The College Football Blog: 2012 Week 3 Betting Lines

Last Week’s Record

Biggest 10 Games (Straight Up: 3-7; Vs. Spread: 3-7)

Overall (Straight Up: 31-14; Vs. Spread: 21-24; Moneyline Upsets: 1-1)

Season Record

Biggest 10 Games (Straight Up: 11-9; Vs. Spread: 7-13)

Overall (Straight Up: 64-22; Vs. Spread: 43-43; Moneyline Upsets: 3-4)

Week 2 Review: Well I wish I had gone heavy with the upsets again. It was certainly a disappointing week for me, particularly in the biggest 10 games. Picking ATS in the biggest 10 games has always been a struggle for me, but I’m normally pretty good at picking the winners of those biggest games. To go 3-7 straight up in the biggest 10 games is awful. 

Overall the week wasn’t a total disaster and at least I’m still at .500 ATS for the year. However, for the second straight week a team favored by at least 30 points lost straight up, and once again I had actually picked them to cover. 

As usual, a week that seemed rather ordinary going in turned out to be much more interesting than expected. There was not a single game between ranked teams last week, but the surprise outcomes more than made up for the dearth of sexy matchups. 

Week 3 Preview: In contrast to last week, week 3’s schedule contains a number of highly intriguing matchups. This week may not end up being as interesting as last week, but we are definitely going to find out a lot about at least a few teams. As for me, I’m obviously hoping to rebound from last week’s disappointing effort. I especially need a good week picking ATS in the biggest games, as I’ve already dug a significant hole in that area which always gives me trouble. It’s also much harder to make a big comeback in that area because there are far fewer opportunities. 

Thursday

Game 1: Rutgers (+7.5) @ South Florida  

Pick: Rutgers beats the spread

Saturday 

Game 2: Texas A&M (-12) @ SMU

Pick: Texas A&M covers

Game 3: Virginia (+10.5) @ Georgia Tech

Pick: Virginia beats the spread

Game 4: Alabama (-21) @ Arkansas

Pick: Alabama covers

Game 5: Florida (+3) @ Tennessee

Pick: Tennessee covers

Game 6: Arizona State (+6.5) @ Missouri

Pick: Arizona State beats the spread

Game 7: USC (-8.5) @ Stanford

Pick: USC covers

Game 8: Notre Dame (+6) @ Michigan State

Pick: Notre Dame beats the spread

Game 9: Texas (-9.5) @ Mississippi

Pick: Texas covers

Game 10: BYU (-4) @ Utah  

Pick: BYU covers

Other Games

Friday

Washington State (-8.5) @ UNLV (UNLV beats the spread)

Saturday

Wake Forest (+28.5) @ Florida State (FSU covers)

Arkansas State (+24.5) @ Nebraska (Ark State beats the spread)

California (+16.5) @ Ohio State (Ohio State covers)

Louisiana-Lafayette (+22.5) @ Oklahoma State (Ok State covers)

Western Michigan (+2.5) @ Minnesota (Minnesota covers)

Virginia Tech (-10) @ Pittsburgh (VT covers)

Northern Illinois (-3) @ Army (NIU covers)

TCU (-21) @ Kansas (TCU covers)

Eastern Michigan (+24) @ Purdue (Purdue covers)

Louisiana-Monroe (+16.5) @ Auburn (ULM beats the spread)

Connecticut (-2.5) @ Maryland (UConn covers)

East Carolina (+7.5) @ Southern Mississippi (ECU beats the spread)

Boston College (+3.5) @ Northwestern (NW covers)

North Carolina (+3) @ Louisville (Louisville covers)

Massachusetts (+45.5) @ Michigan (Michigan covers)

Navy (+5.5) @ Penn State (PSU covers)

Florida International (+17) @ Central Florida (UCF covers)

Miami (Ohio) (+21) @ Boise State (Boise State covers)

South Alabama (+31) @ North Carolina State (NC State covers)

Ohio (-6.5) @ Marshall (Marshall beats the spread)

Middle Tennessee State (-3.5) @ Memphis (Memphis pulls off the upset)

North Texas (+28.5) @ Kansas State (KSU covers)

Western Kentucky (+7) @ Kentucky (Kentucky covers)

Rice (+20.5) @ Louisiana Tech (Rice beats the spread)

Bowling Green (+3.5) @ Toledo (Toledo covers)

Mississippi State (-17) @ Troy (Miss State covers)

New Mexico (+33.5) @ Texas Tech (Texas Tech covers)

UAB (+33.5) @ South Carolina (South Carolina covers)

Florida Atlantic (+42) @ Georgia (UGA covers)

Idaho (+42) @ LSU (LSU covers)

Colorado (+15.5) @ Fresno State (Fresno State covers)

Colorado State (+11.5) @ San Jose State (SJS covers)

Ball State (+2.5) @ Indiana (Indiana covers)

Utah State (+14) @ Wisconsin (Utah State beats the spread)

New Mexico State (+11.5) @ UTEP (UTEP covers)

Houston (+17) @ UCLA (UCLA covers)