Can the Colorado State Rams surprise the Colorado Buffaloes in Week 3? The 2023 college football season moves into Week 3, and while this week’s slate is not exactly sexy or enthralling, it might offer some of the better opportunities to make a correct bet and increase your bankroll for the season. The bigger games are later in the season, but this week might provide the situations which can increase your accuracy and give you a better read on various college football teams as the season moves along.
Colorado State Rams at Colorado Buffaloes
Odds: Colorado -23.5 at SportsBetting.ag
The Colorado Buffaloes are one of the biggest stories in college football right now. Deion Sanders has this team 2-0, a marked contrast to the preseason predictions which had this team stumbling out of the gate and eventually finishing with a 3-9 or 4-8 record. Colorado is far better than expected, and that is the case because this team – with several dozen transfers – has been able to come together much earlier and more quickly than expected. There is so much roster churn on this team, but by creating continuity and harmony in a short period of time, Deion Sanders is showing other coaches across the country that they can use the transfer portal very liberally and extensively and still get great short-term results.
Radically remaking a roster doesn’t have to be viewed as a two- or three-year process. It can be the source of an instant transformation which immediately changes expectations and possibilities for a college football team. Coaches are going to use the portal more than ever before. Colorado and Coach Prime are truly leading a revolution.
Colorado has scored 36 or more points in each of its first two games this season. Colorado State allowed a large number of points (way more than 36) to Washington State earlier this season. This game seems fairly straightforward. Colorado should score a ton of points, and Colorado State will be left in the dust. Deion Sanders doesn’t just like to win; he likes to dominate. That’s what we should see here.
Pick: Colorado -23.5
Florida State Seminoles at Boston College Eagles
Odds: Florida State -25.5
The Seminoles are really good, really physical, and really deep. They have so many options at so many positions and look like a heavyweight team. They pounded a talented LSU team in the second half of the season opener on September 3 in Orlando. It looks like they are going to be a national championship contender this season, barring an unexpected plot twist.
There is a chance that Florida State could get caught looking ahead one week to the Clemson game on September 23, but Boston College just isn’t a good enough team to punish FSU for possibly being distracted. Boston College has played close games this season against Northern Illinois and Holy Cross. If BC can’t easily defeat those teams, the Eagles are not going to stay in contention with Florida State very long. This game will be ugly and lopsided by halftime, and FSU should be able to win this game by 35 or more points.
Pick: Florida State -25.5
Penn State Nittany Lions at Illinois Fighting Illini
Odds: Penn State -14.5
The Illinois Fighting Illini look really bad this season. They barely defeated Toledo in the season opener, and then they got crushed by Kansas last week. Penn State is a lot better than Kansas. If Illinois was easily and substantially outclassed by Kansas, Illinois is in for an even rougher time of it against Penn State and its nasty defense. The Nittany Lions should win this one going away.
Pick: Penn State -14.5
LSU Tigers at Mississippi State Bulldogs
Odds: LSU -10.5
LSU was thoroughly outplayed by Florida State. Now we get to see if the Tigers can pick themselves off the canvas and respond with a good performance on the road in the SEC. Mississippi State needed overtime to beat Arizona at home. Was that an indication that Arizona is underrated and a sleeper team in the Pac-12 this year, or was it an indication that Mississippi State is highly flawed and in for a brutal year in the Southeastern Conference? It’s probably more of the latter than the former.
Mississippi State struggled to beat Arizona at home despite the fact that Arizona committed four turnovers early in the game. MSU should have been able to dominate that game, but it didn’t. That says something about Mississippi State, and it’s not good. LSU must win this game to have any possible hope of making the College Football Playoff this year. The Tigers will be hungry and motivated. It all lines up really well for LSU on the road in Starkville.
Pick: LSU -10.5
Kansas State Wildcats at Missouri Tigers
Odds: Kansas State -5.5
This is a game Kansas State should expect to win in Week 3. The Wildcats are the defending Big 12 champions. They are well coached by Chris Klieman. They are going against a Missouri team which struggled last week against Middle Tennessee. KSU has the clearly better team and the clearly better coaching staff. In an early season game, what more do you want as a bettor? What else should you look for? You don’t need to overthink this game. Just take Kansas State.
