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College Football's Games To Watch: Week Three Preview

This week: Star-Spangled Terrapins, Iowa campus police and Eric Cartman.

Sam Greenwood

Central Florida @ No. 20 Missouri  12 PM, Saturday on SEC Network

UCF had a great effort in the second half in the opener against Penn State in Dublin, Ireland. After a stagnant first half, Sophomore quarterback Justin Holman came in off the bench to lead a furious comeback completing 9-of-14 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also added two scores on the ground, but the Knights fell just short losing 26-24. Missouri and coach Gary Pinkel should be ready for a tough game, but I still put them squarely on upset alert in this one.

West Virginia @ Maryland  12 PM, Saturday on Big Ten Network

The Mountaineers surprised many in the opening game against Alabama losing by only 10 points. This is an important season for Dana Holgorsen in Morgantown. After posting a 10-3 mark in his first year at the helm, downtrending seasons of 7-6 and 4-8 have things moving in the wrong direction. His seat is getting awfully warm up there. On the other side, Maryland needs all the wins they can scrape together if they hope to make a bowl game. The Big Ten is weak this season but that doesn't mean the rebuilding Terrapins are likely to rack up conference W's. The Terps will be wearing special patriotic uniforms this weekend featuring the Star-Spangled Banner lyrics as penned by Marylander Francis Scott Key. They're...certainly something.

No. 21 Louisville @ Virginia  12:30 PM, Saturday on ESPN Gameplan

Will Gardner has been a pleasant surprise so far for Louisville fans worried the team would take a step back without Teddy Bridgewater. Gardner has completed 66% of his passes so far with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He helped the Cardinals to a convincing win over Miami, but this game may be a bigger challenge. Virginia's defense appears to be much improved after stifling UCLA in the opener. The trouble for the Wahoos is their offense—mainly the quarterback position—and their incompetent head coach Mike London. UVA has used at least two QBs in a game in 33 of the 51 games in London's tenure. It'll be 34 after Saturday.

Iowa State @ Iowa  3:30 PM, Saturday on ESPN

I don't know much about this game but Iowa is 2-0 while the Cyclones are 0-2 including a loss to FCS opponent North Dakota State. Iowa should win, but rivalries are the lifeblood of college sports and you just never know. This week it even extended to the campus police departments talking some smack.

No. 6 Georgia @ No. 24 South Carolina  3:30 PM, Saturday on CBS

I'm obligated to include this match up because it features the only two ranked teams playing this weekend, but I don't think it will be a good game. South Carolina is barely hanging on to their season after getting demolished by Texas A&M and narrowly defeating East Carolina. That defense desperately needs to play better, but the Georgia offense isn't going to help with that. Todd Gurley is a dominant tailback if he can stay healthy and freshman Nick Chubb had a great opener as well. I think UGA will win comfortably.

No. 16 Arizona State @ Colorado  10 PM, Saturday on ESPNU

Colorado is slightly better than last season and Folsom Field should be ready for this one. Word is that the South Park folks have something special in store for fans that arrive in the stands 10 minutes early. The last time South Park was involved in a Colorado home game they upset Nebraska. Could it happen again? As Craig Tucker might say, "If the Buffaloes pull an upset I would be soooo happy."