College Football Week 3 Best Bets
As Week 3 of the 2011 college football season rolls up on the schedule, there are a couple of marquee matchups on tap, but the real value lies in some of the games that may not be in the forefront of the betting publics’ eye.
Last week we scored big on Florida International’s 24-17 upset of Louisville as a four-point road underdog and Tennessee’s 45-23 romp over Cincinnati as a 6.5-point home favorite. This week, Bang the Book has once again done its homework to bring you a few more ‘best bets’ for this week’s action. Brought to you by BetOnline.Com
Mississippi (-2) at Vanderbilt
The Rebels program has fallen into major disrepair as they suddenly find themselves as one of the ‘have-nots’ in the powerful SEC. They are just 3-7 straight-up in their last 10 games, but coming off a much needed 42-24 victory over Southern Illinois as a 20.5-point home favorite last Saturday.
Vanderbilt has already matched its win total from a year ago with a 45-14 win over D-IAA Elon as a 15-point home favorite and a 24-21 victory over Connecticut as a 1.5-point home favorite. The party ends here for the Commodores as they begin the meat of their SEC schedule.
This series has been back-and-forth over the past few years straight-up, but Mississippi is 2-8 against the spread in the last 10 meetings including an outright 28-14 loss last season as an 11.5-point home favorite.
The Football Pick: Mississippi 21 Vanderbilt 20
Virginia at North Carolina (-10)
Virginia is another program that had fallen on hard times, but second-year coach Mike London has the Cavaliers pointed in the right direction. They are off to a 2-0 start including a thrilling 34-31 last-second win over Indiana as a 7.5-point road favorite.
North Carolina posted an easy 42-10 victory over D-IAA James Madison in its opener as an 18-point home favorite, but struggled to get by Rutgers last week with a 24-22 win at home in a game it was favored to win by 10.
This rivalry has actually favored Virginia over the past decade, as it is 7-3 SU in the last 10 games. The memory of last season’s 44-10 pasting at the hands of the Tar Heels as six-point home underdogs remains fresh in the Cavaliers’ minds heading into this year’s showdown.
The Football Pick: North Carolina 17 Virginia 13
Penn State (-7.5) at Temple
The Nittany Lions come into this one licking their wounds from a 27-11 loss to Alabama as a 10-point home underdog. They fell behind early in this one and a fourth quarter rally proved to be too little too late behind an offense that is still struggling to find itself.
Temple has been able to turn its program around over the past few seasons to position itself as a legitimate contender in the Mid American Conference. The Owls come into this in-state rivalry at 2-0, including last week’s 41-3 romp over Akron as 15-point road favorites.
While Penn State has owned this series over the years straight-up, Temple has slowly made things much more competitive in recent memory and is 2-0 ATS the last two years. While the Owls are not quite ready to topple Jo Pa’s squad, this year’s contest remains competitive to the final gun.
The Football Pick: Penn State 28 Temple 21
Dave Schwab
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