10 Potential Upsets for College Football Week 3

Texas State at Arizona State (-15.5) - 10:30 on TNT

The Arizona State Sun Devils lost at Mississippi State in a game they appeared to have nearly wrapped up after erasing a 17-0 deficit. There were red flags entering that contest after Northern Arizona was able to throw it around on the Sun Devils in the season-opener. They now return home and welcome the high-powered Texas State Bobcats to Tempe. This is a long shot as Arizona State should be able to score at will on a weak Texas State defense, but the Bobcats do have some firepower and could make this game really interesting, particularly if Sam Leavitt is not sharp.

Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.

Washington State at North Texas (-6.5) - 3:30 on ESPNU

The North Texas Mean Green are 2-0 and are favored by a touchdown over the Washington State Cougars, but if you look closer at last week’s win, questions arise about why the Mean Green should be favored. They beat Western Michigan 33-30 in overtime, and the Broncos had more than 36 minutes of possession and had 216 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, Washington State beat San Diego State 36-13, and quarterback Jaxon Potter impressed with three touchdown passes. Washington State is a program in transition, but it still has a baseline of talent capable of beating North Texas.

Pittsburgh (-7) at West Virginia - 3:30 on ESPN

The West Virginia Mountaineers and Pittsburgh Panthers meet in Morgantown for the Backyard Brawl. The two regularly play entertaining contests, and Pitt comes in as the road favorite. While I don’t have much faith in WVU’s offense at this point in the Rich Rodriguez era, getting a home underdog in a rivalry game is good value, and Pittsburgh has not won in Morgantown since 2007.

South Florida at Miami (-17.5) - 4:30 on The CW Network

The Miami Hurricanes have been awfully impressive in the first two weeks of the season, beating Notre Dame and thumping Bethune-Cookman to start the campaign 2-0. They are 17.5-point favorites at home, hosting in-state foe South Florida. USF is coming off a gigantic win in Gainesville over the Florida Gators. Do you know what the spread was in that game? That’s right, 17.5 points. Can the Bulls do it again? Head coach Alex Golesh has his team playing at a high level, but they can certainly play better on offense than they did a week ago and nab another scalp.

Liberty (-6.5) at Bowling Green - 5:00 on ESPN+

The Bowling Green Falcons are not very good in Eddie George’s first campaign in charge, and they are hosting the Liberty Flames. Interestingly, the line is hovering right around a touchdown, which sets off alarm bells and makes this one to watch. I do think a big part of it is that Liberty just isn’t very good. They were unimpressive in week 1 against Maine, and they lost by ten points to a rebuilding Jacksonville State squad. Hold your nose because Bowling Green probably won’t make it pretty, but they could pull off the upset.

Old Dominion at Virginia Tech (-7.5) - 7:00 on ACC Network

After starting the season 0-2, the Virginia Tech Hokies could be desperate this Saturday to get a “W” on the board and take a tiny bit of pressure off of head coach Brent Pry. Of course, they could also be on “quit watch” after getting shellacked in the second half by Vanderbilt, and now a dangerous Sun Belt team, Old Dominion, comes to Lane Stadium. The Monarchs have an explosive running quarterback in Colton Joseph, and they won’t be intimidated at all by taking on their in-state foe. I think ODU wins this game outright and effectively ends the Pry era in Blacksburg.

Arkansas at Ole Miss (-7.5) - 7:00 on ESPN

Before the season, the week three game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and Ole Miss Rebels was an afterthought. Head coach Sam Pittman is still on the hot seat, and two wins against overmatched opponents don’t change that, but Arkansas has looked really good, and Ole Miss is going to need to be very careful. The Rebels are 2-0 after beating Kentucky, but Arkansas has an offense that can cause some real problems. This line opened at ten and has quickly dropped.

Florida at LSU (-7.5) - 7:30 on ABC

What’s the quickest way to pick up your head coach after a devastating loss to in-state foe South Florida? Going to Baton Rouge and beating the LSU Tigers. Embattled Billy Napier and the Florida Gators take on Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers this Saturday, and the Gators’ loss certainly takes some luster off, but that was not an SEC game, and there is still everything to play for. LSU is No. 3 in the country, but questions do remain after a less-than-convincing performance against Louisiana Tech, combined with Clemson’s struggles against Troy.

Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-7) - 7:30 on NBC

Texas A&M and Notre Dame squared off last season in College Station, and the return game to South Bend is on Saturday night on NBC. The Fighting Irish had a rare Week 2 bye after losing to Miami to open the regular season. Texas A&M has a tough schedule, but it actually sets up pretty nicely after this weekend, so a win over Notre Dame would put them in a tremendous position for a College Football Playoff bid. At the same time, the Fighting Irish could use a solid home win. Both teams figure to want to pound the ball on the ground, and this will be a physical contest. Can Mike Elko scheme something up that can force CJ Carr into a couple of turnovers to swing this contest?

Texas State at Arizona State (-15.5) - 10:30 on TNT

The Arizona State Sun Devils lost at Mississippi State in a game they appeared to have nearly wrapped up after erasing a 17-0 deficit. There were red flags entering that contest after Northern Arizona was able to throw it around on the Sun Devils in the season-opener. They now return home and welcome the high-powered Texas State Bobcats to Tempe. This is a long shot as Arizona State should be able to score at will on a weak Texas State defense, but the Bobcats do have some firepower and could make this game really interesting, particularly if Sam Leavitt is not sharp.

Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.