College Football’s Week 3 has a great morning and afternoon slate of games, and a relatively weak evening lineup — which means that, this being college football and all, the evening games are set to be wild.
After a disastrous Week 1 of picks (1-4), Week 2 (3-2) was a step in the right direction. Let’s see if I can sneak above .500 on the year with a strong Week 3.
No.4 Alabama at Wisconsin
12 p.m. ET
Line: Bama –16
Sixteen points is a huge spread against a Badgers team that plays in a famously rowdy environment at Camp Randall Stadium. Bama struggled last week against South Florida, and the Tide doesn’t play a whole lot of true non-conference road games, especially outside the South. Can Kalen DeBoer put it all together against Luke Fickell and a Wisconsin team that is still looking for a breakthrough win?
Bama pulls away and covers in the home of “Jump Around.” 38-17
No.16 LSU at South Carolina
12 p.m. ET
Line: LSU –6.5
In Week 1, LSU struggled to close the door on USC and managed to get itself beat. The Fighting Shane Beamers of South Carolina, on the other hand, went to Lexington and smoked a proud Kentucky team in Week 2. I’m picking the team that’s rolling and that’s playing at home.
South Carolina wins going away. 35-24
No.24 Boston College at No.6 Missouri
1245 p.m. ET
Line: Mizzou –14.5
Bill O’Brien’s Boston College Eagles are a team built in the trenches – but do they have the juice at the skill positions to keep up with a Mizzou team ranked in the Top Ten? On the other hand, if Eli Drinkwitz’s Tigers are the kind of team that wants to make a run to the college football playoffs, Mizzou needs to go out and handle a solid Boston College comfortably at home. Watch for the Tigers’ Luther Burden, who may just be the best wide receiver in college football, to get loose.
Mizzou wins, and covers. 34-17
No.9 Oregon at Oregon State
230 p.m. ET
Line: Oregon –17
Dan Lanning’s Ducks have gotten off to a slow start each of the first two weeks. They’ll be better this week, but they’re favored by a too-big spread against a Beavers team looking to ruin a Ducks season before it even gets going in the first year after Oregon bailed on the Pac-12.
Oregon wins but fails to cover. 28-14
No.18 Notre Dame at Purdue
230 p.m ET
Line: ND –7.5
Notre Dame fell flat on its face against Northern Illinois, a shocking result after the opening weekend win against Texas A&M in College Station. They’re on the road again, and they’ll be looking for revenge against a scrappy Purdue team.
Notre Dame wins and covers, but still doesn’t LOOK great. 27-17
Record Last Week: 3-2
Record on the Year: 4-6
Note: All picks are scored against the spread.