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2018 College Football Week 3 Betting Odds
With all the season-opening neutral site games out of the way, and the Power 5 body bag contests wrapped up for the most part, we can start to turn our attention toward conference play in Week 3 of the college football schedule. The betting week gets started with an ACC Atlantic clash between Boston College and Wake Forest. The Deacons are looking to continue an upward trend under Dave Clawson and build off wins over NC State and Louisville last season. Beating a BC club that’s projected to be near the bottom of the standings is a must, and how many time have we said that about Wake football?
There’s also an early season matchup between SEC West powers LSU and Auburn. Competing against Alabama doesn’t leave much wiggle room and the loser of this one is behind the eight ball just a few weeks in. The good news is that they both get a chance later in the year to beat the Tide. The bad news is that they have to play the Tide. The schedule also features some tantalizing nonconference matchups in Saturday primetime. Ohio State takes on TCU in Arlington while USC visits Texas in the second of their home-and-home series. The Trojans prevailed in last year’s double-overtime thriller 27-24.
2018 NCAA Football Week 3 Betting Schedule
September 11th, 2018 to September 17th, 2018
Thursday, September 13
Boston College at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Week Three opens with an intriguing Atlantic Coast Conference Thursday night matchup between two improved programs that appear to be on the upswing when the Wake Forrest Demon Deacons host the Boston College Eagles. In his sixth season at BC head coach Steve Addazio finally has the program in his image. Four bowl appearances in the last five seasons have also served to increase confidence and recruiting. Dave Clawson has experienced a similar transformation of his Wake Forest program and has led the Demon Deacons to back to back bowl seasons. More
Friday, September 14
Georgia State at Memphis, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Week three offers a college football Friday night appetizer between a program that is just in its sixth season of existence at the 1A level going up against a Group of Five program desperate for an escape to the Big Time of Power Five. The Memphis Tigers are coming off four straight bowl seasons and a ten-win season for the second time in four years. Memphis has shown tremendous improvement and is occasionally mentioned as a program that may be promoted to the Big 12 or another Power Five League. The Georgia State Panthers are coming off the second bowl season in their history and simply want to develop consistency as a Group of Five program. Memphis will host Georgia State Friday night. More
Saturday, September 15
Tulane at UAB, TBD
Hawai'i at Army, 12 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Troy at Nebraska, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)
Kent State at Penn State, 12 p.m. ET (FS1)
Week 3 includes what appears to be a mismatch between a perennial loser from the Mid-American Conference going up against a bona fide Big Ten Conference and College Football Playoff contender. After a scary opening game, the Penn State Nittany Lions flexed their muscles in an impressive prime time national TV payout over Pitt last week. The Kent State Golden Flashes are coming off a win over 1AA Howard that followed a heartbreaking loss at Illinois. For Penn State their near-death experience against Appalachian State in week one may have scared them straight. For Kent State they are fighting to show progress after five bad seasons under Paul Haynes. Penn State hosts Kent State Saturday. More
Oklahoma at Iowa State, 12 p.m. ET
The Oklahoma Sooners won’t be taking the Iowa State Cyclones lightly any time soon. Iowa State dealt Oklahoma its lone regular season loss last year, stunning the Sooners in Norman 38-31. The loss couldn’t be blamed on an abundance of turnovers or anything particularly sloppy either, it was just the Cyclones beating a Sooners team that had probably been looking past them. Their Week 3 rematch is bound to be pretty interesting as Iowa State fans are eager to see their team try to make it two in a row over the Sooners. More
Florida State at Syracuse, 12 p.m. ET
You can’t blame Willie Taggart for taking his dream job and returning home to the state of Florida. But unlike some of his other gigs, the pressure is always on the Florida State Seminoles to win the ACC and contend for a national championship. Those expectations are unrealistic this season and the Noles showed they have a long way to go after their first two games. His tenure will be judged on wins and losses, and Taggart takes a career coaching record of 48-51 into Saturday’s ACC opener against the Syracuse Orange. More
