Before The Snap: College football predictions, picks against the spread for top Week 3 games
Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football series where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
Early in the college football season, blowouts are expected, and Week 2 had plenty of those.
But for the more competitive games, last weekend did not disappoint with Notre Dame sneaking away with a win over Toledo, Texas A&M surviving Colorado, Arkansas rocking Texas and a couple big upsets — like Oregon beating Ohio State and Stanford taking down USC, which led to Clay Helton’s overdue firing.
Plus a rescued cat!
There’s no guarantee Week 3 will be just as exciting, but there are a handful of good matchups to watch, including three games between top-25 teams.
Here’s some key info about the games we broke down with predictions in the latest episode of Before The Snap, with betting info provided by Tipico Sportsbook as of Wednesday.
Stream live college football games every week this season from conferences across the country on ESPN+.
No. 1 Alabama at No. 11 Florida
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Gainesville, Fla.
Channel: CBS
O/U: 59.5
Spread: Alabama -14.5
(USA TODAY Sports, AP Photo)
No. 22 Auburn at No. 10 Penn State
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: University Park, Penn.
Channel: ABC
O/U: 52.5
Spread: Penn State -6.5
No. 19 Arizona State at No. 23 BYU
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 10:15 p.m. ET
Where: Provo, Utah
Channel: ESPN
O/U: 51.1
Spread: Arizona State -3.5
Virginia at No. 21 UNC
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Channel: ACCN
O/U: 65.5
Spread: UNC -8.5
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