two and they finished with seven big plays, four of which came through the air and of those seven, six of those seven went for 20 or more yards. I mean, they attempted two Flee Flickers in the game. So clearly creating big plays has been a huge priority from week one to week two. Will it carry over here into week three against the Alabama Crimson Tide? Question number two, can Wisconsin create some negative plays and stop the run? Last week, coming off tough performance against Western Michigan, where they had just one TFL, Wisconsin's front seven, started to figure things out a little bit in week two. They had already in the first quarter surpassed the amount of negative plays created and they would finish the night with six tackles for loss and three sacks. But, you know, it wasn't great performance considering how much Wisconsin actually gave up on the ground. South Dakota was the opponent last week and they gashed them 139 yards, 22 carries. This is between both running backs and wide receivers. They had some runs that I thought were pretty considerable too. They had five runs that went for 13 or more yards, including that 35 yard touchdown on the end around to open up the second half and made the game somewhat competitive there at the beginning of the second half. Now, if you look at Alabama, the offensive line struggled against South Florida. Part of that was due to injuries and just, I guess for lack of a better word, incompetence. They pressured Jalen Milro 11 times. They got pressure on 38% of his dropbacks and the recorded sacks of 18, 10 and negative eight yards. So, USF got after Alabama and I think Bama staying on schedule will be of the utmost importance, but can Wisconsin do it because they have not been the group that has done so consistently in the first two weeks of the season? Question number three, can Alabama eliminate the critical errors and mistakes? There were way too many penalties against South Florida. Too many turnovers, just mistakes, just kind of all over the field. Yeah, fumble snap. I mean, it's just Alabama was flagged for 120 yards of penalties, 13 different flags were thrown. Two of Alabama's touchdowns were actually wiped out, including a 73 yard run by Milro. So, can Alabama be just a little bit more disciplined? This was an issue last year when they went on the road and it's kind of been a little bit troubling to see that carry over into the new regime. Maybe they'll be able to fix things, maybe that was just a bad performance and things will be cleaned up quite a bit here in week number three. Question number four, can Alabama be a little more efficient and a little less explosive? Last week, awesome play in the final six, seven minutes of the game. All right, not going to take anything away from the touchdown pass to Ryan Williams or Jim Miller's long touchdown run or Justice Haynes touchdown run to kind of cap things off. But if you look at how things are going right now for Alabama, they look a little bit like the group that they looked like last October, where it's almost all about the big play. Yes, they're averaging 11 yards per attempt through the year. But they are 50th nationally in the amount of first downs created. You know what that's telling me? They're pushing the ball downfield, they're manufacturing big plays, but they don't have consistent steady and efficient drives. I think it's time for them to be more efficient. And in order to do that, they got to be better along the front, along the offensive line. Hopefully, things will settle down. I mean, Tyler Booker, they're all SEC. All American guard was out of tackle. Caden Proctor's been out with shoulder injury. You got a reserve guard in there in Geno Vanda Mark. So you got Elijah Pritchett, who's been banged up. He's probably going to be the left tackle moving forward. So there have been challenges to overcome. Sometimes I feel like Alabama gets, and Jalen Milro and the offense in general, gets very focused on manufacturing big plays. And they focus a little less on taking the four, five, six, seven yard completion, or the four, five, six, seven yard run. I think efficiency is the key moving forward. And hopefully they can begin to manufacture that against Wisconsin. A couple of trends in the game. Alabama was four and one against the spread in the last five games against big 10 teams. Wisconsin, however, five and O against the spread in their last five games as a double digit underdog. And the under is seven and two in Wisconsin home games since the start of last season. I'm taking Alabama, I'm taking them comfortably. As of this moment, Alabama's vision based defense, I think could give Fitz to Tyler Van Dyke, a guy that has thrown interceptions in the past. And I think he might throw one or two this weekend. But if he plays great, it could be interesting. And if Bama continues to make big mistakes on the road, could be interesting there as well. But I think Bama wins comfortably in Madison, Wisconsin. Moving on to another game in the noon window. This one's noon Eastern time on ABC is the LSU Tigers. Traveling to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the resurgent South Carolina gamecocks. LSU around a touchdown favorite at the moment. Question number one, great O line versus great D line who wins. These are two of the best units in the Southeastern Conference. You could even make a case nationally. These are two of the best units that you'll find. The defensive line of South Carolina, the offensive line of LSU. Let's start on the defensive line. Kyle Canard, the transfer from Georgia Tech and the five star freshmen, Dylan Stewart, have combined for six sacks and seven stops behind the line of scrimmage. They have been terrorizing offensive line so far. Couple