13 best College Football picks for Week 3: Can Oregon upset BYU?
Troy at Appalachian State (2:30 PM on ESPN+)
App State, one of the underdog Group of 5 teams that had the college football world shook after upsetting No. 6 Texas A&M in College Station last week, looks to use that momentum to fend off conference foe Troy in a trap game. This is an extremely disciplined team and they aren’t going to let a huge win and College Game Day being in town distract them from their mission.
Troy doesn’t have the balanced attack you need to keep the Mountaineers on their toes. The Trojans have gained 750 yards through the air this season and just 118 total rushing yards through the first two games of the season. That makes for a lot easier game plan for App State. They win big at home and take a victory lap in front of the fans at The Rock.
Pick: App State -12.5
Liberty at No. 19 Wake Forest (4 PM on ACC Network)
Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman is back and better than ever, despite missing time due to a non-football related issue that Head Coach Dave Clawson said involved a medical procedure stemming from something “that could happen to any one of us.”
It sounded like a scary situation and quite frankly, it was. It was recently revealed that Hartman had a blood clot and had to have surgery to relieve the clot and subsequent surgery to relieve pressure on the vein, according to Sports Illustrated.
Hartman made his return vs Vanderbilt and looked like hadn’t missed a beat. He put up big numbers last week and faces a tough Liberty team at home this week. The Flames have allowed fewer than 30 points in both of their games, despite going into 4OT in one of those games. Take the under on this one.
Pick: Under 62.5 points
Mississippi State at LSU (5 PM on ESPN)
These two teams are incredibly well-matched. They’re both averaging 44 ppg and allowing just 20 ppg through the first two games.
Mississippi State QB Will Rogers will face his toughest defense of the season when he faces LSU in Death Valley. If this is going to be a close game, which everyone seems to think based on the two-point spread, I’m taking LSU who will have a slight edge with a juiced-up home crowd.
Pick: LSU +114
South Florida at No. 18 Florida (6:30 PM on SEC Network)
As a team, Florida did not play well against Kentucky last week and the team’s best player, QB Anthony Richardson, came back down to Earth after a phenomenal Week 1 game vs Utah. These Gators are going to have quite the chip on their shoulders heading into this Week 3 game vs South Florida.
USF QB and Baylor transfer Gerry Bohanon has not played well this year. He’s yet to throw a touchdown and has thrown two picks, despite one of his two first games coming against Howard. The Gators are going to have a field day with his struggles and win big.