Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Could Iowa and Iowa St. surprise?
After two weeks, the cream has started to rise to the top in college football, with LSU jumping into the playoff discussion with a statement win over Texas.
Here are the most intriguing questions for Week 3:
How much of a factor will Iowa and Iowa State be in their conference championship races?
Let’s start in Ames, where ESPN’s College GameDay will broadcast for the first time in the show’s storied history. The annual rivalry game between Iowa and Iowa State just missed becoming a ranked matchup for the first time, with the Cyclones slipping from No. 25 to receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll after narrowly beating Northern Iowa in Week 1.
Fear not, because this matchup features two of the most talented (and overlooked) quarterbacks in the country in Iowa State’s Brock Purdy and Iowa’s Nate Stanley.
Purdy received an overall grade of 86.9 from scouting website Pro Football Focus as a true freshman last season. He helped the Cyclones win eight games for the second straight season after they won no more than three in the previous four.
Stanley, meanwhile, has been excellent for the Hawkeyes, completing 63.8% of his passes with six touchdowns and no interceptions. At 6feet-4 and 243 pounds with a strong arm, his body alone would likely draw the attention of NFL scouts. But he’s earned a look with his play, having thrown 58 touchdown passes to just 16 interceptions in 35 career games.
But there’s more to this game than the quarterbacks. Both teams have a legitimate chance of tripping up their conference’s top contenders, if not becoming contenders themselves.
If the Cyclones beat their in-state rival, things get even more harrowing for Oklahoma and Texas at the end of the season.
The same goes for the Hawkeyes, who face Michigan and Penn State in October and have a legitimate chance to knock off Wisconsin to take the top spot in the Big Ten West.
Is Virginia becoming an ACC power?
There might be a changing of the guard in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Florida State travels to Charlottesville to take on Virginia, and it’s the No. 25 Cavaliers who are the only ranked team in this matchup for the first time. Led by standout dual-threat quarterback Bryce Perkins, Virginia has a chance to start 3-0 for the first time since 2005.
It’s only fitting that that victory could come against the Seminoles, who have relinquished their grasp on the ACC since Jimbo Fisher’s departure. Last season marked Florida State’s first with a losing record since 1976 and first without a bowl game appearance since 1981. This season is already trending in the wrong direction under Willie Taggart, with an opening loss to Boise State at home and a one-point overtime victory over Louisiana-Monroe last week.
Meanwhile, Bronco Mendenhall has Virginia, the preseason ACC Coastal division favorite, on track to improve on last year’s 8-5 finish. With Virginia Tech struggling under coach Justin Fuente, the Cavaliers have a chance to gain serious ground in a fertile recruiting area with another strong season.
Can South Carolina’s Ryan Hilinski add another chapter to his storybook season?
The touted freshman quarterback got his first start in the Gamecocks’ home opener against Charleston Southern last week and didn’t disappoint, completing 24 of 30 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns, including two through the air. With Jake Bentley out for the season after foot surgery, it’s Hilinski’s team now.
Hilinski is the brother of former Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinksi, who committed suicide after his junior year.
Ryan Hilinski wears the same jersey number (3) as his late brother and celebrated a touchdown Saturday by holding three fingers to the sky. He was able to get his first taste of college football against an FCS opponent, but now No. 2 Alabama comes to Columbia.
The Gamecocks probably don’t have the talent or the depth to pull off an upset, but Hilinski’s story is worth tuning in for.