of sack fumbles against Old Dominion that led to them winning the game. A bunch of pressure on the Kentucky quarterbacks, both of them throughout the game last week. On the other side, LSU has perhaps the best offensive line in the country. Office attack of Will Campbell has given up just two sacks in his career and neither were him getting beat. His basically effort plays in scramble drill situations. On the right side of the offensive line, Emery Jones is also likely going to be another first rounder. Six foot six, 315, very athletic. The interior is really good as well. So a great offensive line against a great D line who wins. That's question number one. Question number two, can LSU put pressure on Lenora Sellers? This offensive line for South Carolina has given up the second most negative plays nationally through two games. Look at Lenora Sellers, first game against ODU. You could tell there were some jitters. You could tell he was a little bit anxious, a little nervous. He settled down with a pair of touchdown passes when he went on the road to Lexington. I thought he did a pretty good job. Now getting back to what LSU did a couple of weeks ago against USC, I think there's things to be applied from that plan to this plan. Did not think they played well whatsoever against Nichols on defense, but I do think there's more in the tank for Blake Baker's havoc style defense. Can they frustrate? Can they shorten the amount of time that Lenora Sellers has to survey the field down field? So can they put pressure on Lenora Sellers and make him uncomfortable? Like ODU was able to do a couple of weeks ago. Question number three, can LSU's offense avoid the big mistake while staying aggressive? We know how good this wide receiver core is. Kyron Lacey is off the charts good. He's a number one go-to wide receiver. This will be the best collection of wide receivers that South Carolina's defense has seen so far, but this has been a defense that has been outrageously opportunistic through two weeks. Gamecocks have picked off four passes, four six fumbles, and like I said earlier, I know that they have six sacks between their two defense events, but they have 10 sacks overall that is currently leading the SEC. They also have a star in the making in Vikari Swain, who is I think going to be excellent there at corner. So him matched up against Kyron Lacey will be something that a lot of people will be monitoring. And Garrett Nussmeyer, look, it's been pretty obvious. This is a guy with a ton of potential, a ton of talent, but he is not afraid to throw it into traffic. Be careful when throwing it into traffic against a really good and experienced secondary for South Carolina. Question number four, who has the advantage running the football? If you look at LSU right now, they managed a 64 yards rushing against Nichols and haven't really figured out how they're going to divvy up the carries between Caleb Jackson, Josh Williams, and Caden Durham. John Emery, remember, was lost for a season then knee injury on Tuesday of last week in practice. And right now, the only team in the SEC, LSU, without a rushing touchdown. Now, the gamecocks on the other side, they haven't been very good run on the football either. Considering how often they anticipate running the football this year, their lack of productivity is somewhat alarming. They've ravaged just 4.2 yards of play. That's 124th in the FPS. Only 38% of their plays, excuse me, 38% of their plays have gone for zero or negative yards. So a lot of plays that are being made behind the line of scrimmage and league low right now, 2.9 yards per carry, despite rocket sanders leading the SEC in carries among running backs right now. So a couple of trends in the game. South Carolina has one and four against a spread in the last five against ranked opponents. And the under is 7-1 in South Carolina's last eight games. I think right now, we're getting LSU on sale as far as the court of public opinion. People are looking at them, they're remembering the USC game. I look at the USC game and I thought to myself, man, there was a lot of opportunities that they had to close that thing out and they didn't. Meanwhile, on the other side, everybody's feeling great about what they've seen from South Carolina's defense in the first couple of weeks. But I do think there are still a lot of things that they got to figure out offensively. Right now, LSU has more firepower. And I think they will eliminate the mistakes that other teams have made against South Carolina this weekend. I'm taking the Tigers to go on the road and get it done. Texas A&M is on the road at Florida. This is 330 Eastern time on ABC. Question number one, who will start at quarterback for Florida? We all know who Graham Mertz is. We all know what Graham Mertz has accomplished. We've seen him play a lot of football. We also now were introduced to DJ Lagway and he had an amazingly efficient game last week, 456 yards passing. That's breaking the school freshman record by nearly 200 yards. He had nine completions that went for 20 plus. That's the most by a Gators quarterback in the game over the last 20 years. Clearly, he's very capable throwing it down field. On throws that traveled way down field, 20 plus yards. He was four of six and that is the best completion percentage by Florida quarterback on throws down field since Emery Jones back in 2021. So we look at kind of where things are. I look at where this program's at and while everybody wants DJ at Lagway. Everybody wants him. He's got great potential. He's a five star, might be a program savior down the road. I know what I got with Graham Mertz. I would go with Graham Mertz in the game like this, especially knowing the defense that he's going to be going against. Because