College Football Saturday Week 3 Open Thread

It’s a dreary morning weather-wise in the Seattle area but there’s college football on today so at least we got that going for us. Washington will be taking on Arkansas State at 1:15p but both before and after that there is plenty of CFB action even if it’s an underwhelming overall slate.

Need help figuring out what to watch today? That’s what we’re here for.

SUGGESTED VIEWING GUIDE (all times PT)

9:00 am- #8 Cincinnati (-4) at Indiana, ESPN

The Hoosiers were hoping to be sleeper Big conTenders but a week 1 drubbing against Iowa wiped away a little of the shine. Cincinnati still has plenty to play for however as they are hoping to go undefeated and find their way into the College Football Playoff. With the news of Clay Helton’s firing this week there’s plenty of speculation that Luke Fickell will be primary target for the Trojans which adds to the narrative for the Bearcats.

Alternate game: Michigan State at #24 Miami (-6.5), ABC

Is there a chance that the Spartans are good this year? They’re 2-0 and we should find out based on how competitive they are with Miami who got spanked by Alabama in week 1. But then again that happens to 95% of teams that play Bama so it doesn’t mean they can’t still be a solid team.

12:30 pm- #1 Alabama (-14.5) at #11 Florida, CBS

If Florida can’t at least keep this one competitive then we can probably expect that the Crimson Tide will be undefeated headed into the SEC title game presumably against Georgia. We’ll see if the Gators can spring the upset or at the very least keep the game close into the 4th quarter.

Alternate game: USC (-8.5) at Washington State, FOX

I don’t think I ever saw first coach fired odds in college football but you would’ve thought preseason that Nick Rolovich would’ve been very close if not at the top of the board. Instead, USC axed Clay Helton this week which means interim coach Donte Williams holds the reigns as they stroll into Pullman for their 2nd straight conference game as a favorite against a Pac-12 North opponent. We’ll find out how the team responds.

1:15 pm- Arkansas State at Washington (-16.5), Pac-12 Networks

Duh.

4:30 pm- #22 Auburn at #10 Penn State (-6), ABC

New Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin has had an embattled start to his tenure but the results on the field have been impressive. True, the opponents have been dreadful but a combined 122-10 score in a 2-0 start isn’t too shabby. Penn State didn’t look awesome in a win over Wisconsin but they’re certainly more battle tested so far than Auburn and get to play at home. If the Nittany Lions win then you can bet they’ll think they have a legitimate shot at dethroning Ohio State in the Big Ten.

Alternate game: Virginia at #21 North Carolina (-7.5), ACC Network

The Tar Heels have mostly gotten the benefit of the doubt after laying an egg at Virginia Tech in the opener. The other ACC Virginia school hasn’t looked too shabby either during a 2-0 start. If the Cavaliers manage to pull the upset it will be interesting to see if the media take it as a sign that Virginia is a conte

6:00 pm- Oklahoma State at Boise State (-3.5), FS1

Boise State under Andy Avalos coug-ed it in their season opener against Central Florida. Now they have another chance to show they should be the favorites in the Mountain West by taking on OSU. The Cowboys are undefeated so far this season but have beaten Missouri State and Tulsa by a combined 12 points so far while never surpassing 28 points. So they don’t exactly look like world beaters so far and could easily get taken down on the blue turf.

7:15 pm- #19 Arizona State (-3.5) at #23 BYU, ESPN

The Cougars have started off their season 2-0 against the Pac-12 including a win over ranked Utah last week to end their losing streak in the Holy War. A 3-0 start against the Pac would pretty devastating to the conference’s outlook considering how much talent BYU lost after last season.