NCAA -- Week 3

Now that we've all had a chance to get up off the couch from the five-day marathon of college football, let's take a moment to reflect on the past weekend and look ahead to Week 3.

First of all, if you didn't have a chance to see USC or Ohio State play, you missed some dominating performances. Both teams looked like they were ready to scrap the rest of the season and just travel down to New Orleans next week to face off against each other.

USC went into Auburn and made the SEC pre-season favorites look like just another opponent. Ohio State shut down a normally high-powered Washington attack and took advantage of the electric atmosphere in Columbus.

Even though both teams looked like they could challenge in the NFL, there is a lot more football to be played and teams like Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Miami, Georgia and Texas may have something to say about the Sugar Bowl match-up.

You've had the chance to wet your taste buds and rather than get your rest, let's look at Week 3 and what is in store.

Games to Watch

1. Oklahoma at Alabama: If you watched Alabama play the first half of their game in Mike Shula's debut, one of the first things that probably ran through your mind is what is Oklahoma going to do to this team in South Florida is running all over them. Fortunately for Shula and the rest of the Tide backers, they righted the ship and went on to perform well in the 2nd half routing the Bulls. Oklahoma took on the Mean Green of North Texas at home in a driving rain and performed as you'd expect them to. This game is an opportunity for Alabama to step back up to the forefront of college football while Oklahoma looks for another signature road victory.

2. Florida at Miami: What do you get when a former teammate decides to leave school and transfer to an instate rival? Well, in this case, you get to heat up a rivalry that didn't need any heat added to it. Brock Berlin leads the Canes against his former team in the Orange Bowl and you can bet there will be electricity in South Florida. Florida dismantled San Jose State while Miami was very impressive on the road against Louisiana Tech. This game is an opportunity for Ron Zook to get back in the Gator fans good graces and propel Florida back on top of the college football world. For Miami, it's a chance to extend a regular season winning streak that started sometime in the Reagan administration.

3. Maryland at Florida State: This game would have been a tad larger if the Terps could have taken care of business against NIU last Thursday. As it stands, it's still a huge early season ACC tilt. Florida State opens with back-to-back ACC games and can get the jump on the rest of the conference with two big wins against touch ACC opponents. Maryland looks for a quick healer in a place that isn't easy to get well in. Maryland starting 0-2 wouldn't sit well in College Park.

Great Story Lines

1. NC State at Wake Forest: How about the Demon Deacons? They went into Boston College and beat the Eagles on Saturday and now host a team that is no doubt prepping for a visit to Columbus on 9/13.

2. Western Illinois at Eastern Michigan (Thurs.): Are you looking for an annual IAA victory over a Division 1 opponent? Here is your opportunity to see one of the best IAA teams in the country. Don Patterson's team has a great offense and will no doubt give Eastern Michigan all kinds of fits in their home opener.

3. Washington State at Notre Dame: Was Tyrone Willingham's club for real or was it just a one-year tease for Irish fans. The sophomore season for coach Willingham begins Saturday in South Bend against the defending Pac 10 champs. The Cougars are beginning the post Jason Gesser period and are no doubt still smarting from the Rose Bowl thumping from Oklahoma. Oh yeah, Bill Doba gets his first road test as Washington State's head man and what better place to get your feet wet than Notre Dame Stadium!

All in all, Week 2 offered us just a taste of what is to come in 2003 and Week 3 shapes up to be blow out Saturday. Each year, there is one early season week that turns out to be mismatch Saturday and if you want to see the largest point spreads of the year, just check out your favorite sports publications or Web sites for some large numbers. Regardless, it'd college football and I'll be watching.