when I saw DJ Lagway play against Miami, it was not overly impressive. I think he's got a crazy high ceiling, but right now, Graham Mertz has helped me win big games against great competition in the past. Remember Graham Mertz led us last year to a win against Tennessee. I'm going to ride Graham Mertz at this moment, but the leash will be a little bit shorter in the event in which he's not seeing the field very well. Question number two, is Texas A&M's offensive explosion last week sustainable? Texas A&M, they played great last week. I know it was McNeese, but you got to start somewhere. They scored points on their first eight offensive possessions. That's the longest streak in regulation since 2011. They did not punt in a game for just the second time in the last 10 years. Remember they punted four times against Notre Dame in week one. And it was the first time a Mike Elko led team went over 50 points. Part of the reason why they were good last week is they were great on first down. They were really efficient throwing the ball and running the ball on first down and kept them out of third and unmanageable situations. On first down, they were 10 of 13 throwing the football. They averaged 10 area yards per attempt. So the throws weren't exactly like right, you know, dinking dunk behind the line of scrimmage stuff either. Then on the ground, they were particularly good outside the tackles. They ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns on carries outside the tackles. They did it just 10 times by the way. So that's a pretty good clip, nearly 12 yards per carry. So you look at everything, even if you subtract the 65 yard touchdown run by Bussy, and I'm average six yards per carry and 3.7 yards before contact per carry. So there's a lot to like about what we've seen. And I think that offensive explosion on first down allowed for them to be much more manageable avoiding third and longs. They faced a bunch of third and longs against Notre Dame, a bunch, seven of them to be exact. Third and long is usually constituted as third and seven or more. The Aggies are 0 and 8 in those third and seven plus situations, okay? So they're going to have to continue to be really efficient on third down. If this offense is going to go where it needs to go. Question number three, can Texas A&M be better against the run? They've struggled against the run in each of their first two games. They're about allowed an average of 189 yards per game on the ground this year. That is 110th right now in the country. In the season opener, Notre Dame, they ran for nearly 200 yards. Couple of touchdowns that ended up ultimately being the difference. Thought, hey, you know, it's Notre Dame. I'm not going to freak out. Notre Dame's going to be a good team run on the football. And then I watched Notre Dame against NIU. And I thought, okay, maybe I should revisit and watch Texas A&M's defense again. I find out that the knees runs for 180. And now they have a group that they're playing against this week that has a dual threat quarterback, whether it's lag weight or merge. They can keep you honest with your legs. Question number four, can the Aggies get it down the road? Weird, right? Texas A&M is looking for its first road win since October of 2021. They are currently on a 10 game road losing streak. That's the second longest active streak in the FBS. Now, they've had some close calls. Six of those 10 losses have come by one score or less. But still, they've also had a fourth quarter lead in each of their last two road games last year, but couldn't hold on as the game went forward. So can they win on the road? It's been a problem spot for the Aggies here in the last couple years. Looking at a couple trends in the game, I look at Florida and I know a lot of people are going to kind of focus on where they're at, where their program is. I think Florida is in a really good spot. I think they bounce back. I'm taking the Florida Gators in this one. Don't feel great about it. That's for sure. Aggies have better personnel. But I think the inability or the inconsistency that I've seen from the defensive front against the run is ultimately going to be their undoing. I think Florida will run the football. I think they'll continue to pound it as much as they can, take the pressure off the passing game. And ultimately, they get the win there in a gotta-have-it situation for Billy Napier. Memphis at Florida State. This game is noon Eastern time. It's a big one here, not just for Memphis, but it's a gotta-have-it for Florida State. As well, they are looking to avoid their second 0-3 start in the last four years. Question number one, can Florida State stop the run? The reason why this is kind of a key matchup, because Florida State's run defense has been painfully bad. They've given up 453 yards on 88 carries. That's about 5.1 yards a carry and about 227 yards a game. If Florida State wants to beat folks, they gotta be able to control the line of scrimmage. Especially in the run game. But while Memphis is not really a group that scares you to death, with how they run the football, they went out and they brought in Mario Anderson from South Carolina, who did have 125 yards and a couple touchdowns against Troy on just 17 carries. It was about seven and a half a clip. So while Memphis is not a team, like I said, that's going to just pound you in the run game, maybe against Florida State, they stay a little more committed to it than they have been up to this point. Let's go to question number two. Can Florida State continue to get pressure on the opposing quarterback? In this case, it's Seth Hennigan. Now Florida State, they've put pressure on 50% of their opponent's dropbacks this season. That is the ninth highest rate in the