NCAA Football Week 3 SU Betting Picks

The North Carolina Tar Heels and Iowa State Cyclones look like two teams in trouble as they get set for their respective Week 3 matchups. The Nebraska Cornhuskers will be ‘semi-desperate’ to pick up a big win in Week 2 after suffering a narrow, heartbreaking loss in their opener. If you’re a college football betting enthusiast that is looking for some value-packed Week 3 straight-up (SU) picks, then you’ve come to the right place.

NCAA Football Week 3 SU Betting Picks

Two FBS games have already been moved to a new date with Hurricane Florence approaching. More could be on the way: https://t.co/BEv3oJnxb9

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 11, 2018

No. 18 Central Florida (2-0) at North Carolina (0-2)

When: Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET Where: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina NCAAF Odds: Central Florida -14.5 Central Florida has looked utterly fantastic in blowing UConn out of the water in its season-opening 56-17 win over the Huskies as a 24-point road favorite. While central Florida failed to cover the chalk as a 52-point home favorite in Week 2, they did manage to beat South Carolina State 38-0. Quarterback McKenzie Milton threw three picks in the win, but the Knights overcame them by recording three interceptions of their own and getting two rushing scores from running back Adrian Killins Jr. North Carolina has looked completely awful in their 24-17 Week 1 road loss at Cal and their stunning 41-19 road loss at East Carolina this past weekend. North Carolina was held to just 35 yards of third-quarter offense and were shut out after going nto halftime down 21-19. “We’re 0-2, it’s early in the season, our kids will keep fighting,” UNC coach Larry Fedora said. “Our coaches will keep coaching and we’ll get things going in the right direction.”

Prediction

It’s hard to fathom North Carolina being a two touchdown home underdog against a team that isn’t necessarily a national championship contender, but that is definitely the case for these two programs that are heading in polar opposite directions. Central Florida plays at hyper speed for first-year head coach Josh Heupel while North Carolina often looks like a team still stuck in the 90s. Anyway, while North Carolina has gone 2-5 ATS in their last 7 home games, 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games in September, Central Florida has gone 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 road games, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in the month of September and 6-2 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a losing record. Central Florida wins this one outright, and I think they’ll cover the big spread in the process. NCAA Football Week 3 Pick: Knights 42 Tar Heels 21

Troy (1-1) at Nebraska (0-1)

When: Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska NCAAF Odds: Nebraska -11.5 The Troy Trojans spanked Florida A&M 59-7 this past weekend to rebound from their season-opening 56-20 loss against Boise State. Quarterback Kaleb Barker threw four TD passes and the Trojans forced four turnovers in the rout. The Nebraska Cornhuskers put up a good fight but got the Scott Frost era started off with a narrow 33-28 home loss against Colorado Quarterback Adrian Martinez  completed 15 of 20 passes for 187 yards with one touchdown and one interception while adding 117 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.

Prediction

While Troy has a very good program and the Trojans have won eight of their last nine games, I like Nebraska to pick up a confidence-boosting home win in this contest. I won’t throw out a whole lot of meaningless trends for this matchup, especially when it comes to the Cornhuskers, but I will say that I really like head coach Scott Frost and I believe it’s only a matter of time before he puts the Huskers back on the national map. Troy has won five straight road games and the Trojans are 5-1 ATS in their last six games overall. Still, I’m going with Nebraska to avoid falling into an 0-2 hole to start the season. NCAA Football Week 3 Pick: Nebraska 41 Troy 31

No. 5 Oklahoma (2-0) at Iowa State (0-1)

When: Saturday, September 15, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET Where: Jack Trice Stadium, Ames, Iowa NCAAF Odds: Oklahoma -17 Oklahoma moved to 2-0 on the season by spanking UCLA 49-21 on Saturday after beating Florida Atlantic 63-14 in their opener. UCLA got out to an early 7-0 lead but the Sooners then scored 42 unanswered points to put their opponents away. Quarterback Kyler Murray completed 19 of 33 passes for 306 yards with three touchdowns and one interception while adding 69 rushing yards and two scores on 10 carries. Iowa State kicked off their 2018 campaign by getting overpowered in their humbling 13-3 loss to in-state rival Iowa on Saturday. The Cyclones scored the first points of the game early in the first quarter then never found their way into the end zone again. Quarterback Kyle Kempt completed 15 of 21 passes for 126 yards but the Cyclones were held to a pitiful 19 rushing yards on 25 team carries.

Prediction

If you’re worried about Oklahoma covering the spread as a 17-point road favorite, then just take the simple SU pick for the Sooners to win outright. First and foremost, Oklahoma wants some revenge for their stunning 38-31 home loss last season which was the Cyclones’ first victory in the last 10 meetings. Oklahoma is 6-3 ATS in their last nine games, 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against the Cyclones and 4-2 ATS in their last six road games against Iowa State. The Cyclones are 2-4 SU in their last six games and they just don’t have nearly enough offensive firepower in order to keep up with the explosive Sooners. NCAA Football Week 3 Pick: Oklahoma 42 Iowa State 10