3 Best College Football Games On Week 3 Schedule by CFB Watchability
Odds are available across the best college football betting sites as we prepare for Week 3 of the 2023 season. Fans will be pleased to hear Week 3’s three best games are spread across Saturday’s three primary television windows. We’ll reveal those games below and show the best available sports betting odds in your state. Here is the college football schedule for this weekend, ranked by KFord Rating Watchability Scores.
BEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMES: WEEK 3 WATCHABILITY SCORES
To summarize, Watchability is a weighted score of projected quality (average KFord Ratings) and projected competitiveness (projected KFord spread) presented on a 0-10 scale. Which games are projecting to be the best in Week 3? Let’s discuss. Click on the odds to bet.
No. 14 LSU (1-1, 0-0) at Mississippi State (2-0, 0-0): 8.9 Watchability Score
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Odds updated September 16th, 2023, at 2:21 pm.
Odds and lines subject to change.
What better way to kick off your Saturday than with one of the best college football games of the week at noon ET on ESPN? With 13 national championships in the last 17 seasons, the SEC has established itself as the premier conference in FBS college football. The West has been the more dominant of the two divisions, winning 12 of the last 14 conference championship games. So it should come as no surprise that the projected best game of Week 3 is an SEC West showdown pitting one-loss No. 14 LSU against undefeated Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi.
LSU’s season got off to a shaky start with a 24-45 loss to then-No. 8 Florida State in Orlando. But last week, the Tigers throttled FCS Grambling State 72-10 to jump back up to No. 13 in my predictive power ratings. The offense has been exactly what I expected through two weeks – currently ranked No. 10, just as it was in the preseason. But the defense has been far worse than anticipated – falling from No. 14 in the preseason to No. 53 currently, which is worst of any team in the SEC West.
After home wins against FCS Southeastern Louisiana (48-7) and Arizona (31-24 in overtime), Mississippi State faces its most difficult test of the season on both sides of the ball. The Bulldogs offense (No. 28) and defense (No. 31) are both within four spots of where they started the year, as the team’s power rating has risen from 7.6 (No. 34) to 9.3 (No. 28). Despite the No. 28 national ranking, Mississippi State is power-rated second-to-last in their division ahead of only Arkansas (No. 36). It truly is a gauntlet in the SEC.
My numbers project LSU to win by 7.5, which equates to a 29% chance that Mississippi State pulls off the upset at home.
| Team | Current | With a Win | With a Loss |
| No. 14 LSU | 21% | 26% | 9% |
| Mississippi State | 1% | 3% | <1% |
No. 11 Tennessee (2-0, 0-0) at Florida (1-1, 0-0): 8.7 Watchability Score
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Odds updated September 16th, 2023, at 9:17 pm.
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The second-best projected game of Week 3 is also an SEC conference game and also on ESPN. But this one is in an East division game that sees undefeated No. 11 Tennessee take on one-loss Florida in Gainesville, Florida at 7:00 pm ET.
Tennessee’s power rating has fallen from 16.6 (No. 11) in the preseason to 15.4 (No. 16) following wins against Virginia (49-13) and FCS Austin Peay (30-13). Despite struggling for parts of the game against the Governors, Tennessee’s offense is still No. 8 nationally (down from No. 3 in the preseason), which is good enough for second in the SEC East. The defense has been slightly better than expected, rising from No. 35 in the preseason to No. 29 currently (No. 3 in the division). But the Gators pose the biggest test to date on both sides of the ball, and the Volunteers have lost nine in a row in the Swamp since their last victory in 2003.
Florida has more or less performed as the model expected through the first two weeks which saw the Gators lose at then-No. 14 Utah (11-24) and win at home against FCS McNeese (49-7). The offense started the year No. 23 and has fallen to No. 29, while the defense has risen from No. 46 to No. 44. Tennessee presents the most difficult test to date for this Gator defense, but the offense has already faced a tougher test in Salt Lake City, and this time, they are in the friendly confines of the Swamp.
My numbers project Tennessee to win by 4.5, which equates to a 38% chance Florida pulls off the upset at home.
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| Team | Current | With a Win | With a Loss |
| No. 11 Tennessee | 13% | 16% | 5% |
| Florida | 3% | 7% | 1% |
No. 8 Washington (2-0) at Michigan State (2-0): 8.0 Watchability Score
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Odds updated September 16th, 2023, at 5:45 pm.
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So to recap, you’ll want to start and end your college football Saturday watching the SEC on ESPN. But what about the afternoon window? Switch on over to Peacock (subscription required) at 5:00 pm ET for a battle of undefeated teams as No. 8 Washington heads to East Lansing, Michigan, to take on the Spartans of Michigan State.
After putting up 56 and 43 at home against Boise State and Tulsa, respectively, the model has seen enough to move this Washington offense from No. 7 to No. 2; behind only USC. The defense has also performed better than expected and as risen from No. 50 in the preseason to No. 33. But now the Huskies have to travel across country for their first road game to face what should be their biggest test of the season, at least on paper.
That qualifier is important because this Michigan State program is mired in a sexual harassment allegation against its head coach, Mel Tucker. While the Spartans are No. 42 in my power ratings with the No. 24 defense and No. 58 offense, it truly is anyone’s guess as to how this team will react to these allegations and if they will be fully focused on the Huskies on Saturday.
My numbers project Washington to win by 10.5, which equates to a 22% chance Michigan State pulls off the upset at home.
College Football Schedule: Week 3 Watchability Scores
Enjoy watching the best college football games on the schedule this week! ESPN College GameDay and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff will both be at the Colorado State vs. Colorado game.
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