FBS, and they're not blitzing either. They don't blitz. They've only blitzed on 18% of the opponent's dropbacks, and yet they still have a pressure rate of 50%. So they're getting home with four, but they got to close the deal. Seth Hennigan's played a lot of football. The opposing quarterback, they're going against the fourth-year quarterback in the country deserves a four-year starter at one program. It's the only one. So he has seen a lot of things in his time under center. Well, in shotgun. He's improved a little bit every year too, and that seems to be continuing. Granted, it's early through two starts. Here he's out to a career-best 70% completion. He's done a great job by throwing for nearly 470 yards here in the first couple of games. So can they get pressure on the veteran, Seth Hennigan? And question number three, can Florida State's offense finish in the red zone? Florida State has struggled in the red zone, okay? They've scored a touchdown on just one out of three of their red zone penetrations, okay? 33% touchdown rate in the red zone is good for 122nd in the FBS. Not good. Here's the other problem. It's hard to throw the football when you get in the red zone, because the field condenses and you can no longer stretch the field vertically. So you've got to be able to run the football. Well, right now Florida State is 127th in rushing offense. They're averaging under 60 yards a game on the ground. So everyone wants to blame DJ Uiangalalay and all this stuff. The offensive line, that veteran group across the front, like they need to move some people off the line of scrimmage. And if they don't, think about what that might mean for them moving forward as the quality of opponent increase them. You bring in Roy Dell Williams from Alabama. Lawrence Tofili might pound for pound be one of their best backs that they've had. The two have combined for just 85 rushing yard on 29 attempts so far. So they've had a couple of substantial gains, sure. But man, this is going to be huge for them to run the football as that field condenses in the red zone. You can't put too much on DJ Uiangalalay shoulders, especially down there when the field is tight. I lean Florida State in the game. I think Florida State bounces back. They've had a week now to assess where they're at. They've had a week now to identify weaknesses and strengths. And I think they're going to be a much better team moving forward. I still have a ton of faith in this staff. I still have a ton of faith in both sides, the ball, by the way. I think they still have good personnel. And I think we see the best version of them on Saturday against Mike Norvell's former team. This season on fans bill by Dr. Pepper, college football enters into the great unknown. Will the 12 team playoffs bear a new champion? Will conference realignment spark new rivalries? And will Dr. Pepper continue to have a one-of-a-kind taste with the unique blend of 23 authentic flavors? Okay, well, we actually know the answer to the last one, and it's yes. Most definitely yes. So prepare yourself for more drama, more angry comment sections, and more ice cold Dr. Pepper, because this season, everything is about to change. Stop by your local retailer today to score some ice cold Dr. Pepper, college football. It's Pepper thing. Are you feeling stuck in your job? Does your career need to enter the transfer portal? 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That's tied for the most first half touchdown passes by a BC quarterback in the last 20 years. It was against Duquesne. So I understand the level of competition is not great, but if you look at the intermediate and deep passing game, that's an area where he might be moving in the direction. Now, he only dropped back 11 times against Duquesne. He dropped back 23 times against Florida State. He only threw 16 passes last week against Duquesne. But it's pretty impressive to see how he was able to kind of distribute the ball and look at the pass chart, man. There's a lot of growth that we've seen from him already as a passer under first-year head coach and quarterback guru, Bill O'Brien. Now, he also is just one of I think a three-headed monster in the backfield that can create a lot of yards on the ground. Now, Kyle Robachow is going to be able to grind out, you know, three to five yards a carry. And as soon as those safeties start to get lulled in to thinking there's another run, boom, here comes play action. Here comes Deep Shot. They're passing games 26th right now in the football, but they are fifth in explosiveness. Question number two, can Missouri's defense stay high, right? Missouri has had back-to-back shutouts in its first two games of the season for the first time since 1935. The level of competition has left something to be desired against Murray State in Buffalo. But still, since 1935, that is historically significant. That's going to be the first real test. And this is a defense that has been talked about all off season where maybe they lack in star power, they have made up for it in depth. This is a quote waves of dudes strategy. That's what people are describing it as in trying to defend people. So is there drop off from the ones to the twos? Do they have a ton of guys? They can come off the bench and stay fresh. They can limit the snap counts that they get across the board. So we'll be watching this defense. Can they continue to play at a really high level? Because they look really active here in the early going, but it really hasn't been against anybody of significance. Go to question number three. Brady Cook has started a little slow. For those that haven't really watched, who can blame you? But he started a little bit slow. But then again, this is year three of him being the starter. And