College Football Week 3 Upset Alerts: 2 FCS Teams Worth Betting?
It’s the weeks nobody expects that deliver the highest volume of upsets and shakeups near the top of the AP poll. Sandwiched between two loaded weekends in Weeks 2 and 4 is Week 3 – a lighter slate offering zero top-25 matchups. But that doesn’t mean it won’t offer intrigue and, perhaps, a major upset in college football. We’ll make the case, and you decide if you want to make the picks on the moneyline or in your pick ’em pools. Compare college football odds from the best sports betting sites below with these upset candidates.
Last week, I outlined four games that offer upset potential. Of those four, two touchdown-plus underdogs won outright and the other two covered their spreads. On the season, upset-alert underdogs are 6-1 against the spread with two outright upsets.
College Football Week 3 Upset Alerts
Browse odds from the best college football betting sites throughout this article. Click to place a wager on any of the games.
Georgia Tech at Ole Miss Odds
When looking for upset potential, I almost always first look at lookahead spots. Professional teams are unlikely to look ahead to a bigger opponent, but college teams succumb to the look-ahead weekly. In this case, Ole Miss () visits Alabama in Week 4. Last season, Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss were blown out 45-20 as +1 underdogs at LSU before heading to Texas A&M. They’ve also failed to cover spreads ahead of their rivalry game against Mississippi State two years running under Kiffin.
The second punch comes in the form of the letdown – Ole Miss comes off a high-emotion and hard-fought victory over Tulane on the road.
Losing outright as a 20+ point favorite is extremely rare (although two teams have already pulled it off this season). Rather than placing a moneyline wager, perhaps this one is better off taking points with Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets’ offense looked potent in Week 1 against what was thought to be a strong Louisville defense. Transfer QB Haynes King threw for over 300 yards and may be able to find success against a Rebels defense that allowed 231 yards to Tulane’s backup. A fiery team like Georgia Tech with what appears to be a solid offense against a team in a look-ahead spot could spell danger for the nearly three-touchdown favorite Rebels.
- Brett’s full free college football betting card for Week 3 after a 5-0 Week 2
Weber State at Utah Odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for Weber State at Utah soon.
After a couple of bruising games (quite literally), Utah returns home at 2-0, but in poor health standing. They host cross-town foe Weber State in Week 3. QB Cam Rising has yet to play and his status remains unknown, although the prospect of easing him in against an FCS foe rather than against UCLA has to be enticing. Brant Kuithe has yet to see the field, either, and Micah Bernard suffered a season-ending injury last week.
A banged-up Utes team goes up against UCLA and Oregon State in their next two games before heading on a bye. But before then, they have to handle an inspired Weber State team fresh off an upset win and ranked eighth in aggregate FCS power ratings. For context, the Wildcats are similarly ranked to Middle Tennessee and Jacksonville State in Division I.
Driving 45 minutes south to Rice-Eccles Stadium means Weber State can sleep in their own beds and avoid a lot of the pitfalls road games offer. Similar to Georgia Tech, I’m not betting on Weber State on the moneyline. But should this number open too high (4+ touchdowns), I’ll likely be on the Wildcats.
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Idaho at Cal Odds
Sportsbooks will post odds for Idaho at Cal soon.
Cal has a similar setup to Utah – coming off a tough game (loss to Auburn), with some injuries piling up, in a lookahead spot (at Washington next week) and against a top-10 rated FCS foe. Sam Jackson should be good to go, but he took some hits in Week 2 and the staff may be protective of their young starter. Idaho travels to Cal, far from a daunting home environment, fresh off a 27-point drubbing of Nevada as five-point favorites.
Workhorse running back Jadyn Ott was beat up in the Auburn game, as well. He’s reportedly on track to play this weekend but may be limited in some capacity.
For Idaho, there really isn’t a “letdown” spot after the first FCS-over-FBS result of the season. Quarterback Gervani McCoy completed over 70% of his passes for 313 yards and a pair of scores in Week 2. Cal’s rush defense is strong, but Idaho should be able to move the ball through the air with McCoy and Coastal Carolina transfer TJ Ivy.
Anything over three touchdowns in favor of Cal is a bet on Idaho for me this week.
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