College Football Week 3 Betting Preview

A pair of Top 25 matchups highlight the Week 3 college football schedule, starting with an SEC faceoff between the LSU Tigers and Auburn Tigers.

Auburn is a 10-point home favorite at Bovada Sportsbook and has won 13 straight at home while going 7-4-2 against the spread. LSU is 5-2 straight up and ATS in its last seven road games, and defeated Auburn 27-23 as a 6.5-point underdog last season.

The other Top 25 matchup on the schedule is the Ohio State Buckeyes vs the TCU Horned Frogs in a neutral-site contest. Ohio State is a 13.5-point favorite and has won seven straight at 5-2 ATS after crushing the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 52-3 as a 35-point favorite last week. TCU is 5-1 SU in its last six, but only 2-4 ATS. The Horned Frogs are 9-2 UNDER in their last 11.

The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide visit the Mississippi Rebels this week as a 19.5-point road favorite. Alabama destroyed Ole Miss 66-3 as a 28.5-point favorite last season and the Tide are 12-2 SU and 5-9 ATS in their last 14 against the Rebels. Ole Miss has won three straight SU and ATS but is 3-8 ATS in the last 11 at home.

If you’re looking for a big favorite this week, check out the Michigan Wolverines as a 35-point home favorite vs the Southern Methodist Mustangs. The Wolverines snapped a four-game SU losing streak last week, but they’re still only 7-8 in their last 15 at home. Southern Methodist is 1-6 SU in its last seven and 1-9 ATS in the last 10.

Huskies, Utes line up in Pac-12 tilt

In the Pac-12 this weekend, the Washington Huskies are a 5.5-point road favorite vs the Utah Utes. The Huskies have lost their last two road games as a road favorite SU and ATS, and they’re 1-5 ATS in their last six overall. The Utes are 2-6 SU in their last eight as a home underdog, but they’re a profitable 5-2-1 ATS.

In a Big 12 matchup, the Oklahoma Sooners are an 18-point road favorite vs the Iowa State Cyclones. The Sooners have won 13 straight as a road favorite, but in their last six they’re a disappointing 1-5 ATS. The Cyclones are a surprising 8-2-2 ATS in their last 12 at home, and as a home underdog they’re 7-2-2 ATS in their last 11.

In another rematch of the 2006 national championship game, the USC Trojans and Texas Longhorns meet up again. The oddsmakers at Bovada Sportsbook have yet to weigh in on this one, but last season USC edged Texas 27-24 as a 16.5-point favorite. Texas has lost five straight vs the Pac-12 at 3-2 ATS, while USC has dropped five straight ATS overall.

Finally, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish look to turn around their recent lame ATS performance when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores as a 14.5-point favorite. The Fighting Irish failed to cover as a 34-point favorite in a 24-16 win over Ball State last week, dropping them to 2-5 ATS in their last seven. Vanderbilt enters this one having won three straight SU and ATS.