what we've kind of realized is that in each of the last three years in which he started the first two games, haven't really been great. It takes him a little while to get going. Okay, so really the first two games, he has averaged in the last two years, 193 yards a game. Less than one touchdown per game and 0.667 interceptions per game. Okay, so this is not that abnormal. So far this year, he's averaging 228 yards a game. So he's actually 25 yards better than his average over the last two years. And he's thrown less picks than he has already had one pick this year. He's had in the last couple of years, he had two. So he's done a little better job based on how he started the season. So a slow start is not that uncommon for Brady Cook. Question number four, can Mizzou create some big plays? Now with a ton of offensive talent that Mizzou has in wide receiver, with Mookie Cooper, Theo East, and the future first round pick, Luther Burton, doesn't feel like right now, they're being able to create as many explosive plays as one would assume. Now they've been super efficient, but we haven't seen the explosive plays that we thought for sure they would have. And then you look at Boston College, they're run defense, not great. So their per carry numbers look pretty good, but they've given up some explosiveness on the ground. And Missouri, like I said, we haven't seen a lot of Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll deliver on those big chunk yardage plays that we saw last year from this offense, but it might be coming, especially against a Boston college group that has given up a couple of big plays on the ground this year. A couple of trends in the game. Boston College's 4-1 against the spread in the last five as I wrote underdog. Missouri is 5-1 against spreading the last six against ranked opponents, dating back to last season. And Missouri's 4-1 against spreading the last five games as a favorite. I'm taking Missouri, but I'm not laying the points. That is way too many against the team that's well coached as Boston College. Game is at Purdue. This game is 330 Eastern time on CBS. Notre Dame is a healthy double digit favorite. And they have won the last eight matchups against Purdue, dating back to 2008. Question number one. Riley Leonard heard his left shoulder. What does that mean? Well, a lot of different publications have confirmed this. Irish Illustrated 247 on three. Like everybody's confirmed it. I don't know who had it first. I'm sorry to whoever had it first. I don't pay attention to that stuff. And I'm sorry for that. I should have looked that up. But whoever had it first, good on you. Well done. Riley Leonard, hurt his posterior labrum on his non-throwing shoulder in the lost NIU. Now, can you play with that injury? Yes, you can play. We have seen Mitch Trubisky play with a hurt shoulder in his non-throwing shoulder. We have seen Baker Mayfield suffer partially torn laborems and still finished the year. And Notre Dame, with him though, and let's just be on. He's a dual threat. This is not the NFL. So he's a dual thread guy. So he's going to be asked to run the football. He's run for over 1,000 yards in his career. He's run for over 17 touchdowns in his career. He's played 20 games. And what he does best is keep people honest with his legs. Can you be effective putting your shoulder down if necessary when your labrum is not currently at 100 percent? That is something I'll be watching closely. That's question one. You're at a shoulder. What does it mean? Question two, if Riley Leonard isn't effective because of the shoulder, what does that mean for Notre Dame? Well, you can anticipate Steve Angeli probably as of this moment playing over CJ Carr and sophomore Kenny Minchin. Now, the junior has received most of the first team reps in the spring. He also received all the first team reps for the Sun Bowl preparation against Oregon State and against Oregon State. Angeli played pretty well. He was 15 to 19, 232, 3 touchdown. Also ran the ball pretty well. And on the down field throw, something I think is going to be really important for Notre Dame as they continue to move forward. He was three for five on past the travel 20 or more yards down field. And those three went for 108 yards. So far, just so you know, Riley Leonard's 0 and 2 with an interception on throws like that this year. So, if they do have to go to the backup at some point, busy because of injury or ineffectiveness, I do think they have some capable backups there in South Bend. Question number three, Ken Notre Dame's offensive line creates some consistency. They ran 19 plays gaining 139 yards and 7.3 yards per snap on the two touchdown drives last week. The other 44 plays accounted for just 142 yards and 3.2 yards per snap. Part of the reason why, if you watch their offensive line, they did not win along the offensive line, especially in the interior of their offensive line, where you have guys that have played, they got pushed around and it was a bad, bad performance. Not going to try to spin it or anything whatsoever. It was a bad performance. That offensive line has to be better if they're not. They're going to have their hands full. Question four, Hudson Carr just had a lights out performance. Can it continue? He completed his last 17 passes. He attempted to take week one, which is the longest completion streak by a Purdue player in the last 15 years. That's the longest streak by any Big Ten player has had in this time frame is 26. And that was done by Graham Mertz, ironically enough. But that was from 2019 to 2020. So kind of crazy that it won over the course of two seasons. So looking at all this stuff, all right, looking at all this stuff right now, I think Hudson Carr is very, very comfortable, but