Rivalries in week 3? Only 1 ranked matchup.. on Saturday. And a traditional Rose Bowl game in primetime.
THE BEST RANKED VS RANKED GAME:
20 Arizona at 14 Kansas State
Friday Night Football for this non-con showdown between ranked Big 12 schools. Wait, did I read that right? Yes, despite both schools being in the same conference, this game will not count towards the league standings. This is because the game was scheduled before the realignment shenanigans.
THE OTHER RANKED VS RANKED GAME:
24 Boston College at 6 Missouri
Florida State was ranked when they lost to Boston College, so now Boston College gets to be ranked. That’s a nice little prize. It won’t last long though, Mizzouri likely runs away with this one.
ONE-SIDED RIVALRY GAMES:
9 Oregon at Oregon State
Washington State vs Washington (Seattle)
18 Notre Dame at Purdue
Big Ten rivalry week in *checks notes* … week 3. Historically these are games where the big brand crushes the little guy and moves on. But Oregon, Washington, and Notre Dame should all be on upset watch this week. ND did manage to blow it last week against Northern Illinois as a 28 point favorite.
A REVIVED RIVALRY
West Virginia at Pitt
Back when the Big East existed this was one of the most anticipated and heated rivalries in college football. Now that it’s a non-con game all of that energy and vitriol is reserved for Pittsburgh, Morgantown, and Pat McAfee.
A TRIP MADE LONG AGO:
Indiana at UCLA
This game gets the NBC primetime treatment, and at first glance, it makes no sense why. But it has to be to celebrate Indiana football’s long awaited return to the Rose Bowl. Their last and only visit was in 1968. This getting 1st billing has absolutely nothing to do with a scheduling conflict in Seattle for the Washington vs WSU game at Luman Field. (The Mariners share a parking lot with the football stadium and the city blocked the CFB game from overlapping with an MLB game).
THEY COULD DO THE FUNNIEST THING:
Memphis at Florida State
Nearly every season there is at least 1 preseason top 10 team that finishes the season unranked. I think we found out who that is in 2024 already with FSU starting 0-2. They are favored by less than a touchdown in week 3. What if Memphis pulls this off? We might need to do a city wide wellness check in Tallahassee.
THE B1G ONE:
4 Alabama at Wisconsin
Check out the last Wisco Wednesday for our thoughts on this one.
Want more Walk On Fan?
Follow us on X (Formally known as Twitter) here!
This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene