CFB Week 3 Picks Against the Spread

Last week my college football picks went 3-2 ATS. I won on Stanford, TCU, and TCU over, but fell short on California and Iowa, whose games went into overtime. My forte is NFL football, but I usually like to put up a few college football picks up on Saturday morning and place some modest wagers in comparison to the NFL action. I have five picks for you today. If you’re a new visitor to the site, be sure to sign up for our pick ’em league before Sunday. Good luck.

Northwestern (-5) over ARMY/Under 54.5 — Army’s defense has struggled so far this year. Northwestern is a solid team that was able to beat Boston College on the road. Army solely relies on its run game as its passing game is non-existent. Although Army piles up yards on the ground, Northwestern has a more balanced offensive attack. Unfortunately, Northwestern’s QB Dan Persa is out, but his backup was efficient in managing the game last week, 10/13 for 104 yards, while relying on his running game. Northwestern has averaged 273 rushing yards in their two games, while Army has given up an average of 217 rushing yards per game. With both teams relying on their running game, the clock should be eaten up and the points should come in under 54.5.  Northwestern 31 – Army 20.

FINAL: Army 21 – Northwestern 14. Hit on the under, loss on the spread.

Wisconsin (-16.5) over Northern Illinois @ Soldier Field — Wisconsin is strong on both sides of the ball. They have a solid passing game with QB Russell Wilson and a tremendous running game to boot. Their defense is also one of the top D’s in the nation. They trampled UNLV 51-17 and followed that up with a shut out against Oregon State 35-0. Northern Illinois doesn’t have a defense, but has been able to score in bunches against Army and Kansas. Don’t look for Northern Illinois’ offense to continue rolling against this defense. Wisconsin can completely shut down the run. Northern Illinois is 3-10 ATS in their last 13 when facing a team with a winning record. Wisconsin is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 when favored by 10.5+ points. Wisconsin should win this one in a blowout. Wisconsin 38 – Northern Illinois 17.

FINAL: Wisconsin 49 – Northern Illinois 7. 2-1 ATS.

Oklahoma (-3) over FLORIDA STATE — Potential trap game for Oklahoma in hostile road game, but the spread is too favorable to pass up on a team that is better. I took Oklahoma last year when the game was in Oklahoma and Oklahoma stomped Florida State 47-17. I’ll stick with the better team in Oklahoma, even if this is a difficult road win to pull off. Oklahoma 38 – Florida State 31.

FINAL: Oklahoma 23 – Florida State 13. 3-1 ATS

Stanford (-9) over ARIZONA — I’ve been riding Stanford over the last two weeks and they have won both games. Andrew Luck is scoring at will. Although Nick Foles is a solid QB, he is not on Andrew Luck’s level. Stanford crushed Arizona 42-17 last year as 7.5 favorites. I don’t see any reasons why they can’t do it again. I was expecting Stanford to be favored by 13.5 so giving up just 9 points seems generous. Stanford 38 – Arizona 24.

FINAL: Stanford 37 – Arizona 10. 4-1 ATS.