Week 3 College Football Picks On Tap

Until further notice, Alabama looks like the play this week.

We had a big Saturday last week with 2 big wins, but we lost a little juice in the NFL. Won on Miami, lost on San Fran. Won on Ravens, lost on Chargers. We ripped off two college wins in week 2 action and that’s what is making me think that college football is where I need to be looking at. The Sooners and Crimson Tide came up big as I suggested and I looked at only the top 4 college football games. Let’s see what big games are on tap in week 3.

We start off on Thursday with Cincinnati @ N.C. State (-2). Both teams have shown that they’re able to score, but both have very poor defenses, so I’m looking for a close higher-scoring showdown. Based on that, I’ll be curious to see the over/under is because I’ll think anything under 47 points is worth taking a deeper look into.

If you’re looking to ride Ohio State, you’ll be giving up 31-32 points to take them at home against Ohio. Considering that they’ll win by something like 42-3, it looks like a win, but too many points for my taste. I don’t take many high spreads like this one. If Ohio manage just 13 points, they should cover.

Maryland (+11) @ West Virginia is interesting. Maryland has impressed me with a big win over Navy while West Virginia just lost to Marshall. This could be a rebound game for WVU, but I think Maryland with +11 is enticing. I’ll wait to see what Brandon likes because his specialty is finding good underdogs to take. After looking at the injury report though, you will want to hold off on this one until QB Danny O’Brien’s status is determined. He’s questionable with an ankle injury.

No. 14 Arkansas @ No. 22 Georgia (-2.5) should be a good game to watch at noon. No opinion on this game though. South Carolina topped Georgia and they are a team to watch in the SEC other than Alabama this year.

Washington is only getting 3.5 against No. 6 Nebraska. I’ve been looking to ride Washington this season. They let me down week 1 against BYU, but then got the cover against Syracuse this past week. Nebraska’s D is nasty and that’s why they’re getting 80% of the votes at Covers.com I’m going to have to say that Nebraska is the way to go, but with the spread so low, I’m thinking this is a classic “trap game.”

If you want to continue riding Alabama, you’ll have to give up 23.5 to take them on the road against Duke. They should easily roll over Duke. Duke’s defense is terrible and Alabama should score about 80-90% of the time they get the football, especially after seeing the way they just ran over Penn State. Duke’s offense can actually put up points though, so if they can manage just 2 TDs, they’ll have a shot at covering. I’m expecting a win in the area of 42-10. Alabama’s D doesn’t give up many (if any) points to any college football team. I don’t see Duke scoring any more than 14 points and they’ll probably just come out with field goal or two if Alabama’s D is as good as advertised.

Unfortunately you won’t be able to take Oregon over Portland State or South Carolina over Furman. They should win by a combined 100 points.

When I saw Wake Forest at Stanford, my eyes lit up until I saw that the spread was Stanford (-17). Going to have to pass there.

As far as the big primetime games go, Notre Dame @ Michigan State (-3.5) at 8:00 on ABC should be phenomenal. The late game is No. 9 Iowa (-1.5) @ No. 4 Arizona at 10:30 on ESPN. This one is too close to call. Both teams are great. It should be a great football game.

Enjoy the action Saturday.

Your guide to the best college football games to watch this week:

• 12:00 – Arkansas @ Georgia (-2.5)
• 3:30 – Nebraska (-3.5) @ Washington – ABC
• 7:00 – Clemson @ Auburn (-6.5) – 7:00 – ESPN
• 8:00 – Notre Dame @ Michigan State (-3.5) – ABC
• 10:30 – Iowa (-1.5) @ Arizona – ESPN

Top Week 3 Picks Against the Spread:

1. Alabama (-23.5) over Duke — Prediction Alabama 42 – Duke 10 — Alabama is just too good. I don’t like high spreads, but I just don’t see how they don’t roll over Duke in this one. Duke’s D is too poor for Alabama to not put up close to a 40-spot and although Duke’s offense has shown it can score, this is Alabama’s D we’re talking about — they don’t give up many points.
2. Nebraska (-3.5) over Washington — Prediction Nebraska 31 – Washington 20 — Could be a trap game.
3. Maryland (+11) over WVU — Prediction WVU 27 – Maryland 17 — Maryland has impressed me so 11 points seems generous. However, WVU may bounce back and crush Maryland, so look into this one more. Maryland’s run game has been phenomenal, but they’ll face a much tougher test this week.

Now For a Word From Nas