Week 3 College Football Preview

Big games: Texas visits No. 4 USC, No. 3 Clemson visits No. 14 Louisville

Texas' David Thomas stiff-arms Southern California's Darnell Bing during the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl, the national championship college football game, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, in Pasadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)

SAN ANTONIO – College football fans are ready for another weekend and while it is light on big matchups, the weekend is ripe for a few upsets with six ranked teams playing on the road against unranked teams.

Here's what to watch for in Week 3:

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There are again some good viewing options with Texas visiting No. 4 Southern California; No. 3 Clemson visiting No. 14 Louisville; and No. 23 Tennessee visiting No. 24 Florida. 

RELATED: Texas not set on starting QB for trip to No. 4 Southern Cal

RELATED: USC's media guide says Texas didn't beat them for 2005 championship

The most talked about game this weekend will be when the Texas Longhorns (1-1) and No. 4 USC (2-0) meet again in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

The last time the two teams met on the football field USC and Texas put on a show that many still call the greatest game in college football history. 

Don't forget to look for the latest article each week to find the channels and start times for both important and regional games.

NOTABLE TOP 25 MATCHUPS:

No. 23 Tennessee visiting No. 24 Florida 2:30 p.m. on CBS

No. 3 Clemson at No. 14 Louisville 7 p.m. on ABC

BIG 12 SCHEDULE:

No. 9 Oklahoma State at Pittsburgh 11 a.m. on ESPN

Kansas at Ohio 11 a.m. on ESPNU

Delaware State at West Virginia at 11 a.m.

Iowa State at Akron at 11 a.m. on CBS Sports Network

Baylor at Duke at 11:30 a.m. on FSN Southwest

SMU at No. 20 TCU at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Tulane at No. 2 Oklahoma at 5 p.m.

No. 18 Kansas State at Vanderbilt at 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU

Arizona State at Texas Tech at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports

Texas at No. 4 USC at 7:30 p.m. on FOX

(AP) -- Lamar Jackson basically had the Heisman Trophy wrapped up last season by Oct. 2, playing so well in Louisville's biggest games early in the season that a few stumbles late didn't cost him.

Repeating will be difficult. Only one college football player has won the Heisman twice. But if Jackson does make a serious run at joining Ohio State's Archie Griffin as a two-time Heisman winner, he will again have to make a lasting impression early.

The No. 14 Louisville hosts No. 3 Clemson on Saturday night, with a chance for both Jackson and the Cardinals to make an early season statement, just as they did last year.

BEST GAME

No. 3 Clemson at No. 14 Louisville.

The Tigers are coming off a dominant defensive performance against Auburn at home that included 11 sacks.

Seems like an obvious key to the game. Louisville's offensive line struggles to protect Jackson. Clemson's defensive line has a bunch of future early round NFL draft picks, such as Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins.

Don't forget the other side of the ball, though. Last season Clemson had Deshaun Watson to counter Jackson's brilliance in a 42-36 Tigers' victory. If Jackson goes off again, can new Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant keep up?

HEISMAN WATCH

Yes, Jackson, but anybody else?

How about Josh Rosen? The UCLA quarterback is off to a remarkable start that includes one of the great comebacks in college football history against Texas A&M in Week 1. The Bruins play a potentially tricky game against Memphis on Saturday that kicks off at 11 a.m. locally, but 9 a.m. PT. It's the type of game that screams trap. If Rosen can help UCLA avoid it, he'll enter Pac-12 play with some real Heisman buzz.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

2003 — The last time Tennessee beat Florida at the Swamp. Also the last time the Vols won in consecutive years against the Gators. No. 23 Tennessee tries to end both droughts Saturday in Gainesville against No. 24 Florida.

17 — Yards passing for Army (2-0) this season in victories against Fordham and Buffalo. The Black Knights are second in the nation in rushing at 417 yards per game, but the competition gets much tougher Saturday when they visit No. 8 Ohio State.

6-0 — Tom Herman's record against ranked opponents in two seasons coaching Houston. Herman and Texas face No. 4 Southern California at a sold-out Los Angeles Coliseum.

4x100 — Stanford running back Bryce Love is the first Cardinal player to run for at least 100 yards in his first four career starts. The 19th-ranked Cardinals play at San Diego State, which just knocked off Arizona State of the Pac-12 last week.

HOT SEAT WATCH

Arizona State coach Todd Graham came into this season in need of a turnaround after two straight losing years. Early signs are not good after the Sun Devils were roughed up at home last week by San Diego State.

Now they go to Lubbock, Texas, for the return match of a wild game with Texas Tech last season. The teams combined for 123 points in an Arizona State victory. Another loss would leave Arizona State at 1-2 heading into Pac-12, where its first seven games are: Oregon, at Stanford, Washington, at Utah, USC, Colorado and at UCLA.


About the Author

Ben Spicer is a digital journalist who works the early morning shift for KSAT.

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