By BRANDON WILLIS
Student Reporter
Week three of college football has four top 25 match ups on the schedule according to the AP Top 25 Poll on ESPN.com.
The second week of college football provided exciting upsets and comebacks, whether it was OU pulling off a comeback in overtime over #23 Tennessee in Nashville or Toledo upsetting an SEC opponent in Arkansas.
With all of the drama that week two presented, this Saturday will have five matchups that will affect the national rankings and most importantly will affect the playoff landscape.
The first top 25 matchup of the day is #14 Georgia Tech heading north to face #8 Notre Dame at 2:30 pm.
The Irish are coming off a close victory over the University of Virginia 34-27. Unfortunately, the Irish starting quarterback Malik Zaire fractured his ankle mid-way through the third-quarter and will be out for the rest of the season.
Redshirt freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer finished the game, as he led his team to victory with a touchdown pass with 12 seconds left in the fourth-quarter. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets blew out Tulane 65-10 at home.
This matchup of top 15 teams is interesting because of contrasting styles of play and unfamiliarity with each other since they rarely face one another.
The second matchup to look for is #18 Auburn taking on #13 LSU in Baton Rouge, La. Both teams are coming off of close wins last week.
Junior Health and Sports Science major, Martin Pavicic, will have a close eye on these two teams for a specific reason. “I think the SEC is overrated and I’m interested to see what these teams look like,” Pavicic said. “With OU winning in SEC territory and Arkansas losing, people are going to see if these teams can stack up against the big boys.”
The next matchup is #15 Ole Miss Rebels challenging the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
SB Nation College Football writer, Kevin Traham said, Alabama has been dominant in their first two games and Ole Miss has been impressive to start the season.
“The Rebels have looked solid in dominating two cupcakes to open the season, but Alabama has arguably the most talented team in the country, and the Tide were dominant in their big opener against Wisconsin,” Traham said.
This SEC matchup will have major implications for both teams but especially Alabama since they are #2 in the country.
The final matchup will be a West Coast battle between #19 Brigham Young Cougars and #10 UCLA Bruins.
The Bruins have rolled through their first two games behind freshmen sensation QB Josh Rosen.
Meanwhile, BYU has completed two last second upsets over ranked opponents in Nebraska and Boise State.
BYU also has a freshmen starting at QB Tanner Mangum who took over for after senior Taysom Hill was injured in the Nebraska game with a Lisfranc (mid-foot) sprain according to ESPN.com.
The play of the two freshmen quarterbacks will decide the outcome.
Jay Drew of the Salt Lake Tribune put it perfectly when he said, “The stage is set for a rookie QB showdown nobody saw coming when the season began.”
These four matchups should make for an enjoyable Saturday of college football.