Miami at Toledo, 12 p.m. ET
No, this isn’t a misprint. The Miami Hurricanes, not the Miami RedHawks, will be heading north to take on the Toledo Rockets in Week 3 of the college football season. This is a tricky game for the Hurricanes. Toledo is one of the best Group of Five teams in the nation, and the program has consistently been a regional power in the MAC for almost all of this decade. If Miami isn’t careful, they could lose this one and fall to 1-2 on the year. More
UCF at North Carolina, 12 p.m. ET
Rutgers at Kansas, 12 p.m. ET
Ball State at Indiana, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)
Temple at Maryland, 12 p.m. ET (BTN)
UTEP at Tennessee, 12 p.m. ET (SECN)
East Carolina at Virginia Tech, 12:20 p.m. ET (ACCN)
Georgia Tech at Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m. ET (ACCN)
Vanderbilt at Notre Dame, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
After watching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish barely get by Ball State at home last week as a 34-point favorite, the Vanderbilt Commodores are saying there’s a chance for their Week 3 matchup. Not a good one, but there’s still a chance and anything can happen. Looking nothing like a top-10 team, the Irish squeaked by the invigorated Cardinals, who went toe-to-toe with their CFP hopeful opponent. Notre Dame’s offense lacked substance and Vandy has done a nice job restricting opponents, allowing just 17 points total in their two wins. More
Ohio at Virginia, 3 p.m. ET (ACCN)
BYU at Wisconsin, 3:30 p.m. ET
While it seems nearly every other team in the Big Ten is dealing with some controversy – either on the field or off of it – the Wisconsin Badgers just keep winning to keep pace with the other top teams in the conference. Bucky has its problems, but winning and annihilating opponents isn’t one of them. The Badgers beat a non-conference foe in Madison for the 41st consecutive time and they look to extend that streak in Week 3 against the BYU Cougars, whose season opening win over Arizona doesn’t look so good now. More
Miami (OH) at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
Southern Mississippi at Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m. ET
Boise State at Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m. ET
The Boise State Broncos are back in a familiar place, playing as a contender to be the top Group of Five team this season. After a couple of tune up tilts where they averaged 59 points per outing, the Broncos face their toughest test of the season when they travel to Stillwater for a Week 3 showdown with the Big 12’s Oklahoma State Cowboys. This has the makings of a shootout with both teams putting up lopsided numbers, so expect a defensive effort to play a critical role in the outcome of this one. More
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois, 3:30 p.m. ET
LSU at Auburn, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
Last year Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge was in a near riot when the homestanding LSU Tigers fell behind the Auburn Tigers 20-0 early in the second quarter. At that point athletic director Joe Alleva and head coach Ed Orgeron were likely fearing for their jobs, if they were lucky. But from there one of the great rallies in recent college football history took place as the Bayou Bengals ended up as 27-23 winners and left the field to a thundering and hysterical ovation while Auburn and head coach Gus Malzahn went from hero to zero status in a couple of hours. Now Auburn will be looking to turn the table and gain revenge as they host LSU Saturday. More
South Florida vs. Illinois, 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
SMU at Michigan, 3:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
Wow, what a difference a week makes. In their first game at Notre Dame the Michigan Wolverines were ambushed in a Week one 24-17 loss that had the Maize and Blue faithful in full panic mode about what was supposed to be a breakout season for Jim Harbaugh and crew. But last week, after six days of abuse from the media and fans, and smarting from their embarrassing opener Michigan took apart Western Michigan 49-3 for an easy payout. Now all of a sudden everyone has calmed down and is again dreaming big. Week three will see the Wolverines host the defenseless SMU Mustangs, who are also missing an offense after two weeks of action. More
Duke at Baylor, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
