Ready. Set. Go!
Week three of the 2017 college football season is upon us, and it's time for the SEC+3 crew's picks and predictions for each SEC game and three other big games across the country:
Louisiana vs. Texas A&M
Griff: Kevin Sumlin will need to get his squad back on track after both a week one meltdown and a sloppy game in week two. His Aggies will be able to do that against the Ragin' Cajuns that have been thrashed by the offenses of the first two teams it's faced and have allowed over 500 and 600 yards to Southeastern Louisiana and Tulsa, respectively.
The Pick: Texas A&M 66 Louisiana 28
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Texas A&M 48 Louisiana 10
(23) Tennessee vs. (24) Florida
Griff: Tennessee comes into Gainesville after the devastation that Hurricane Irma caused the state of Florida. The Gators have had to endure an unexpected bye week due to the storm, but that won't benefit Florida in this one. The self-proclaimed "Champions of Life" make a big play on either offense or defense to notch a big SEC East win in The Swamp.
The Pick: Tennessee 27 Florida 24
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Tennessee 17 Florida 10
Mercer vs. (15) Auburn
Griff: Mercer will play the victim to an Auburn team that's ready to get back on the field and erase the physical beating that quarterback Jarrett Stidham was forced to take last week in Clemson. Auburn gets to look at the depth chart a good bit in this one and wins big.
The Pick: Auburn 52 Mercer 10
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Auburn 38 Mercer 0
Purdue vs. Missouri
Griff: Missouri firing its defensive coordinator won't help the Tigers escape the nightmare that's been its defense this weekend. Quarterback Jeff Brohm leads his Purdue team into Columbia, Missouri and makes it rain on the Tigers defense. Purdue wins a close one.
The Pick: Purdue 38 Missouri 35
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Purdue 28 Missouri 22
Colorado State vs. (1) Alabama
Griff: Nick Saban and Alabama pitch a shutout against Mike Bobo's Colorado State team.
The Pick: Alabama 38 Colorado State 0
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Alabama 42 Colorado State 3
(12) LSU vs. Mississippi State
Griff: Simply stated, this is the best SEC conference game of the week. A big early test for both of these teams that have had good starts to the 2017 season. LSU getting defensive lineman Arden Key back on the field gives the Tigers a huge advantage heading into Starkville. However, Mississippi State has played very solid defense so far this season, but the Bulldogs have yet to play a team with a power running game that's in the same dimension as LSU. Mississippi State keeps it close in the beginning, but LSU gets a nice SEC West road win.
The Pick: LSU 35 Mississippi State 24
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: LSU 20 Mississippi State 17
Samford vs. (13) Georgia
Griff: Georgia might have a quarterback controversy once sophomore Jacob Eason returns, but right now the "other Jake" has the Bulldogs right where the team wants to be. Like Auburn, Georgia will get an opportunity to explore its depth chart a little bit against a good FCS team.
The Pick: Georgia 45 Samford 13
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Georgia 35 Samford 7
(18) Kansas State vs. Vanderbilt
Griff: Vanderbilt has looked like a new and improved offense so far this season. This will be the first test for Derek Mason's group this season. Kansas State comes into Nashville with a heavy arsenal on the offensive side of the ball, and those explosive offensive weapons will be the difference in a close game. Vanderbilt will have an opportunity to win this game, but the Commodores will turn the ball over, miss a kick or allow a big play to lose a heartbreaker.
The Pick: Kansas State 31 Vanderbilt 30
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Vanderbilt 28 Kansas State 21
Kentucky vs. South Carolina
Griff: South Carolina is carrying the weight of losing to Kentucky for three-straight seasons. In all three of those games, South Carolina had the opportunity to win, but the Gamecocks seemed to find a way to lose each time. Jake Bentley will be much sharper early in the game than he was last week against Missouri, and the Gamecocks will pull away from the Wildcats late in this one.
The Pick: South Carolina 38 Kentucky 27
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: South Carolina 34 Kentucky 17
Ole Miss vs. California
Griff: Shae Patterson needs just 82 yards passing to surpass the 1,000-yard mark this early in the season. Patterson continues to impress and has thrown for well over 400 yards in each of the Rebels' wins to get Ole Miss to a 2-0 start. What's more impressive to me, however, is Patterson's 76.9% completion percentage. That statistic, coupled with his nine touchdowns to just one interception, makes him one of the best (if not flat-out the best) quarterback in the SEC right now. The Rebels will need him to continue, and Ole Miss will need a lot of points in "old west" shootout in California. Matt Luke's squad will bring a taste of the SEC out to PAC-12 country and get the job done.
The Pick: Ole Miss 41 California 35
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Ole Miss 31 California 23
(3) Clemson vs. (14) Louisville
Griff: Louisville will keep this game close as long as last year's Heisman winner, Lamar Jackson, can continue to make big plays with his arm and legs that he's made so far this season. This will create pressure on the younger crop of Clemson offensive players that are replacing a lot of huge roles from last year's National Championship team to make plays. This is the first time playing in a hostile environment for a lot of those players, but Clemson fans will be delighted with how these young offensive players will handle the pressure. The Tigers defense will force a turnover or get a huge stop late to seal what will be the de facto ACC Atlantic title game.
The Pick: Clemson 38 Louisville 28
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Louisiville 26 Clemson 24
Texas vs. (4) Southern Cal
Griff: As much as this game has been advertised on television, it's not going to live up to the instant classic that the 2006 Rose Bowl National Championship was. Tom Herman is in a rough spot so far during his first season at the helm in Austin, and Saturday isn't going to make matters any better. The Trojans will have another offensive explosion Saturday whether Southern Cal throws or runs the ball. Either way the Trojans offense choose to attack the Longhorns, it's not going to matter because this loss will be brutal to Texas.
The Pick: Southern Cal 49 Texas 17
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Southern Cal 42 Texas 21
(10) Wisconsin vs. BYU
Griff: Like Justin said on the podcast, this game will look similar to the Cougars week one loss to LSU. When doing my research, BYU's loss in the opening week to LSU was the first thought that popped into my head. Wisconsin takes this one by using its sound defense and power running game.
The Pick: Wisconsin 27 BYU 17
Justin Hall's pick from the podcast: Wisconsin 31 BYU 17
In case you missed the week three podcast with Griff and Justin Hall, you can listen by clicking the play button below:
As always, thanks for reading! We here at SEC+3 hope you enjoy all of this week's college football action within the SEC and throughout the country. Be sure to follow Justin Hall on Twitter @JustinBHall, and Griff on Twitter @griffaldo.
You can also follow the blog on Twitter @GSL_SECPlus3 and feel free to tweet us questions that we will (try our best) to answer during next week's podcast!
Have an amazing and safe weekend and celebrate the 2017 season that's already been an interesting one!
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