I think they might be a bit one-dimensional. Because question number five is, can Notre Dame's defense go from fine to dominant? Now in two games, they've allowed two touchdowns and five field goals with just one touchdown allowed on four red zone penetrations, okay? And M scored 13 points on their home field. Northern Illinois scored 16, all right. On paper, things feel pretty good for Notre Dame's defense. But the problem is they couldn't get off the field in the second half of the game against NIU. They had 11 minutes in third, they had 11 minutes time possession. NIU did in the third quarter, 11 minutes in the fourth quarter. That's three times more time of possession, 22 minutes to seven minutes for NIU and Notre Dame respectively. They just could not figure out Antario Brown who gained 99 yards on 20 carries and then added another 126 yards through the year. So I think this defense, I think produce a little one-dimensional. I think they're going to try to run the ball because clearly, that was a point of emphasis last week for NIU and it worked successfully. Plus Howard Cross a little banged up, Riley Mills has been a little inconsistent. So they're probably going to try to run the ball, but I don't think the receivers are going to be able to create enough separation against Notre Dame's excellent secondary. A couple of trends in the game. Notre Dame is four and three against the spread under market stream and after a loss. But they've covered each of their last four in that situation. So they're four and three, but they've won four in a row. They are also seven and three against spread on the road under market stream and produce one and four against spread in the last five as a double digit underdog. Notre Dame did not come out and play well last year against Louisville, right? Well, how did they respond? Well, they responded by destroying USC. They also didn't look very good against Marshall or Stanford in 2022. How'd they handle that? Well, they beat Cal the following week after losing the Marshall and they beat UNLV the following week after losing to Stanford. I'm taking Notre Dame into big bounce back performance. I think they handle it. They get right. And regardless of what's going on with their quarterback spot, they have enough to slow down what Purdue is going to be offensively. Oregon is at Oregon. State this game is 330 Eastern time on Saturday. Oregon is a 16 point favorite and they're playing as non-conference opponents for the first time since 1963. A couple of questions in this game. Can Oregon State run the football? Jam Griffin, Anthony Hankerson, two headed monster at running back for Oregon State. Through two games, they are among the country's top 20 in rushing yards. Griffin, he's a senior, 38 carries for 249 and three touchdowns. Hankerson, a transfer from Colorado has 40 carries and 231 yards and three scores. So through two game, neither team, neither guy really has been hit at or behind the line of scrimmage. Either they've established an identity under first year head coach Trent Bray. They're going to play defense. They're going to run the ball and they're going to shrink the game. On the other side, will Oregon's offensive line step up? That's question number two. Now the offensive line was far from perfect against Boise State, but they were way better in week two than they were in week one. Dylan Gabriel still got pressured probably seven, eight, nine times, but it's a lot fewer than the times he was pressured the week before. It was sacked four times as well. This increased to the pressure rate, sack rate, all this stuff. They got to be better up front. Long story short, throw any number you want out there. It was an improvement from week one to week two, but it's got improved by even more knowing the defense that they're going up against. Ajani Cornelius who the left tackle struggled against Idaho but played better against Boise and hopefully that is a sign of things to come and progress that is being made. Question number three, they've had a bit of a rotation going on up there. But how legit is Oregon State's defense? Now I think they're pretty good. They just went and pitched their first shutout since shutting out Idaho in 2021. It was their first against an FBS opponent since pit in 2008 and they're first on the road since 1983. So historically significant performance for Oregon State last week. Got to feel pretty comfortable about where they're at based on what we saw. Question number four, can Oregon generate a downfield passing attack? Now week one wasn't a lot of explosiveness. All right, Dylan Gabriel attempted just two passes over 20 yards with an average depth of target, area yards per target of just 4.3 yards. Now that's kind of what Bonix was last year too. Like he didn't try a lot of throws down field, but when he did, he hit them. Now clearly against Boise, they tried to make that a bit of a priority. They threw five balls downfield. He was two for five for one on one and a touchdown. And the area yards per target jumped to nearly nine yards at 8.7. So both those completions were at Evan Stewart too. First was that 67 yard bomb down the sideline. And I think there's a lot to feel good about with the progress that was made last week. A couple of trends in the game. Oregon is eight and two against spread on the road under Dan Lanning. And the favorite has covered each of the last three meetings between these two teams. It's a longest stretch since 1984 to 1987. I'm taking Oregon to win the game, but I'm taking Oregon State to make it really interesting. I think Oregon State has a recipe. They're going to shrink the game. They're going to disrupt the rhythm and they're going to keep it close. This is a group that has been really good at home in the past. I expect them to play really well here in a big opportunity for them and for first year head coach Trent Bray. College football fans, what's the best part of being at a game live? The color. There's nothing more exciting than seeing an entire stadium completely decked out in your team's colors. 