Pick: Kansas State -5.5
Louisville Cardinals at Indiana Hoosiers
Odds: Louisville -10 at BetUs Review
This is a basketball school battle on the gridiron. Louisville has a new head coach, Jeff Brohm, who attended the school and is considered a native son who has come home to restore the Cardinals’ lost glory. Brohm is one of the best play-callers in college football. His offense looked great in an early-season win at Georgia Tech. Louisville made great halftime adjustments and was able to bounce back after a bad first half and a halftime deficit. Indiana has a very weak offense. The Hoosiers have a good defense, but their offense is unlikely to provide the support the defense will need to hang in the arena and stay competitive for the full 60 minutes. Indiana can stay close for one half, but not the whole game.
Pick: Louisville -10
South Carolina Gamecocks at Georgia Bulldogs
Odds: Georgia -27.5
This is a very interesting game. South Carolina ruined Tennessee’s and Clemson’s seasons last year with huge November upsets. The Gamecocks entered this season thinking they could be a player in the SEC and a team which could aspire to big goals. Then, however, South Carolina got drilled by North Carolina in the 2023 season opener. The Gamecocks were physically dominated by North Carolina. This naturally leads to the conclusion that Georgia, the two-time defending national champion, will physically smother South Carolina.
However, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has struggled early in the season. Georgia’s offense hasn’t looked very good. It’s true that Georgia’s defense is still as good as it gets in college football and should throttle South Carolina’s offense. South Carolina doesn’t have the offensive line which can compete with Georgia’s elite defensive front, but the South Carolina defense can contain the Georgia offense and limit how many points the Bulldogs score. South Carolina plus the points is the better play right now.
Pick: South Carolina +27.5
Minnesota Golden Gophers at North Carolina Tar Heels
Odds: North Carolina -7.5
This is a very interesting game because North Carolina, as a 19-point home favorite, struggled with Appalachian State last week, needing double overtime to win by six points, 40-34. North Carolina did not play nearly as well in that game as it did in Week 1 versus South Carolina. Is North Carolina not as good as we thought, or did North Carolina simply have a bad game against App State? It’s not an easy call. However, Minnesota’s offense looked absolutely terrible against Nebraska in Week 1 of the season, and Nebraska looked awful against Colorado in Week 2. Minnesota will have to score enough to win, and it seems the Golden Gophers do not have the level of quarterback play they need to make that happen. Take North Carolina minus the points at home.
Pick: North Carolina -7.5
Northwestern Wildcats at Duke Blue Devils
Odds: Duke -18.5
This is a lopsided game. Duke shoved around Clemson and beat the Tigers by 21. If Duke can beat Clemson by 21, it should beat Northwestern by a lot more. Duke looks like a really good team under coach Mike Elko, who has done one of the best coaching jobs in the United States over the past year. Duke is tough and physical and focused. Northwestern beat UTEP at home, which is better than losing to UTEP at home, but that result shouldn’t boost Northwestern’s stock. It was more a case of Northwestern playing well enough to avoid a disastrous loss. Duke is a genuinely good team. Northwestern is still one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. Duke should be able to win this game by 30 points.
Pick: Duke -18.5
Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators
Odds: Tennessee -6.5
This is a fascinating game because Tennessee’s offense, which looked great last year, has not looked great this year. Tennessee really struggled against Austin Peay last week. That’s why the point spread for this game at Florida is so small. However, Florida’s offense is not good. Tennessee doesn’t have to score a ton of points to still cover the spread against the Gators in Week 3.
Pick: Tennessee -6.5
Washington Huskies at Michigan State Spartans
Odds: Washington -16.5
This is an interesting game because Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker just got suspended and won’t coach this game, due to inappropriate off-field behavior. The turmoil inside the Michigan State program could lead to a total no-show in this game, or it could lead to an inspired performance. Which will it be? It’s hard to know, but Washington is definitely the better team, so ride with the Huskies here.
Pick: Washington -16.5
BYU Cougars at Arkansas Razorbacks
Odds: Arkansas -7.5
This is a Week 3 game between a BYU team with a bad offense and a good defense and an Arkansas team with a mediocre offense and a good defense. It should be low scoring, which means that the underdog has a really good chance of covering a spread which is slightly more than a touchdown.
