Week 3 FBS College Football Preview: Top 25 Clashes and Non-Ranked Watchlists

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Week 3 features early Top-25 conference battles, high-stakes revenge spots, and critical bounce-back opportunities across the country. The drama will happen in Oxford, MS., where LSU will face Ole Miss. The SMU and Louisville meet in a Top-20 clash, and the Hurricanes look to avoid the old trap game.

Headline Top-25 Matchups

The head coach of your Fighting Tigers. @Lane_Kiffin is Callin’ Baton Rouge! pic.twitter.com/NpXTeTL0Vo

— LSU Football (@LSUfootball) November 30, 2025

No. 7 LSU at No. 8 Ole Miss (Saturday, 7:30 PM ET, ABC)

Tension reaches a boiling point in Oxford on Saturday night as Lane Kiffin returns to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for the first time since his chaotic departure for Baton Rouge. Kiffin’s early tenure at LSU has already been a lightning rod of off-field drama and headline-grabbing portal moves, but all eyes are now on the sidelines as he faces his former team. Led by his ex-defensive coordinator Pete Golding, an energized Ole Miss squad is desperate to exact revenge on the coach who walked out on them last winter, while LSU aims to prove that Kiffin’s high-stakes gamble in Baton Rouge was worth every bit of the spectacle.

No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville (Saturday, 3:30 PM ET, ESPN)

A high-stakes ACC clash takes center stage on Saturday as No. 16 SMU travels to L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium to face No. 23 Louisville in the weekend’s sole Top-25 matchup. The Mustangs bring a dominant 15-2 ACC record since 2024 into Kentucky, spearheaded by quarterback Kevin Jennings, who is coming off a staggering five-touchdown first half against UC Davis. They’ll be tested by a motivated Cardinals squad seeking to defend home turf, protect their ranking, and flip the script on an SMU program that has historically had their number, holding a 4-0 record in the series.

No. 5 Miami at Wake Forest (Friday, 7:30 PM ET, ESPN)

No. 5 Miami’s Friday night trip to Winston-Salem carries all the classic warning signs of a dangerous “trap game.” Coming off a 77-point, 856-yard offensive explosion against FAMU, Mario Cristobal’s Hurricanes enter as massive road favorites, but face a short week and secondary depth concerns against a confident 2-0 Wake Forest team. Led by ACC Quarterback of the Week Gio Lopez, the Demon Deacons’ offense is averaging 38 points per game and will be playing in front of a raucous sellout crowd. If Miami gets caught looking ahead, Lopez and an opportunistic Wake Forest squad could drag the Hurricanes into a much tighter four-quarter fight than the spread suggests.

Ranked Teams on Cruise Control / Tune-Up Spots

Ranked Team	Opponent	Storyline to Watch
No. 1 Texas	vs. UTSA	First game as No. 1 following their 20-point fourth-quarter comeback at Ohio State.
No. 2 Georgia	at Arkansas	Bulldogs look to continue their sheer dominance after putting up 70 last week.
No. 6 Ohio State	vs. Kent State	Soft landing spot for Julian Sayin and the Buckeyes to fix late-game errors.
No. 19 Michigan	vs. UTEP	Defense riding momentum after choking out Oklahoma in Week 2.
No. 21 Oregon	vs. Portland State	Dan Lanning’s squad needs a high-scoring blowout to wash out the Stillwater loss.

Non-Top 25 Games of High Interest

Houston at Texas Tech (Friday, 7:30 PM ET, FS1)

Friday night’s clash in Lubbock between Houston and Texas Tech carries massive early-season implications for a wide-open Big 12 title race. With both programs seeking to establish themselves as legitimate contenders in the expanded conference, this high-stakes in-state battle serves as a crucial litmus test. For a high-scoring Houston squad averaging 77 points in recent outings, a marquee road win would signal their arrival as a top-tier threat, while Texas Tech looks to defend home turf and preserve its momentum. In a league where every conference result heavily dictates the path to the Big 12 Championship Game, the winner gains early control of their postseason destiny, while the loser faces an uphill climb before October even arrives.

Tulane at Kansas State (Saturday, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2)

Tulane’s trip to Manhattan presents a textbook Group of 5 vs. Power 4 trap, landing Kansas State squarely on high alert. While the Wildcats enter as multi-touchdown home favorites, the Green Wave have built a reputation as one of the country’s most dangerous giant-killers, famously upsetting K-State in 2022 and taking them to the wire in a 34–27 battle in 2024. Tulane boasts a roster packed with Power 4 athleticism, a physical front seven, and a disciplined ground game designed to drain the clock. If Kansas State overlooks the Green Wave while peeking ahead to their upcoming Big 12 schedule, Tulane has both the pedigree and the blueprint to drag the Wildcats into a fourth-quarter brawl and pull off a shocker.