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Visit Allstate.com or call an agent today to see how much you can save. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary. Subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate insurance company and affiliates. Northbrook, Illinois. Few more games keep an eye on here. Washington, Washington state is in Seattle. They're calling it a neutral site, which it is an intro site technically. And I would not be surprised at all if Washington state has just as many fans as Washington does there in the crowd. Washington state is eager for this one. They have circled this one. This is a big opportunity for them. Much like we just talked about with Oregon, Oregon state. This is one that Washington state absolutely wants to make the most up. Now, Washington has not allowed a touchdown in two games so far this year. But this is really the first solid offense that Washington has faced. And remember, they struggled a little bit down the stretch at times defensively last year. Now, I think what Julie got with Mater the quarterback at Washington state, I think he's a real deal. I think they actually are pretty good too with his weapons. And I think this offense is going to create a lot of problems. I actually lean Washington state in the game, which I think the motivations on their side, obtuse on their side. I'm thinking Washington state to actually pull off the upset. They look good against Texas Tech last week, man. A lot to like from the Cougs. And I think they could carry over some of that goodwill into this performance. Let's go to the backyard brawl. West Virginia is at Pitt since 2002. The Mountaineers are 115 when winning the turnover battle. So pretty significant when accounting for that. So what does Pitt need to do? Not turn it over. They've enjoyed a nice little offensive resurgence with the win against Cincinnati last week. Now they go get an opportunity to play your rival. They're right in your backyard. Eli Holstein has looked really solid. And this new look, Pitt offensive scheme, which is being run right now by Western Carolina's offensive coordinator, Kate Bell. So after a bit of a slow start, Holstein finished with 302 yards and three touchdowns. And the come from behind win last week. Can he keep it going against another solid big 12 foe that's going to try to run the football and establish physical dominance? We'll find out. I actually like pit in the game. I think Pitt's going to upset West Virginia. Sell it against the run and make life difficult on the Mountaineers. Go next to Colorado and Colorado State. Rocky Mountain showdown here. First time it returns to Fort Collins since 1996. Now it does not appear that Colorado has found the fix to the challenges they've had along the offensive line. And that could be an issue as they continue to move forward. And we know Deon Sanders has been frustrated through two games. Colorado has committed 12 penalties. They've lost 134 yards as a result of those penalties. They are 98th nationally. And on the other side, Colorado State pretty solid. Second nationally, we're just four penalties through two games. Discipline and an emotional game in a bounce back situation. Four Colorado could be massive here. Here's the problem. Colorado State has not been good on defense. They're allowing nearly 35 points a game. That is 121st. They have surrendered a total of 297 yards rushing. That's about a buck 50 a game in addition to three touchdowns on the ground as well. They have allowed 69 points. That's right, Colorado State in two games. It's allowed 69 points and six touchdowns from the passing game in addition to 273 yards a game, which has them ranked 117th in the sport. I like Colorado in this game. I know last year it was close. I don't think Colorado is going to be sleeping on Colorado State this year. And I would expect them to play well in the game. So it's to be emotional, it's to be physical. But ultimately, Colorado has a little bit too much firepower for the Rams in this one. UCF at TC really sneaky good game. They could have big 12 and because it's big 12 playoff implications in it. The frogs have been really good stopping the run defensively. Great depth of linebacker, solid defensive line. And we know that UCF is a team that's excellent when trying to run the football. KJ Jefferson has been one of the better pickups in the portal so far this year. It's going to be a huge challenge for the TCU defense. The frogs were super susceptible to quarterback scramble game in week one against Stanford. And Jefferson's much better than what Stanford has out there and is much more experience than what Stanford has. But it was encouraging from TCU to see them play a little better last week against LIU. This will be an increased level of challenge for TCU's defense in front. KJ Jefferson is a handful. RJ Harvey has received a bulk of the carries at the running back spot through two games. Got 30 carries, 268 and six touchdowns. Now UCF, the defense, the secondary has done a pretty good job force and turnovers by the way. Four interceptions through just two games. I like UCF to go on the road to Fort Worth and get the job done. I think they'll control the line of scrimmage. I think they'll run the football. I think they'll get some hands on some passes there from the Hornfrocks. Really good non-conference game coming up here. Arizona at Kansas State is not a big 12-conference