We are now through two weeks of the college football season, and we are ready to do it again in week three. The college football season has been a ton of fun already as we have already seen a lot of upsets and we have learned a lot about teams across the country. Contenders are beginning to present themselves, and we have already seen pretenders fall flat (sorry Florida State). So much has happened in just a couple of weeks, and week three is sure to provide more excitement. One game that should be a good one will feature the Oregon State football team hosting their rival, Oregon, for the Civil War game.
Week three is almost here, but this will be the fourth week of games as we did have a week zero this year that had a mini slate. Week one and week two have provided some great matchups, but week three is a little bit slim. Oregon vs. Oregon State is definitely one of the better matchups of the week, and let’s take a look at some other notable games as well.
ESPN’s College GameDay goes to the best game every week, and they will be at LSU vs. South Carolina for week three. A lot of people would argue that there are better matchups out there, but that will be a good one. Missouri-Boston College is one of just two matchups featuring two ranked teams. The other one will take place on Friday night as Arizona and Kansas State will square off in a crucial Big 12 game.
One good one to watch this weekend will be taking place in Madison, Wisconsin as Alabama will hit the road to take on the Badgers. There is also another intriguing rivalry game for former Pac-12 teams as well as Washington will battle Washington State. Now that these teams aren't in the same conference anymore, they have to change their rivalry week.
Other notable matchups include Notre Dame at Purdue and Georgia at Kentucky. There are some decent matchups, but it is a pretty slim week. Conference play begins in week four for most teams, so this is the calm before the storm. However, weeks like this are sometimes the ones that produce the most chaos.
There’s no doubt about it, it’s going to be exciting to see this Oregon football team hit the road to take on their rival, Oregon State, in just the third game of the season. Before we get into our predictions, let’s take a look at where each team is at heading into this game.
Oregon football hasn't looked good this year
Oregon came into the season ranked #3 in the country, but they struggled quite a bit in week one in their opener against Idaho. The Vandals are an FCS team, so they obviously weren't given much of a chance heading into this matchup against the Ducks. However, they found themselves only trailing by three points in the fourth quarter.
The Ducks came into this game favored by 44.5 points, but they didn't come even close to covering. Things got a little dicey in the fourth quarter when Idaho scored a touchdown to make it 17-14. If the Vandals got a stop on the next drive, they would've had a chance to tie with a field goal or take the lead with a touchdown.
Oregon put together a nice drive, however, and they scored a touchdown to extend the lead back to 10. Oregon finished out the game for a 24-14 victory, but it was ugly.
Week two wasn't pretty either. The Ducks hosted Boise State, and the Broncos are a solid team, but if it weren't for two huge kick return touchdowns, Oregon would've likely lost handily at home against a group of five team. The way that the Ducks have looked so far this season is very concerning.
Oregon State football is 2-0 so far
The Oregon State football team has handled business so far this season, but we haven't seen the Beavers go up against a good team, so we should learn a lot more about them this weekend.
So far, the Beavers have defeated Idaho State and San Diego State. Oregon State beat Idaho State 38-15, and they took down the Aztecs 21-0.
The Oregon State football team lost head coach Jonathan Smith in the offseason, so this is expected to be an adjustment year. Not a lot of people are giving them a chance in this game against Oregon, but the Ducks haven't looked good this season, so you never know.
It's exciting that we get to see this rivalry played so early in the season this year. Here are three predictions for the big game:
Dillon Gabriel will throw a pick
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One of the most important things to keep an eye on in this game is whether or not Oregon’s offensive line can protect Dillon Gabriel. The offensive line has been the biggest concern for the Ducks so far this season, and it has made things tough on Gabriel. If Oregon State can apply pressure to Gabriel, they can force him into some mistakes that can lead to turnovers.
Jam Griffin will score two touchdown
One of the best things about this Oregon State offense is running back Jam Griffin. So far this season, Griffin has 32 carries for 197 yards and one touchdown so far this season, but he is going to add a couple more this weekend. Ashton Jeanty and Boise State picked apart the Oregon run defense last weekend, and the Beavers need to do the same if they want a chance.
Oregon State football will pull off the upset
Oregon is very lucky to be 2-0 right now as they have struggled this season, and they won’t get so lucky this weekend. The Oregon State football team is at home, and it’s a rivalry game. Anything can happen, and the Beavers are going to pull off the upset.
Oregon and Oregon State will kick things off at 3:30 ET/12:30 PT on Saturday from Reser Stadium in Corvallis, Oregon. The game will be airing on Fox, and the Ducks are currently favored by 16.5 points.
