Can Notre Dame recover from loss to Northern Illinois? | Before the Snap
Can Notre Dame recover from loss to Northern Illinois? | Before the Snap
So you think college football isn’t unpredictable? How about Northern Illinois going into Notre Dame as a four-touchdown underdog and walking away with a historic win?
That seems par for the course in a sport where surprising results are the norm. So what should we be looking for in Week 3? In which games will such upsets occur? Who could be the victim of such upsets? History has shown that these unlikely results keep coming – even when they are highly unexpected. But where will they take place?
That’s why USA TODAY Sports’ college football editors are here. Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza, Paul Myerberg, Erick Smith, Eddie Timanus and Dan Wolken weigh in with their bold predictions for Week 1 of the college football season:
Tulane pushes Oklahoma to its limits again
Tulane shouldn’t have lost to Kansas State, as they blew a 10-point halftime lead, but they have another chance to improve their record when they play Oklahoma.
Here’s the Sooners’ story. The good: The defense is aggressive and ranks near the top nationally in turnover margin. The bad: The offense, especially on third down. The Sooners have converted a pitiful 5 of 26 on that crucial down in two games. For all the math geeks out there, that’s 19%, which ranks 131st out of 133 Bowl Subdivision teams. A repeat performance like last week against Houston won’t be enough, especially with Tennessee coming to town the following week to open SEC play. If you need further proof that Oklahoma is on alert, just remember the last time Tulane came to Norman in 2021. – Scooby-Tales
South Carolina puts LSU in trouble
Even without Jayden Daniels, the expectation was that LSU would remain a contender this season. But the Tigers have not looked like that at all so far. Southern California has outclassed them and put on a shaky performance in the win over Nicholls State. South Carolina is riding high after beating Kentucky, and with a raucous home crowd, the Gamecocks are making it another tough day for LSU. I’m not sure what Brian Kelly will say after this game, but at 1-2 and with a tough SEC schedule, it will be a tough task to avoid slipping into the bottom half of the conference by the end of the season. — Jordan Mendoza
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Billy Napier calms down hot streak with Florida’s win over Texas A&M
It may not be a job-saving win, but Florida beat Texas A&M and at least gives coach Billy Napier a boost as the Gators try to navigate college football’s toughest schedule. The Aggies’ reputation has already taken a hit after a narrow loss to Notre Dame to open the year was tarnished by Northern Illinois’ big upset win over the Irish last Saturday, making this one of Florida’s best chances to win SEC play. While it wouldn’t guarantee a bowl appearance, a win against A&M would at least put the Gators back on track to compete for six wins in November. — Paul Myerberg
First road test for Alabama, Kalen DeBoer will not go smoothly
It’s rare that the Crimson Tide plays a Big Ten team on the road. The last time was in 2011 against Penn State. That team was able to pull off a win en route to the national title. This time, the opponent is Wisconsin, which is struggling to find its identity under second-year coach Luke Fickell. It looks like a comfortable Alabama win, as the Badgers still don’t seem to have found a solution to the subpar quarterback play that has dragged the team down the past few seasons. But last week’s close game against South Florida could spell some trouble for Alabama and its new coach. Wisconsin still has a strong defense that can slow down Jalen Milroe and keep the game close. Don’t be surprised if this game goes four quarters and ends with a key play in the final minutes. — Eric Smith
Memphis causes a big surprise in Florida State
Florida State’s 0-2 start has caused collateral damage to this week’s opponent. Now Memphis travels to Tallahassee with a hopeless situation despite being ranked 25th in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll.
Sure, it would still be a Power Four win, a nice asset to have in the bag should the Tigers win the American Athletic Conference. But a Memphis win wouldn’t carry nearly as much weight as the preseason rankings suggested, and a loss would now be seen as actually damaging. In a twist, the game now offers the Seminoles a greater chance to change the course of their season with a ranked team coming to town.
But that’s not going to happen. The Tigers need to block out everything that’s happening with the FSU program and mind their own business, and that’s what they’re going to do. The Seminoles’ problems on both lines won’t be gone despite a few extra days of preparation. There’s still talent on the FSU roster, so it won’t be a walk in the park, but Memphis will make fewer mistakes and come out on top. — Eddie Timanus
Washington State takes home the Apple Cup
There’s little hype nationally about the Apple Cup this year, but the circumstances of Washington’s move to the Big Ten make this opportunity one that Washington State fans and players have been waiting for all year. We don’t know much about what Washington looks like under Jedd Fisch after opening his season against underdogs Weber State and Eastern Michigan. With Washington State coming off a dominant 37-16 win over Texas Tech, I expect the Cougars to be pretty good and battle-tested and to pull off an upset in Seattle on Saturday. — Dan Clouds