game. Hear me out when I say that. This game does not count towards conference rankings, schedule standings, what have you. It's just an out-of-conference game that was scheduled when Arizona was still in the pack 12. So the result won't matter towards the conference record. But this should be interesting. Really good quarterback matchup here. Noah Fafita, 85 total QBR in road starts last year. That was the 10th best in the country. And this is his first road start this season. So opportunity here for Noah Fafita to get things taken care of. He has 12 road passing touchdowns. It's tied for the most in the FBS with Cam Ward. On the other side, Avery Johnson owns a 93.5 QBR in the second half of the games that he's playing so far. In the first half, it's not quite as good. Just a 55.1 QBR. So whatever he does in the second half, settling in, relaxing, playing a little bit more under control, we need that in the first half when playing it against quality competition. And I would qualify the Arizona Wildcats as quality competition. Because if we get the guy that went 7-8, 1-19 and touched on after halftime last week against 2-lane, we're going to be feeling real good about what Kansas State can do to complement DJ Giddens, who has now run for 100-plus yards in six straight games. It's the longest active streak in the FBS. Georgia and Kentucky will also be on the field. I'll be on the call alongside Sean McDonough, Molly McGrath. I'm actually very much looking forward to this game. George is a juggernaut, no doubt about it. What we've seen from Carson Beck in the first couple of weeks has been outstanding. First half against Clemson, maybe he missed a thrower too, but super efficient, really the last six quarters. And would anticipate him carrying over that performance into the week against Kentucky. And Kentucky comes in feeling real bad about the performance they put on tape last week against South Carolina. This is a proud program. Kentucky, if you look back at how they played Georgia in 22 and 21, they played them better than most. Okay, last year it got away from them in significant fashion, because that was Carson Beck's coming out party. I would think Kentucky all week long, Mark Stoops has been harping on his guys. Man, we got to be better along the line of scrimmage. We got to play better than we did last week. This is a proud program and I'd be surprised that they didn't play well in the game this weekend against the number one team in the land, the George Bulldogs. But it will be a massive undertaking for the Wildcats to keep it close for four quarters. Like I said, looking forward to being on the call at 730 Eastern time on ABC alongside Sean McDonough and Molly McGrath. Yeah, Maryland at Virginia, the terms are 15 and one in non-conference games, wins over power five teams. That's, you know, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, NC State, Q's, Virginia Auburn. This is the longest such streak for Maryland within the last 40 years. So pretty impressive non-conference record over power five teams. Can it continue against their former foe from the ACC, the Virginia Cavaliers? Maryland has been a little up and down this year, little up and down this year. So it will be interesting to see if they can put four quarters together at some point against Virginia. Got my giant killers this week. You might already know them. You guys that have followed giant killers the last couple of weeks, you've done pretty well. You've done pretty well interpret that as you will. You've done well though, whether it's against the spread or just however you want to interpret it. I'll leave it open ended. We are not calling out right upsets here, but these are teams I would not want to mess with. Just saying I would not want to mess with these teams. My giant killers here in week three, Washington State. They're playing Washington in the Apple Cup in a quote neutral site in Seattle, Florida against Texas A&M. A&M is a favorite on the road in the swamp, but tough run defense numbers so far from A&M in the early going and then UNLV, who's been really, really good as an underdog. The last few years, they traveled to Kansas, just licking their wounds after the lost last week to Illinois where they turned the ball over a whole bunch against the Align Eyes. So Washington State, Florida and UNLV, we appreciate you guys so much for being with us here today. On Always College Football, always encourage you to like, rate and subscribe to the show wherever you get your show. You can also tell your friends. That's huge for word of mouth from us. We don't have a marketing budget. We're not out pushing it. It's me, Jack, the other Jack, Mark and Jake. And we just try to put out the best content possible. And you guys are the result. And you guys helping us with our numbers and our support and the amount of downloads and the amount of views and all that stuff. You guys are the reason why our numbers have gone to the roof. We haven't done anything as far as promotional content whatsoever. So it's you guys that are telling your friends and we want to encourage all of you and appreciate all of you for doing the hard work for us on the show. For all of us here at Always College Football, I just gave you the names of all the guys I won't say them again. They don't deserve that much credit. I certainly don't either. But we hope you have an amazing weekend here in Week 3. We'll see you back on Sunday for our streaming consciousness reactions to some of these outcomes. But enjoy the football and remember, it's Always College Football. Hey guys, it's Greg McEnroy. Thanks for watching Always College Football. Make sure you like, rate and subscribe to ESPN's YouTube channel. And wherever you listen to your podcast.
