Week 3 of the 2018 college football season is coming up. As the season progresses, remember to keep in mind some relevant facts and history, relative to performances in specific betting contexts. Here are the five latest noteworthy betting trends for NCAA football to consider as you prepare for Week 3.
Alabama is favored in its 42nd consecutive game this week and is going to be putting a 75-game winning streak against unranked opponents on the line at Ole Miss.
The Crimson Tide should be in very good shape this week. Ole Miss’ defense has allowed a lot of yards and points in its first two games this season, that includes 41 points to Southern Illinois last week. Alabama’s offense, with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, is better and more potent than it has been in previous seasons under head coach Nick Saban. Alabama should score a lot, and since the Tide has one of the nation’s best defenses, it should be able to separate itself quite substantially from the Rebels.
LSU has only beaten Auburn as an underdog one time in the series since 2000, but that one win came last season when LSU won 27-23 over Auburn in Baton Rouge. LSU is just 0-4 SU and 1-3 ATS in its last five visits to Jordan-Hare Stadium.
This will be a very tough game for LSU to win not only because it is on the road, and not only because Auburn is a good team – which just defeated Pac-12 favorite Washington in Week 1 – but because of last year. Auburn blew a 20-0 lead over LSU last season, which means they’ve circled this contest. It’s a game which has angered the Auburn players and coaches a year later. The memory of that game and the need to see a job through to its completion should highly motivate Auburn and give the Tigers the push they need to win the game.
Related: College Football Betting Guide
Marshall is playing its first game against an SEC team since 2006 this week when it takes on South Carolina. The last time the Thundering Herd beat an SEC team was Sept. 9, 1998, when they beat these same Gamecocks 24-21. Since then, Marshall is 0-4 against SEC teams and lost all four games by double-digits.
This game will be interesting. South Carolina just played its most important SEC division game of the year in Week 2 and got rocked by Georgia, so the Gamecocks could suffer a hangover in this game. However, when comparing talent, South Carolina has by far the better and more athletic players. Marshall is 2-0 but they had a narrow win at Miami of Ohio to start the season and then handled Eastern Kentucky relatively well with a 32-16 win at home. Still, if South Carolina shows up, this game should not be close.
USC is 3-13-1 ATS in its last 17 games. The Trojans are 0-6 ATS in their last six non-conference games and are 0-7 ATS in their last seven non-conference games against Power Five foes. The last time the Trojans covered against a non-conference Power Five team was Sept. 14, 2013 vs. Boston College.
The USC-Texas game in Week 3 might be the most important game in the country in terms of shaping a coach’s future. Both Clay Helton of USC and Tom Herman of Texas are facing the heat after early-season losses.
What are we to make of USC in the early part of the season? Yes, they’re still in the Top 25 at No. 22, but they had to come-from-behind to beat UNLV in Week 1. In Week 2, they shot themselves in the foot a number of times with an interception in the red zone, a fumble on Stanford’s 40-yard-line and two missed field goals.
As for Texas, they looked terrible against Maryland in their opener and then beat Tulsa 28-21, even though the final score is not indicative of the game. Texas was mostly in control the entire way. But can they handle a step up in competition?
This game feels like a toss-up, but with Texas being at home, the Longhorns probably have a slight edge.
UCF has opened as a double-digit favorite against North Carolina. The Knights have never been double-digit road favorites against a Power Five team. This is the fourth time North Carolina has been a double-digit underdog in a home game since the start of last season.
The North Carolina Tar Heels have a bunch of players suspended from offseason disciplinary problems, and those absences on the roster have shown up in two losses to start the season. But the issues might be deeper than just that as a 41-19 road loss to East Carolina has to be concerning. For some quick context, East Carolina lost at home 28-23 to North Carolina A&T in its first game of the season.
The Tar Heels are a total mess, giving UCF and quarterback McKenzie Milton a golden chance to win big and cover the spread.
