Week 3 college football TV schedule and open thread: Tussling Tigers

Alabama quarterback Blake Barnett (6) works through drills during football practice, Wednesday, September 16, 2015, at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

GEORGIA TECH (-2.5) AT NOTRE DAME-Saturday, 2:30 NBC-Malik Zaire OUT, Tarean Folston OUT.

(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File).

BYU quarterback Tanner Mangum has been in the spotlight after orchestrating two come-from-behind victories that have been sealed with Hail Mary touchdown passes in the waning seconds. No. 19 BYU’s ga…

This is a prime-time game that Stanford really needs to get themselves back into the Top 25 and possibly the playoff race. The Auburn Tigers are headed to Baton Rouge where they will take on the LSU Tigers.

Lofty preseason predictions for Auburn are being reevaluated following a near-loss to FCS Jacksonville State, and the team doesn’t have much time to get things right.

Elsewhere, Georgia took care of business against South Carolina and Florida survived a trip to Kentucky.

Channel surf through… No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU, 3:30 p.m. ET: Another key SEC Wes clash and an important game for an Auburn team that has struggled in its first two contests this season. The 15th-ranked Rebels, led by QB Chad Kelly, are averaging 74.5 points per game after blowouts of UT-Martin and Fresno State. This Crimson Tide bunch is a different animal, especially up front.

Ole Miss, with a big assist from Katy Perry, upset Alabama previous year in Oxford, and Coach Hugh Freeze cried on TV.

“Hopefully”, he says, “we’ll have a chance to win it in the fourth quarter”. The good news is that sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer completed 8-of-12 passes for 92 yards including the game-winning score in last week’s 34-27 win over Virginia. They have Leonard Fournette who’s carrying this offense thus far and they’re tied 5th in total yards on defense, even though it was one game.

No love lost between South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and Georgia’s Mark Richt. Quarterback Jake Coker threw 43 times against Middle Tennessee State and had a pair of both touchdowns and interceptions – yup, two picks against MTSU. Points could be a problem for the Gamecocks. And can Alabama regain ground in the SEC West with a payback win against Ole Miss or will Ole Miss cause a shift in the SEC conference? It will most likely be because their defense can’t keep up with UCLA’s machine. And, two of this week’s marquee games are SEC contests.

This is toughest game on the Wolf Pack’s schedule.

After what turned into scrimmages – routs of Alcorn State and Tulane – Tech takes on the resilient Fighting Irish.

College football games can get out of control – particularly at night it seems – so this one could evolve into a shootout in the second half. After the last two weeks, they feel they can do anything. Notre Dame won 24-3 in their final home game of the season. The game is in Lexington, and Ithink the streak comes to an end. Luckily for the Tide, the running game and defense have carried them to easy wins through the first couple games of the year. The Gators are 3-point favorites in the game at Lexington.

Last week was a rough one for the SEC. In the same week?

CAL (-7) AT TEXAS-Saturday, 6:30 FOX-The game on paper doesn’t look as interesting as the intangibles.

Northern Illinois at No. 1 Ohio State (ABC, 3:30 p.m.): The MAC rose up last week with a few surprises – Bowling Green over Maryland, Toledo over Arkansas – but this might be asking too much. A few teams did eek out close wins against lesser opponents (I’m looking at you, Missouri and Florida), but they still managed to earn the W and are poised for bounce-back efforts in Week 3. And even if it doesn’t live up to expectations, it’s worth sticking around for highlights of the national championship-deciding games these teams played in the Orange Bowl.