The Duke Blue Devils are riding high right now. Duke is sitting at 2-0 with wins over Army and Northwestern, and David Cutcliffe is on pace to have this team bowling once again. This team is looking to go undefeated in non-conference play, but to do that they must beat the Baylor Bears in Week 3 of the college football season and FCS NC Central before their ACC slate gets underway. Baylor is looking for the same undefeated non-conference start in Matt Rhule’s second season in charge, leading to a lot of intrigue in this one. More
West Virginia at North Carolina State, 3:30 p.m. ET
We’ll see two of the top quarterbacks in college football go after each other in a critical Week 3 matchup for the North Carolina State Wolfpack. After knocking off FCS James Madison and an overmatched Georgia State club behind Ryan Finley, NC State has a handful in the No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers and Heisman hopeful Will Grier. That is if the game is actually played. With Hurricane Florence forming in the Atlantic and with a path headed directly for the Carolinas, this matchup could be impacted in a number of ways. More
Georgia Southern at Clemson, 3:30 p.m. ET
While most games all throughout the Carolinas were cancelled or moved due to Hurricane Florence, as of Wednesday afternoon it looks like the Clemson Tigers are still going to host the Georgia Southern Eagles in Week 3. Clemson is a massive favorite per the CFB betting odds in this one and anything other than a blowout would be a disappointment considering Georgia Southern went 2-10 in 2017. The Eagles have already matched last year’s two wins this season though. More
UT San Antonio at Kansas State, 4 p.m. ET
Colorado State at Florida, 4 p.m. ET (SECN)
North Texas at Arkansas, 4 p.m. ET (SECN)
Houston at Texas Tech, 4 p.m. ET (FOX)
Major Applewhite finally has his signature win. All summer long, there were rumors of Applewhite being fired if he didn’t meet certain benchmarks as head coach of the Houston Cougars this season. This is only his second year as head coach of the program, but expectations are sky-high after Tom Herman had an enormous amount of success here, and Applewhite was under pressure to keep it going after a disappointing 7-6 record last year. A win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on the road in Lubbock in Week 3 would help in that regard too, and it would put his old rival Kliff Kingsbury squarely on the hot seat. More
San Jose State at Oregon, 5 p.m. ET (PAC12)
If you’re an Oregon Ducks fan, you’re probably flying pretty high right now. The Ducks felt aggrieved after Willie Taggart left for Florida State after just one year in Eugene, but the team hasn’t missed a beat in his absence. They are back to the high-scoring Ducks of old with 120 points through their first two games of the year, and the decision to hire Mario Cristobal seems to be a shrewd one. In Week 3, they have a chance to keep their 60 PPG average going against the lowly San Jose State Spartans. San Jose State might be the worst FBS team not named UTEP, and they could end the season winless. More
Old Dominion at Charlotte, 6 p.m. ET
Eastern Michigan at Buffalo, 6 p.m. ET
Texas State at South Alabama, 7 p.m. ET
Arkansas State at Tulsa, 7 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Oregon State at Nevada, 7 p.m. ET
Alabama at Ole Miss, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Middle Tennessee at Georgia, 7:15 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
The Georgia Bulldogs are proving that last year wasn’t just a flash in the pan. The Bulldogs have looked great through their first two games of the season. They hammered a good FCS team in Austin Peay in their season opener, and they thrashed South Carolina in a pseudo-rivalry game last week. In Week 3 of the college football season, the Bulldogs will face the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. They are heavy favorites on the CFB betting line, and most observers are expecting another blowout win for the Dawgs. More
UL Monroe at Texas A&M, 7:30 p.m. ET (SECN)
Louisiana-Lafayette at Mississippi State, 7:30 p.m. ET (SECN)
Missouri at Purdue, 7:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
Marshall at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
Western Kentucky at Louisville, 7:30 p.m. ET (ACCN)
UMass at Florida International, 7:30 p.m. ET
Akron at Northwestern, 7:30 p.m. ET (BTN)
New Mexico at New Mexico State, 8 p.m. ET
Ohio State vs. TCU, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)
