After a few weeks of college football action, more teams have a game under their belt. Week 3 will feature a slate of both conference and non-conference matchups. Here are three teams on upset alert in week 3 of the 2020 college football season.
*Spreads are according to TeamRankings as of Tuesday evening.*
Liberty Flames (0-0) vs. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (0-1)
When: Saturday, September 19 | Noon EST
Watch: ESPNU
Western Kentucky started their season off with a 35-21 loss to Louisville. Other than getting outscored 21-0 in the second quarter, the Hilltoppers tied or beat Louisville’s score in the other three quarters, so they hung around. Looking back on that game may hurt them, as they should be preparing for Liberty, who is playing their first game of the season Saturday.
Liberty had a solid season in 2019, going 8-5 with a bowl win over Southern Georgia. They showed that they can perform on both sides of the ball. They put up 63 against UMASS and held New Mexico to just 10 points last year. If they can put those performances together, Liberty can find themselves having one of the best years in program history. They may want to try and find another game, though, as they have just 10 scheduled so far for 2020.
Pittsburgh Panthers (1-0) vs. Syracuse Orange (0-1)
When: Saturday, September 19 | Noon EST
Watch: ACC Network
Tommy Devito throws a pass against North Carolina (Image from Syracuse.com)
Pittsburgh started their season with a comfortable 55-0 win over Austin Peay. Quarterback Kenny Pickett went 14-for-20 passing with 277 yards and a touchdown pass. The defense did not allow a single Austin Peay player to get 10 rushing yards, and held the team to just eight yards on the ground. This week won’t be that easy against Syracuse.
Although Syracuse lost 31-6 to a highly projected North Carolina Tar Heels team, the Orange were down just 10-6 after the third quarter. The defense was able to intercept UNC quarterback Sam Howell twice, and other than the fourth quarter, the Syracuse defense played a solid game. The offense will want to find a groove to try and upset the Panthers.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (1-0) vs. Central Florida Knights (0-0)
When: Saturday, September 19 | 3:30 PM EST
Watch: ABC
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of a huge 16-13 victory over Florida State. They trailed 10-0 after the first quarter before outscoring the Seminoles 16-3 in the last three quarters. Quarterback Jeff Sims threw a touchdown pass on 277 yards through the air. After going 3-9 in 2019, two upset wins to start their 2020 college football season can be huge for this Georgia Tech football program.
The 2019 season was the third in-a-row where UCF won at least 10 games. That is very notable considering the team went 0-12 in 2015. They will begin the 2020 season against an ACC opponent. Georgia Tech runs a much slower tempo than the Knights, so who can control the tempo can be a big factor in this one. The Knights will have Dillon Gabriel under center as Mickenzie Milton is still recovering from an injury.
Featured Image Courtesy of collegefootballnews.com.
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