College football Week 3 picks: Kentucky-Georgia, IU-UCLA, WKU-Middle Tennessee, more

It’s still early, but we have a four-way tie at the top of the standings for our Courier Journal sports staff weekly college football picks.

Everyone suffered a Week 2 loss with Kentucky’s 25-point setback against South Carolina at Kroger Field.

While Ryan Black, C.L. Brown, Alexis Cubit and Jason Frakes are tied for first place, sports director Natalie Pierre remains at the bottom of the standings.

Here’s a look at this week’s picks. As is our custom, predictions are straight-up winners and losers (not against the spread), with rankings based on the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. All times listed are ET.

How to watch: Noon Saturday, ESPNU

The picks: Six for Cincinnati and two for Miami (Pierre and Black)

This will be the 128th meeting between these two in the Battle for the Victory Bell. The rivalry’s first game was played in 1888 and Saturday’s matchup will break a series tie, 60-60-7. Last season, Miami snapped its 16-game losing streak in the series with a 31-24 overtime win against Cincinnati. It was the first time the RedHawks won the bell since 2005.

C.L.’s picks against the spread: Will Kentucky cover in its Week 3 home game against No. 1 Georgia?

How to Watch: 3:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS

The picks: Eight for Notre Dame

Notre Dame opened the season with an impressive win over Texas A&M but followed that up with a 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. The Irish are 28-14-2 when playing at Purdue and have won the last eight against the Boilermakers. Hudson Card completed 24 of 25 passes and threw four touchdowns in Purdue’s 49-0 season-opening win over Indiana State.

How to watch: 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN+

The picks: Eight for Western Kentucky

Western Kentucky is coming off a 31-0 shutout at home against in-state rival Eastern Kentucky. WKU beat Middle Tennessee, 31-10, last season to improve to 37-35-1 in the “100 Miles of Hate” rivalry. The two programs first faced each other in 1914, but they didn’t meet from 1992-2006.

How to watch: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC

The picks: Eight for Georgia

Kentucky is trying to get its first SEC win after falling to South Carolina at home in its league opener. The Wildcats gained 183 yards of total offense with 44 passing yards against the Gamecocks. No. 1 Georgia has prevented its first two opponents from scoring a touchdown and is coming off a 31-point win over a ranked Clemson team.

How to watch: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC

The picks: Five for Indiana and three for UCLA (Brown, Cubit and Frakes)

Indiana scored a program-high 77 points last week in a win against Western Illinois. Ten different Hoosiers scored a touchdown as the offense rushed for 335 yards and passed for 378 yards. This is the first meeting between these two programs on the football field. This is UCLA’s first season in the Big Ten.

The standings

1 (tie) – Ryan Black (last week 4-1), 9-1

1 (tie) – C.L. Brown (last week 4-1), 9-1

1 (tie) – Alexis Cubit (last week 4-1), 9-1

1 (tie) – Jason Frakes (last week 4-1), 9-1

5 (tie) – Richard Barak (last week 3-2), 8-2

5 (tie) – Brooks Holton (last week 3-2), 8-2

5 (tie) – Prince James Story (last week 3-2), 8-2

8 – Natalie Pierre (last week 3-2), 7-3

Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.