Three things we learned from NCAAF Week 3

At first glance college football's Week 3 looked uninspiring, but there are always signals in the noise—little breadcrumbs or clues to lead us to strong opinions going forward. Let's see what we learned this past weekend.

The Pac-12 is back

It wasn't long ago that Pac-12 football was viewed as subpar on the national level. It hasn't had a team in the College Football Playoff in three years, but times are changing, as the conference now has six teams in the Associated Press Top 25.

Utah leads the way at No. 10 and has impressed in three wins, including one against rival BYU, which came back to beat Tennessee and USC after that loss.

Having six ranked teams is a nice sign the Pac-12 is competitive again, but how will it play going forward? Having too many competitive teams usually leads to those squads eating each other alive. If that's the case, a one-loss Pac-12 team could be on the bubble for the College Football Playoff, and I don't see a two-loss Pac-12 team getting in.

Ohio State travels well

Ohio State rolled in its first two games at home, then traveled to Indiana in Week 3 and didn't miss a beat. A sold-out Memorial Stadium didn't faze the Buckeyes one bit in a 51-10 victory.

It's key to see how a team reacts to its first road test. To ultimately succeed in any sport, a program needs to be able to go on the road and perform at a high level. The Buckeyes traveled well, and quarterback Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns against the Hoosiers. Running back J.K. Dobbins rushed for nearly 200 yards and adds balance to a potent Ohio State offensive attack.

New year, same old Michigan State

I thought Michigan State would avenge a 2018 loss to Arizona State in Week 3. Apparently the Spartans didn't have revenge on their minds, as Arizona State and coach Herm Edwards pulled off a 10-7 upset in East Lansing.

The Michigan State offense, which dropped 51 points on Western Michigan in Week 2, could only finish off one drive. The Spartans gained 404 yards but only could muster seven points. That spoiled an amazing day from the Michigan State defense, which held Arizona State to 216 yards of offense.

Stage set for Notre Dame-Georgia clash

No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 3 Georgia both scored blowout home wins in Week 3, which sets up a national-spotlight game Saturday night between the hedges in Georgia.

We should have more for you this week on that game, but for now we have to wonder how Notre Dame plans to stop Georgia's offense. Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is competing 75% of his passes and D'Andre Swift is showing first-round draft potential. Can the Notre Dame defense, which has allowed 15.5 points per game against two subpar offenses, limit the Bulldogs enough to have a chance at victory?

We know Irish quarterback Ian Book and the Notre Dame offense will have its hands full with a stingy Georgia defense, which is allowing 7.7 points per game against outclassed opponents.

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It's never too early in the week for college football action. Bet those NCAAF lines early at BetAmerica!