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Before we get into our regularly scheduled weekend preview, realignment once again has crashed the party. Here’s what you need to know.
Is the Pac-12 Back?
Four schools join league
Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State (all from the Group of 5 Mountain West Conference) will join the nearly defunct Pac-12 in 2026, the conference announced today. Expansion gutted the conference last summer, leaving Washington State and Oregon State as the only remaining members. The addition of four schools signals progress for the Pac-12’s rebuild, but it still must get to eight members to remain an FBS conference.
We’ll dive deeper into what this means next week, but here’s a little taste of our coverage today: the impact on the College Football Playoff (does an auto-bid outweigh TV money?) and on other conferences (is the ACC vulnerable?) and which programs might be next (obvious targets like MWC members Air Force and UNLV or reaching into Texas for UTSA and North Texas?).
Plus, check out our “Until Saturday” podcast as the crew breaks down the moves today.
Friday Night Lights
Big 12 vs. Big 12 nonconference game
With so many fun Friday night games this season, it’s time we dedicate a section to Friday night viewing (check out the full Week 3 schedule here). All times ET:
- UNLV at Kansas (7 p.m., ESPN). Manny Navarro predicts the Rebels will eclipse the 200-yard mark in the running game and upset the Jayhawks in this week’s oddly specific predictions.
- No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State (8 p.m., Fox). As a game between two of the Big 12’s best teams, this should have conference title implications. But … it’s actually not a conference game at all. Arizona and Kansas State scheduled this home-and-home series back in 2016 and agreed to leave it as part of their nonconference schedules post-realignment. Arizona is riding a nine-game winning streak — the longest active run in the FBS.
Saturday Slate
Schedule looks light … for now
This weekend’s schedule is quite light — no late-night ranked matchups — but if Northern Illinois taught us anything last week, it’s that we should never rule out an unexpected thriller. Here’s a look at the matchups for every ranked team on Saturday. The darker the highlight = the higher the intrigue.
Early
Most important game: No. 16 LSU at South Carolina. “College GameDay” is headed to Columbia, S.C., for the first time in 10 years. Nobody is really sure what to think of the Gamecocks after they staved off Old Dominion in Week 1 and then shut down Kentucky in Week 2. Meanwhile, LSU is a bit of a mystery too, especially after needing a 21-point third quarter to separate from FCS Nicholls last week (QB Garrett Nussmeier threw six TD passes in the win). LSU is a touchdown favorite, but I’d expect a close one here.
Most underrated game: No. 4 Alabama at Wisconsin. The last time Alabama made this trip was in 1928 when the Crimson Tide took a 24-hour train ride to get to Madison. Nearly a century later, the game carries similar intrigue in the Big Ten vs. SEC affair. The Badgers’ first two showings haven’t inspired much confidence, but Alabama has some flaws too. Will the Crimson Tide rebound after a lackluster win against USF, or will Luke Fickell pull off one of the biggest wins in Wisconsin history?
Afternoon
Most important game: No. 9 Oregon at Oregon State. This window has potential for some revenge of the Pac-12. The Beavers have an ideal opportunity — at home nonetheless — to take advantage of an Oregon team that isn’t living up to its hype. The Ducks needed a last-second field goal to beat Boise State last week, and the offense isn’t as electric as it has been in previous seasons. Oregon State easily beat Idaho State and San Diego State, but this will be its biggest test yet.
Most underrated game: Washington State vs. Washington, at Lumen Field in Seattle, Wash. (3:30 p.m., Peacock). The Apple Cup rivalry features two teams in a bit of a rebuild period. New Huskies coach Jedd Fisch is picking up the pieces from last year’s national runner-up team (his team is a 4.5-point favorite). Mississippi State transfer QB Will Rogers has looked consistent through two games, while Wazzu QB John Mateer has flexed his dual-threat abilities, setting a program record for rushing yards by a QB with 197 against Texas Tech.
Night
Most important game: No. 1 Georgia at Kentucky. Let’s remember the last time Georgia took a trip to Lexington … the 10-0 Bulldogs survived a 16-6 scare that was entirely too close for comfort. This year should be more lopsided. Wildcats QB — and former Georgia backup — Brock Vandagriff was held to 30 passing yards against South Carolina. Meanwhile, Georgia’s 34-3 win against Clemson in Week 1 might be more impressive than we originally thought.
Most underrated game: Colorado at Colorado State (7:30 p.m., CBS). We get another in-state rivalry in the night window, and this one comes with plenty of emotion. Colorado State WR Tory Horton said this week the Rams “should have murdered” the Buffs in last week’s double-OT thriller in Boulder won by Deion Sanders’ team. With the Rams at home this year, they’ll try to get the rivalry revenge Nebraska claimed last week against the Buffs. Colorado safety Shilo Sanders will be out with a broken arm, but the Buffs still enter as touchdown favorites.
Need tickets to games? Go here. Watch the games on Fubo.
Best Bets
Upsets to look out for
Once again, I asked The Athletic’s Austin Mock for three of his best bets this weekend. Here’s what he told me:
- LSU -7 (-110): South Carolina’s offense has had a slow start to the season after barely getting past Old Dominion before rebounding against an overrated Kentucky team. LSU will prove to be too efficient on offense for the Gamecocks to stay within the number.
- Texas A&M at Florida under 47.5 (-110, 3:30 p.m., ABC): Florida struggled on offense against Miami two weeks ago, and it’s going to face a similar defense in Texas A&M. As for the Aggies, the offense looked completely lost against Notre Dame in the opener. I’m not expecting either offense to light it up on Saturday.
- TCU money line (+110) (UCF at TCU, 7:30 p.m., Fox): UCF is 2-9 the last two seasons against Power-4 opponents that weren’t transitioning from the Group of 5. I’m not a big trends guy, but that doesn’t give me confidence that UCF should be a favorite on the road against a solid TCU squad.
Read the rest of Austin’s Week 3 best bets here.
Until Saturday’s Upset Special (1-0): Tulane 21 (+13.5) at No. 15 Oklahoma 16
I’m 1-0 on upset specials after Syracuse QB Kyle McCord threw for four TDs (his second consecutive week doing so) in the Orange’s 31-28 win against Georgia Tech. This week, I’m picking Tulane against an Oklahoma team that looked vulnerable last week against Houston. The Sooners offense sputtered a bit in the first two weeks with first-year starting QB Jackson Arnold still adjusting to the system behind a shaky offensive line. The Green Wave are never an easy out; they have a 10-game road winning streak (their last regular-season road loss was Nov. 27, 2021, at Memphis). Let’s make it 11.
Quick Snaps
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer joined the “Until Saturday” podcast this week to talk about Jalen Milroe’s development, GM Courtney Morgan’s strengths (like attention to detail and building relationships) and more.
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty leads the nation in yards rushing (459), rushing touchdowns (nine) and forced missed tackles (22) through two games. Chris Kamrani has the story behind the early Heisman front-runner.
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(Top photo: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)