One of the most pivotal games of Week 3 of the college football season will take place on Saturday night, when the Ohio State Buckeyes and TCU Horned Frogs meet in a neutral site game that may as well be a home game for TCU. The Buckeyes agreed to this game in order to keep their access to the fertile Texas recruiting market, and now they are looking to take care of business without head coach Urban Meyer on the sidelines. However, the Horned Frogs know that they have a decent chance to pull off the upset given the circumstances, and Gary Patterson will be up to the challenge. More
USC at Texas, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Two of the most iconic programs in college football will square of in Week 3 of the college football season when the Texas Longhorns host the USC Trojans this week. It hasn’t been a great start to the year for either team. USC wasn’t able to put away UNLV until the fourth quarter in its opener, and the Trojans were listless on offense against Stanford last week. Meanwhile, Texas has simply been listless through its first two games. The Longhorns lost their season opener to Maryland for the second straight year, and they barely hung on to beat Tulsa last week. One of these two fan bases will feel better about itself this week, while the other fan base starts to gnash its teeth. More
Washington at Utah, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The Washington Huskies have a tough test ahead of them late Saturday night when they travel to take on the Utah Utes in Week 3 college football action. Two years ago, Washington almost saw its undefeated season come to an end on the road in Salt Lake City. The Huskies and Utes were tied late, but then Dante Pettis returned a punt for a touchdown to keep Washington’s perfect season intact. This time around, the Huskies aren’t perfect, but a loss would knock them out of the top ten and ruin their chances at making the College Football Playoff. More
Fresno State at UCLA, 10:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
This is not what Chip Kelly had in mind when he returned to coaching college football. The UCLA Bruins are off to an 0-2 start and have not looked good in losses to the Cincinnati Bearcats and the Oklahoma Sooners. To be fair to the Bruins, Cincinnati may be one of the best Group of Five teams in the country, while Oklahoma may be the best team in the country, but that comes as little solace to UCLA fans. That’s especially true considering they must now face another very good team when the Fresno State Bulldogs come to town in Week 3. More
Arizona State at San Diego State, 10:30 p.m. ET (CBSSN)
Week 3 College Football Games of the Week
LSU at Auburn, Saturday, September 15, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)
It’s not easy being in the same division as powerhouse Alabama, but trying to keep up with the Tide has made both Auburn and LSU better. This cat fight will go a long way towards determining which team will be the Tide’s biggest competition for the SEC West crown. LSU is working in a new offensive coordinator and quarterback in 2018 after Matt Canada was let go after one season and Danny Etling was drafted to the NFL. Ed Orgeron favors a pro-style offense, which clashed with Canada’s more innovative system. And the head coach always wins those disputes.
Quarterback play has long been what kept LSU from doing more with the talent on the field. The hope is that Ohio State graduate transfer Joe Burrow can solidify the spot. The LSU Tigers aren’t getting much attention this season, but they have a talented group that can compete in the toughest division. Auburn won the division last season thanks to its win over Bama, but the season ended on a sour note with losses to Georgia in the SEC Championship and UCF in the Peach Bowl. They lost some key pieces but have quarterback Jarrett Stidham back to run the offense.
USC at Texas, Saturday, September 15, 8 p.m. ET (FOX)
Both USC and Texas do a marvelous job of recruiting in their talent-rich neighborhoods and this game could rival the epic battle we saw last year, despite a number of faces changing on both sides. In their first meeting since the 2006 Rose Bowl, the Trojans outlasted the Horns 27-24 in double overtime at the Coliseum. They won’t have Sam Darnold, Ronald Jones or Deontay Burnett on offense, but history alone tells us this will be doozy.
Tom Herman was given a pass in his first season as he attempts to bring the glory back to Texas football. The Horns went 7-6 last year with losses to USC, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State by a combined 11 points. The faithful in Austin won’t be so forgiving this year and with two solid recruiting classes, the Longhorns are ready to make the leap.
NCAA Football Top Teams
2018 NCAA Football Weekly Schedule
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