Predicting every top 25 college football game in Week 3

After the big Week 1 win over LSU, Florida State still won handily, but perhaps not as authoritatively, in Week 2. However, playing Boston College, which has been on a downward trajectory of late, should cure some of those ills.

Prediction: Florida State 38, Boston College 10

(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

Two years ago, Penn State lost a 9 OT thriller at home to the Illini, but this Illinois team isn’t nearly on that level. After losing pretty badly to Kansas in Week 2, this looks as if it’s a really good team vs. a not good at all team.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Illinois 13

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Oddly, Mississippi State is the undefeated one here and is at home while LSU is healing from the wounds suffered in Week 1 vs. Florida State. However, the Tigers are the more talented squad and though Starkville is a tough environment, LSU should get its first SEC win of the season.

Prediction: LSU 31, Mississippi State 27

AP Photo/Nate Billings

Missouri sometimes plays teams tough — take a look at the game against Georgia last year — but people underestimate just how good Kansas State has been under Chris Kleiman. The Wildcats narrowly have the edge in the betting odds, but should surpass that pretty handily.

Prediction: Kansas State 38, Missouri 17

Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images

Though both teams are undefeated, Weber State is a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school and is incredibly overmatched. While Utah wasn’t quite as dominant in Week 2 as it was against Florida in Week 1, this is a blowout waiting to happen.

Prediction: Utah 55, Weber State 3

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Central Michigan hung tough with MSU for a half, but Notre Dame ain’t MSU. The Irish are rolling at the moment and may actually be underrated at No. 9 in the country. This one isn’t close, not even for a half.

Prediction: Notre Dame 58, Central Michigan 3

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Georgia may still be getting its footing after all of the personnel losses, and while it hasn’t played any kind of decent competition yet, South Carolina didn’t really show up against North Carolina. This game was an upset in 2019, but it won’t be in 2023.

Prediction: Georgia 35, South Carolina 7

Sara Diggins-Austin-American Statesman

This is a weird one for a couple of reasons. Alabama is coming off of a loss and it’s playing on the road at a Group of Five school in USF. The Bulls aren’t exactly a good team, and Alabama is licking its wounds, but the Tide should roll in Tampa, regardless.

Prediction: Alabama 31, USF 3

Syndication: Statesman Journal

People are underestimating Oregon State, but it does have a potentially tough matchup against the Aztecs. The expectation is a Beavers blowout, but this one will take a while for OSU to pull away.

Prediction: Oregon State 27, SDSU 17

Syndication: The Oklahoman

It’s unclear if Oklahoma has cured its ails from a year ago and if Brent Venables is truly the answer here. But the Kevin Wilson-led Golden Hurricane are coming off of a blowout loss to Washington and this doesn’t appear to be a game that will be…a game.

Prediction: Oklahoma 45, Tulsa 12

Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

Despite being 2-0, North Carolina is falling in the polls and Drake Maye hasn’t lived up to the hype from the offseason. Still, Minnesota isn’t the same team it was a year ago either, and though it ran the ball well last week, it still appears to be a work in progress.

Prediction: North Carolina 17, Minnesota 14

Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY Sports

Northwestern beat an FCS team last week, convincingly, which is a step in the right direction. But Duke is operating on another level at the moment. If the Wildcats can’t beat Rutgers, they’re not beating the Blue Devils on the road.

Prediction: Duke 35, Northwestern 7

Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Iowa appears to be good but also doesn’t appear to be any different, even with Cade McNamara at the helm. Expect more of the same.

Prediction: Iowa 24, Western Michigan 13

Adam Cairns-Columbus Dispatch

It’s unclear if Western Kentucky still has the prolific passing offense it had with Bailey Zappe at the helm, and it’s also unclear whether Ohio State has fixed its defense because it’s shut down two historically not great offensive outfits. WKU is known to have a great offense and a bad defense, so if OSU can’t get its offense going for a third straight week, it really is in trouble.

But it won’t be this week.

Prediction: Ohio State 42, WKU 13

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan State is flying high after a 2-0 start, but is going through turmoil behind the scenes with head coach Mel Tucker suspended. Meanwhile, Washington is proving to be formidable. While this game is in East Lansing and the Spartans hope to rally, the Huskies are a complete team and more talented than their Big Ten counterpart in this contest.

Prediction: Washington 42, Michigan State 24

John Fisher/Getty Images

Much like Oregon State, Wazzu gets little national attention, yet it keeps winning and playing at a high level. It will do so for the third straight week, playing even better than it did last week against Wisconsin.

Prediction: Washington State 52, Northern Colorado 6

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Bruins have truly reloaded and are playing an FCS team. It’s another game for Dante Moore to get comfortable in his role as starting quarterback.

Prediction: UCLA 48, NCC 0

Carly Mackler/Getty Images

It’s unclear if Joe Milton will step into that Heisman-level quarterback role that was being projected all offseason, but the Vols are in a much better spot than the Graham Mertz-led Florida Gators. There might be some topsy-turvy plays and haphazard situations, but Tennessee will emerge victorious.

Prediction: Tennessee 28, Florida 14

Stephen  Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Ole Miss is coming off of a tough win last week, but should bounce back against a Georgia Tech team that just isn’t truly competitive against good teams.

Prediction: Ole Miss 42, Georgia Tech 17

Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

Wyoming proved it can take down a good team in Week 1 when it bested upstart Texas Tech, and Texas is coming off of an emotional win over Alabama. But these aren’t teams in the same league. Expect a Longhorns hangover, but they’ll still easily prevail at home.

Prediction: Texas 40, Wyoming 10

Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon might not be as good as many might have thought after Week 1’s throttling of Portland State, but perhaps not as bad as its struggle session against Baylor, either. Hawaii plays teams tough, but this one should be a game where the Ducks flex.

Prediction: Oregon 45, Hawaii 3

Photo: Isaiah Hole

Jay Norvell shouldn’t have said anything. This rivalry fodder he provided a red-hot Deion Sanders will not work out well for the Rams.

Prediction: Colorado 48, Colorado State 10

Photo: Isaiah Hole

There are a lot of ties between Michigan football and Bowling Green, whether it’s the Harbaugh family patriarch meeting its matriarch at BGSU, or Scot Loeffler cutting his teeth in Ann Arbor. It’s a night game, the atmosphere will be electric. But Michigan won’t show anything beyond what it has. The run game will be better, the pass game will remain hot, and the backups will again struggle to stop the opposing starters late in the game.

Prediction: Michigan 35, Bowling Green 3