Florida State Seminoles Vs. Louisville Cardinals: Bold Predictions For Week 3 Of 2016 College Football Season

Week 3 of the 2016 college football season will be all about the big showdowns, showdowns that could — and should — affect the College Football Playoff picture. One of the big-stage showdowns that has playoff implications written all over it is the matchup between the Florida State Seminoles and Louisville Cardinals.

Just to spice things up to the next level, not only will both squads enter this Week 3 contest with 2-0 records, but both are ranked in the top 10 as well. Florida State is ranked No. 2 in both major polls, and Louisville is ranked No. 10 in the polls.

What’s on the line entering this game? Well, if the Seminoles win, they could make a serious case for being the No. 1 team in the country. If the Cardinals win, then a top-five ranking could be in their very near future. A loss for either team is not going to eliminate them from the playoff, so fans can rest assured about that one.

Before one of the biggest games of Week 3 gets underway, let’s add some fireworks to the mix by busting out some bold predictions.

Lamar Jackson Is Contained — Well, At Least By His Standards, That Is

There likely hasn’t been a better player than Lamar Jackson this season, and the Heisman voters would agree. According to ESPN, Jackson will hold the No. 1 spot in the Heisman rankings entering the weekend.

Florida State is no stranger to competing against lethal quarterbacks, though, as it took on Ole Miss Rebels QB Chad Kelly in the first contest of the season. Kelly torched the Seminoles in the first half, but the second half was a completely different story, and FSU ended up coming back from a big-time deficit.

While Jackson has looked like a top player in college football so far, fans can’t forget that Louisville has played the likes of the Charlotte 49ers and Syracuse Orange, two teams that aren’t supposed to compete for a national title — not even by a long shot. Needless to say, Florida State is more talented than both of those squads.

Jackson might make some plays and rack up some touchdowns, but don’t be surprised when Florida State’s defense gets to him early and often, which could result in some turnovers for the Heisman contender. Only two to three touchdowns could be in store for Jackson. While that doesn’t seem bad on the surface, people must remember that Jackson has a total of 13 touchdowns, and the Cardinals have only played in two games.

Dalvin Cook Is The Best Player On The Field

Dalvin Cook entered the 2016 college football season as a Heisman contender. Although there have been more impressive players than him so far, he is still in the hunt, and a monster game against a top-10 opponent could really go a long way.

Cook might be listed as a running back, which he is, but he can burn opposing teams in other ways. For instance, he had 101 receiving yards against Ole Miss in Week 1. Just for the record, the Seminole also had 91 yards on the ground.

While monster stats impress the Heisman voters, the key is to come up big in showdowns. This being a showdown, Cook could climb up the Heisman rankings in a hurry with an otherworldly performance.

At least 150 rushing yards and three total touchdowns could be in store for Cook, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he exceeded those numbers.

Florida State Adds Another Major Victory To Its Resume And Scores 40 Or More In The Process

Why this is bold: The Seminoles will have to travel on the road to take on Louisville, Jackson appears to be the real deal, and Florida State is starting a freshman quarterback.

With that said, FSU’s freshman quarterback, Deondre Francois, has already shown that he can come up big on the biggest stages. Francois did have 419 passing yards and two touchdowns against the Rebels, after all.

Florida State is very capable of putting up big numbers in the scoring department, and the team proved that when they scored 45 points against Ole Miss in Week 1 and 52 points in Week 2.

While upsets happen in college football all the time, and Louisville does seem to have the goods to make some serious noise in the ACC in 2016, Florida State will add another notch to its already impressive belt by knocking off the 10th-ranked Cardinals this Saturday. In the process, the Seminoles will do work in the scoring department with at least 40 points.

[Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images]