Week 3 college football odds, lines: USC, Georgia are heavy favorites – CBSSports.com
Welcome back to Monday Morning Oddsmaker, your weekly first look at the coming week’s college football lines. And if you haven’t yet taken a glance at the Week 3 slate, good news: thanks to some early intra-conference action in the SEC, ACC and Pac-12 (plus a handful of juicy nonconference matchups), it’s the most intriguing set of games we’ve been handed yet, by a factor of … 10? 100? Let’s just say a very large number.
The point is: This is a good week to be informed by checking out the full list of odds at SportsLine, and by continuing to read our breakdown here.
Lines you need to know
No. 15 Ole Miss at No. 2 Alabama (-7): Save possibly Georgia Tech, no team in the country has been more impressive against bottom-rung competition than the Rebels … and they’re still a full-touchdown underdog heading to Tuscaloosa.
No. 14 Georgia Tech at No. 8 Notre Dame (+2): The Irish are already battle-tested; the Jackets (to put it politely) are not. But Tech’s lopsided victories and Malik Zaire’s devastating injury means Paul Johnson’s team will nonetheless be the rare road favorite in South Bend.
No. 18 Auburn at No. 13 LSU (-7): The SEC West’s annual Tigers-vs.-Tigers showdown looked like a much closer call before Auburn’s death-defying escape against FCS Jacksonville State, but after throwing for only 71 yards vs. Mississippi State, LSU has room for improvement too.
Stanford at No. 6 USC (-9.5): After blasting Arkansas State and Idaho, the Trojans’ season gets real against a Cardinal team that bounced back in quality fashion vs. UCF.
No. 11 Clemson at Louisville (+5): Your first Thursday night ACC showdown of the season is a tantalizing one, with the wounded Cards looking to redeem their 0-2 start with a prime-time upset over the Atlantic favorite Tigers.
Lines that may raise eyebrows
South Carolina at No. 7 Georgia (-17): 17 points? The Gamecocks were fortunate to beat North Carolina, did lose to Kentucky (at home), and don’t have their starting quarterback … but they also haven’t lost to the Bulldogs by a margin that wide since 2006.
Cal at Texas (+7): It’s come to this: the Longhorns are a full touchdown home underdog to a team two seasons removed from going winless against FBS competition.
BYU at No. 10 UCLA (-16.5): The Tanner Mangum Show has made for some awfully exciting viewing for the Cougars faithful, but Vegas doesn’t expect the ride to last — or even come close to lasting — against the white-hot Bruins.
Rutgers at Penn State (-8.5): The Scarlet Knights won’t have Leonte Carroo, but after their start to the season, seeing the Nittany Lions favored by more than a touchdown against any Power Five team anywhere is something of a surprise.
Lines you may want to stay away from
No. 9 Florida State at Boston College (+7.5): The talent gulf between these two teams is far, far wider than a mere 7.5 points, but Steve Addazio’s Eagles have given the ‘Noles fits each of the past two seasons, and have covered their last four games as an underdog of more than a touchdown.
Virginia Tech at Purdue (+5.5): Another line that looks like Vegas positively begging bettors to take the road favorite. The Boilers are just 3-6 against-the-spread as a home underdog under Darell Hazell, but this will be Hokies backup quarterback Brenden Motley’s first road start.
SMU at No. 3 TCU (-37): Sportsline’s Matty Simo likes a side in this matchup, but from here this looks like a difficult line to size up. On one side you’ve got a Mustangs team that’s drastically improved under Chad Morris and will be motived to prove it against one of their classic rivals; one the other you’ve got a TCU team prone to blowing out weaker competition at home.
Florida at Kentucky (+4): Sure, you can take the Wildcats as home underdogs. You’re just taking them against a team they haven’t beaten in 28 tries.
Lines you may want to pick against
Northern Illinois at No. 1 Ohio State (-32.5): The Buckeyes were coming off a physical Monday night road game, scored 14 first-half points, and still almost covered a 40-point spread against Hawaii. This is a big number, but the Huskies lost 52-14 to Arkansas last year and wobbled against UNLV in Week 1; another ugly blowout may be on the cards. Pick: Ohio State -32.5.
South Carolina at No. 7 Georgia (-17): Is there anything about this series — or Steve Spurrier’s career — that suggests this game is going to end in a three-touchdown rout? Yes, the Bulldogs are the better team; yes, the Gamecocks have struggled. But 17 points feels like an overreaction. Pick: South Carolina +17.
Western Kentucky at Indiana (-2.5): Kevin Wilson is 2-10 against-the-spread following a straight-up win and 0-7 the last two seasons. And judging by Southern Illinois’s Week 1 success, Brandon Doughty’s about to have the proverbial field day. Pick: Western Kentucky +2.5.
Stanford at No. 6 USC (-9.5): Yes, Cody Kessler’s been sensational through two games … against Arkansas State and Idaho. After watching the 13-10 slugfest that was the 2014 meeting — a game the Cardinal had every opportunity to win — it’s hard to think Stanford’s defense can’t keep things within at least a touchdown. Pick: Stanford +9.5.
Leonard Fournette (No. 7) and LSU will look for a big home win vs. Auburn. (USATSI)This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
