Week 2 had it all, but the nightcap, a wild comeback for #1 Texas against #6 Ohio State, put the Longhorns on top of the college football world.
The drama only builds in Week 3. Lane Kiffin and #7 LSU lived in the spotlight all offseason after the coach’s messy exit from Oxford. Now, he’ll open conference play in the SEC against #8 Ole Miss at the grounds he once did yoga poses on for years.
A majority of the rest of college football’s top 25 have a tune-up game, but the Big 12 and ACC also have ranked clashes for us this weekend. Let’s ride.
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#22 Houston at #13 Texas Tech
#13 Texas Tech’s pursuit for a second straight Big 12 title begins Friday night in Lubbock. They’ll battle #22 Houston in a battle of teams that, oddly, have both played Oregon State of the Pac-12 in their one notable game of the season.
Understandably so, the Red Raiders have looked a bit out of sorts after an offseason spent out of sorts. Expected star quarterback Brendan Sorsby was banned from college football, leaving Will Hammond (51.2 QBR) as the starter. The team then purchased Boston College QB Tommy Castellanos off an NFL practice squad, and Hammond might now be looking over his shoulder after a tough start.
Tech escaped the Beavers, 35-24, last week in Corvallis. The Cougars beat them 33-20 at home in Week 1. Willie Fritz has had a strong defense in two years at Houston, and they’re at it again, allowing just 5.2 yards per play (YPP; 60th in FBS) in two up-tempo matchups. Veterans Conner Weigman, Makhi Hughes, and Amare Thomas give the Cougars a ton of options on offense, as well.
The home team sent 6 defensive draft picks to the NFL in April, and I’m just not sure this defense is as intimidating to the rest of the conference as it was a season ago. Plus, Tech’s star running back, Cameron Dickey, has stumbled to just 2.8 yards per carry (YPC) against a poor level of competition.
Houston might be able to signal to the rest of the Big 12 that this Red Raiders squad, while equally expensive, isn’t quite as unbeatable as last year’s.
Swami's Crystal Ball Says: Texas Tech 27, Houston 24
Arizona State vs. Kansas
On domestic soil, I might not feature this game. But, we’re sending these kids to London on national television, so that should be a cool spectacle.
Wembley Stadium plays host to Arizona State and Kansas, which could be a Big 12 matchup of note. You never quite know in this conference when coaches as good as Kenny Dillingham and Lance Liepold might catch a break or two throughout the year.
Dillingham’s Sun Devils had #9 Texas A&M on upset alert in the first half last week, but the Aggies smashed them in the final 30 minutes to win 48-20. That still doesn’t diminish the full-blown breakout of Reed Harris, who is fourth in the country in receiving yards (326).
Kansas also got put in its place by a ranked school last week. #20 Missouri scored at will in a 38-21 win, and Kansas quarterback Isaiah Marshall completed just 43.3% of his throws.
As both schools step back in competition, it actually looks dry at the venue this weekend, and there’s a lot of perimeter talent in this matchup, including Harris, Arizona State RB Kyson Brown, and Kansas WR Nik McMillan. We might have sent a good one overseas.
Swami's Crystal Ball Says: Arizona State 38, Kansas 33
#16 SMU vs. #23 Louisville
#5 Miami looks pretty darn unbeatable, but these are the other members of the podium for “Best ACC Team” this season.
We’ve already seen both #16 SMU and #23 Louisville tested by good schools in Week 1. The Mustangs survived a Monday night featured contest in Tallahassee, and the Cardinals lost a shootout to Ole Miss. They’re both ready for this one.
Quarterback play is a strength of both teams. SMU’s Kevin Jennings is third in FBS in QBR thus far (94.6), delivering on the potential he showed in a 2024 freshman campaign where the team made the College Football Playoff. Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz (88.4 QBR) is much more of a surprise, transferring out from behind Julian Sayin at Ohio State into success with Jeff Brohm’s squad.
I really want to see where these defenses normalize because they were both top-50 schools in YPP allowed a year ago. Louisville (6.1 YPP allowed) is porous on paper, but they also had to play Trinidad Chambliss in Oxford.
ESPN’s SP+ efficiency model puts SMU (19th) slightly ahead of Louisville (23rd), but a raucous crowd could make the difference. Without much conviction about either school, I’ll just have my popcorn ready here.
Swami's Crystal Ball Says: Louisville 28, SMU 27
Mississippi State at South Carolina
I really stepped in the way of a moving freight train to pick Minnesota over Mississippi State last weekend.
The Gophers were a top-60 school in YPP allowed in each of the last two seasons, and emerging star quarterback Kamario Taylor dropped 38 points on their dome with 3 passing touchdowns. The 6’4” dual threat is second across FBS in QBR (96.3) at the moment.
He’s sort of got the shine that LaNorris Sellers did for South Carolina two years ago. However, it’s since been a challenging two years for Sellers (44.3 QBR) if you count the start of this one. He completed just 43.5% of his throws against FCS Towson two weeks ago.
There probably is a little general lack of respect for Minnesota’s anemic passing offense, which was dead on arrival with last week’s early deficit. But, there is no excuse for how Taylor eviscerated what has historically been a strong Big Ten defense on the road.
The Gamecocks’ defense hasn’t proven anything through games with Towson and Kent State, and coming off a year where they went 1-7 in the conference, I’m going to need to see a lot more from Sellers, Beamer, and company before favoring them to win against an SEC opponent with a sizzling passer.
Swami's Crystal Ball Says: Mississippi State 30, South Carolina 23
#7 LSU at #8 Ole Miss
The #7 LSU Tigers hired Lane Kiffin on November 30, 2025. The SEC schedule was released 11 days later, and the schedule-makers are apparently messy.
Kiffin’s very first conference game with the school is in Oxford against #8 Ole Miss, the place he called home for nearly six seasons. This saga of betrayal gets that much more interesting on Saturday.
Oh, yeah. The football game isn’t bad, either.
The Tigers decimated Clemson in Death Valley two weeks ago, and Sam Leavitt has accounted for seven total touchdowns in two games under center for LSU. He was a bit sloppier last week against Louisiana Tech, throwing 3 interceptions. He was initially listed as doubtful for this game but upgraded to questionable on Thursday, leading many to believe this was all gamesmanship from the ol’ ball coach.
Ole Miss is delighted to get back running back Kewan Lacy for this showdown after he was nicked up in Week 1 against Louisville. Among the favorites in Heisman Trophy odds, Trinidad Chambliss didn’t miss his tailback too much in the first two contests, posting six total TDs and a 71.0% completion rate.
Especially for a night game, this Rebels crowd might be one of the most venomous and loudest of the whole SEC schedule, which says a lot. Even believing Leavitt to be healthy myself, I also think Ole Miss’s quarterback stability is a massive advantage.
Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding worked for Lane Kiffin less than 12 months ago. I don’t think he’s disrupting Kiffin’s offense much on that side of the ball, but Chambliss already turned back one ranked school in a shootout this year. Sticking it to the guy who soaked the team’s playoff run in drama last year wouldn’t be a huge surprise.
Swami's Crystal Ball Says: Ole Miss 30, LSU 28
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