College football games today: Week 3 schedule for Thursday

Your look at the complete college football schedule today, as the Week 3 games gets underway with an early game featuring ACC rivals on the same field.

College football’s Week 3 schedule gets an early start today, as Thursday night football brings us a Power Four matchup with ACC rivals pitted against each other on the same field.

College football’s third week of action kicks off today with one game on the schedule, as two ACC teams square off against each other under the lights down south.

Clemson and Georgia Tech will meet in Atlanta in one of the ACC’s most consequential early conference games, while Miami will get an early test at home against a resurgent USF squad that is college football’s only team to beat two ranked opponents this season.

First things first in the ACC, as two undefeated teams meet in their respective conference openers to get an early leg-up in the league standings.

Here’s what you need to know about college football’s Week 3 schedule today.

College football games today: Week 3 schedule for Thursday

All times Eastern, and game lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

NC State at Wake Forest
Thurs., Sept. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Line: NC State -7.5

NC State

Sophomore quarterback C.J. Bailey is in his second season with the Wolfpack. In last week’s win over Virginia, the dual-threat playmaker hit almost 70 percent of his throws for 200 yards and 1 touchdown, rushing 6 times for 44 yards and 2 more scores.

Last season as a freshman, Bailey completed nearly 65 percent of his passes for 2,413 yards with 17 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Hollywood Smothers leads the Wolfpack’s ground game, in his second season with NC State after transferring from Oklahoma. He carried 17 times for 140 yards while averaging 8.2 yards per rush with 2 touchdowns and posts 5.5 yards per carry on the season.

NC State is 127th in the country in defensive third down percentage, allowing opponents to convert on 54.3 percent of third down opportunities.

Wake Forest is 89th in college football in third down offensive percentage, converting 37.04 percent of chances to gain a first down.

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Wake Forest

Senior quarterback Robby Ashford joined the Demon Deacons after stints at Auburn and South Carolina, completing 66 percent of his throws for 445 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception this season.

In his career, Ashford is a 54 percent passer with 2,527 yards and 12 touchdowns with 10 turnovers, rushing for 1,262 yards and 16 touchdowns over that time.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Chris Barnes has 9 grabs for 172 yards in two games while averaging more than 19 yards per catch, rushing twice for 18 yards.

Wake is just 131st in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 40 percent of trips inside the opposition 20-yard line so far this season.

NC State ranks 20th in college football in red zone defense at 62.5 percent and is 133rd in the country in pass defense, surrendering 320 air yards per game on average.

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AP top 25 college football rankings

First-place votes in parentheses

1. Ohio State (57)
2. Penn State (5)
3. LSU (2)
4. Oregon (1)
5. Miami
6. Georgia
7. Texas
8. Notre Dame
9. Illinois
10. Florida State
11. South Carolina
12. Clemson
13. Oklahoma
14. Iowa State
15. Tennessee
16. Texas A&M
17. Ole Miss
18. USF
19. Alabama
20. Utah
21. Texas Tech
22. Indiana
23. Michigan
24. Auburn
25. Missouri

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