Week 3 college football picks: Alabama-Ole Miss, Ohio State-Oklahoma, more
Most college football analysts and fans expected Week 2 to be a letdown after a thrilling Week 1. Instead, it produced a number of thrilling games and unexpected results, including Arkansas' double overtime win at TCU and Central Michigan's controversial upset of Oklahoma State. By contrast, the expectations for Week 3 are sky high thanks to a glut of intriguing matchups between high-profile teams. Ohio State visits Oklahoma in a crucial bout for the Big 12's College Football Playoff hopes. Louisville can shake up the ACC by knocking off Florida State at home. Alabama will look to avoid a third consecutive loss to SEC West foe Ole Miss in a trip to Oxford.
That's a partial list. You'll have something interesting to watch from noon to early Sunday morning. Below a panel of SI.com's college football writers and editors (Andy Staples, Pete Thamel, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton, Joan Niesen, Colin Becht and Gabriel Baumgaertner) makes its picks for every big game.
| Staples | Thamel | Schnell | Hamilton | Niesen | Becht | Baum- gaertner | |
| Houston at Cincinnati | |||||||
| Florida State at Louisville | |||||||
| Temple at Penn State | |||||||
| Miami at Appalachian State | |||||||
| Oregon at Nebraska | |||||||
| Alabama at Ole Miss | |||||||
| Pittsburgh at Oklahoma State | |||||||
| Boston College at Virginia Tech | |||||||
| Western Michigan at Illinois | |||||||
| Mississippi State at LSU | |||||||
| Texas A&M at Auburn | |||||||
| Michigan State at Notre Dame | |||||||
| Georgia at Missouri | |||||||
| Ohio State at Oklahoma | |||||||
| USC at Stanford | |||||||
| UCLA at BYU | |||||||
| Texas at Cal | |||||||
| LAST WEEK | 12-2 | 12-2 | 11-3 | 10-4 | 10-4 | 10-4 | 7-7 |
| SEASON | 23-7 | 22-8 | 22-8 | 22-8 | 21-9 | 20-10 | 17-13 |