College Football: Week 3 Preview

So, which team has dominance in the Big 12? Who gets the spoils in this week's game between Texas A&M and Alabama? Is Clemson for real? Let's talk.

First off, let's get the ball rolling on the status of the Big 12. I want to say right off the bat that no one should be absolutely sold on Baylor's "new" offense. Sure they've hung up some impressive numbers...but those impressive numbers were hung on the likes of Wofford and Buffalo. We'll see what happens when Baylor plays some real competition, especially some upper-eschilon Big 12 defenses.

So what about defense? Well, Texas doesn't have one, apparently, after a blunder of a weekend in Provo, Utah cost Manny Diaz his job as defensive coordinator. Another huge question mark for both Texas Tech and Oklahoma is can their defenses stand up to tougher Big 12 offenses? Texas Tech has its biggest test on Thursday night thus far, but will the defense be able to hold up the Horned Frogs? If it wants to, those players are going to have to sow closed some holes that even I saw from my seat against FCS's Stephen F. Austin. Boykin and the darker shade of purple will capitalize on mistakes made by a young defensive squad, so as for right now, I can't say that I'm too thrilled about Tech's Thursday night defensive outing. That said, I'm still excited for the game, of course. Oklahoma did a relatively good job keeping West Virginia in check, but I'm looking forward to the matchup on September 28th against Notre Dame as their biggest defensive test thus far. Best team in the Big 12? At this time, I'd still have to give it to Oklahoma State.

Now let's turn our focus to this Saturday's biggest matchup that will shake some ground in the top 10. Texas A&M plays host to the Crimson Tide, a rematch of revenge for the Tuscaloosa-stationed champions. The top team in the land has what it takes to suppress the sixth-ranked A&M team, including the likes of Johnny Manziel, who's definitely been drawing national attention for his outlaw-like, outlandish attitude. Final score at Kyle Field? Alabama takes it 24-13.

Finally, let's take a peek at the Clemson Tigers. After a thriller of a face-off in week one against Georgia, Clemson rolled over the other Bulldogs from South Carolina State. So, what do those two wins mean? Well, the most recent win of SC State doesn't mean much of anything, though Clemson had minimal hiccups and showed just how good its offense can be when on a roll. The win over Georgia, however, showed that if any one conference can hang with the SEC this year, it's the ACC (which is actually pretty surprising). With fellow top team Florida State and a climbing team in Miami, Clemson leads a conference that looks especially strong out of the gates this year. Does Clemson have what it takes to take down the top powers that reign from the Southeast Conference? Time will tell, but all things considered, I do think Clemson is the most prepared all-around to take down the Tide, if indeed things shake out where we see those two teams in January.

Games of the week: #1 Alabama at #6 Texas A&M, #16 UCLA at #23 Nebraska, #19 Washington at Illinois, and of course #24 TCU here in the Hub City against Texas Tech.

Here's to a gorgeous weekend of college football.