Joel Klatt picks Week 3 marquee college football games
College football is already entering its third week. With that, analyst Joel Klatt has shared what he thinks the marquee games of Week 3 are and made his picks for who is going to win all of those games.
It’s an interesting week around college football for a few reasons. For one, there are several rivalry games being played that should help to make for an exciting week of action. Then, there are several teams playing their first conference games as competition heats up. So, even though there aren’t a ton of Top 25 matchups, there’s still plenty to get excited about.
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With all of that in mind, here’s a look at who Joel Klatt picked this week on The Joel Klatt Show:
Alabama at Wisconsin
The only college football game that Joel Klatt shared some thoughts on without making a pick was the Alabama vs. Wisconsin game. That’s because he’s going to be on the call for this one with this game being Big Noon Saturday. Even without the pick, and a 16.5-point spread in favor of Alabama, this looks like one of the most interesting games in Week 3.
Klatt emphasized that Alabama is going to want to run the football and that the Crimson Tide has been good at that to this point in the season. At the same time, Alabama has a potential stud in freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams. On the other side, Wisconsin is relying on Tyler Van Dyke in an offense that uses Air Raid principles but is running the ball more than last season. However, Klatt is concerned about Wisconsin on the line of scrimmage in this game.
Arizona at Kansas State
In a marquee matchup on Friday night, two of the Big 12’s contending teams are going to meet in Manhattan. It’s a game that Kansas State enters as a 7.5-point favorite after a week where both teams struggled at times. For his part, Klatt shared that he’s “leaning” toward Kansas State for this game but that spread is too much for him. Instead, he thinks it will be a close shootout.
A major issue for Klatt comes back to both defenses struggling in their own ways. He fully expects Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan to connect for plenty of success against the Wildcats. At the same time, after Arizona struggled in games against lesser competition, especially defensively, so it seems like Kansas State should be able to score plenty.
Boston College at Missouri
Boston College is ranked for the first time since 2018 and will put its unbeaten record on the line with a road trip to Missouri, who is expected to compete for a College Football Playoff spot this season. With that, the Tigers are 16.5-point favorites in this one. So, Klatt expects the Eagles to make this a game and cover that spread with the Tigers still winning.
The reality is that Missouri hasn’t yet been tested this season. So, there are still plenty of unknowns to answer. On the other hand, Boston College earned a big win on the road against Florida State. At the same time, Missouri is almost certainly better than Florida State. Still, if Boston College’s power run game can get going, they could make this an interesting game.
LSU at South Carolina
The LSU Tigers are going on the road to the South Carolina Gamecocks. There, the Tigers will be a 6.5-point favorite despite the Gamecocks having the better record and homefield advantage. Klatt agreed with having LSU as the favorite, as he picked them to win on the road. At the same time, he doesn’t think the Tigers cover.
So far, the strength of South Carolina has been the defense, and freshman edge rusher Dylan Stewart has stood out, in particular. His ability to win matchups on Saturday is going to be a key in this game. Those tackles, however, are LSU’s strength, making for a battle. Still, after going back to the drawing board, LSU should be improved overall.
Oregon at Oregon State
One of the great rivalries in college football that was nearly lost due to conference realignment is luckily being played again when the Oregon Ducks travel to play the Oregon State Beavers. Despite struggling in its first two games, particularly on the offensive line, Oregon still enters as a 16.5-point favorite. That’s a spread that’s way too big for Klatt and he once again picked the underdog to cover in a close game while the Ducks to win outright.
Klatt explained that Oregon needs this to steady things and reestablish themselves as one of the top teams in the country. Otherwise, there are going to be more doubts as the Ducks continue to struggle. Meanwhile, the Beavers have played well so far this season, especially finding success running the ball. On top of that, the environment is going to be incredibly difficult amid conference realignment drama. So, this is going to be a tough game.
Washington vs. Washington State
The Apple Cup is another game that was almost lost due to conference realignment but ended up being brought back. However, in this case, the game will be played in a neutral site game in Seattle. The Washington Huskies also enter as a 4.5-point favorite. Again, Klatt picked the underdog, in this case Washington State, to cover while the favorite still wins the game.
Washington State is going to be excited to try and pull off the upset in this game, with plenty of bitter feelings about their circumstances. On top of that, the Cougars are playing well so far. At the same time, Washington has looked good as well, albeit against some weaker competition.
Colorado at Colorado State
The Colorado Buffaloes are hitting the road to play rival Colorado State Rams and the Buffaloes are the favorite by 7.5-points. Already, there’s been chirping between the two sides and it looks to be an intense rematch of a game that was one of the best in all of college football last season. At the end of the day, though, Klatt couldn’t pick the Rams outright. Instead, he took another underdog to cover while losing the game.
Colorado is dealing with injuries early in the season and Klatt explained that he’s been unimpressed with the offensive scheme to this point in the year for the Buffaloes. On top of that, Klatt called this the biggest game Deion Sanders has had at Colorado because a loss would show regression. So, there are concerns for the favorites going into this one. Winning in a raucous environment when you need to is never easy.