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NCAA WEEK 3 MATCHUPS
Note Dame Fighting Irish (1-1) @ Michigan State Spartans (2-0)
Saturday, September 18 – 8:00pm EST
The Irish will walk into Michigan State this Saturday as 3 ½ point underdogs. Under the leadership of new coach Brian Kelly, The Irish are in a rebuilding year with the loss of several key players from last season including QB Jimmy Clausen. Despite the lineup losses Notre Dame faired decently against Michigan last week losing only by 4 after a last minute touchdown from the Wolverines. The Spartans have opened their season with two wins, albeit against Western Michigan and Florida Atlantic. Notre Dame should put them to the test when it comes to beating a legitimate team.
Both of these teams are highly competitive and an annual matchup between the two makes for somewhat of a rivalry. Neither team is quite up to standards of prior years with some serious flaws in defense on both sides. Because of this, the game could be very high scoring.
While the defenses look, for lack of a better term, “holey”, the offenses are looking pretty sharp. MSU has a number of returning starters including QB Kirk Cousins who is ranked among the top 20 quarterbacks in college. Cousins also has a number of great receivers to throw to and a running back – Edwin Baker – who is averaging nearly 10 yards per carry in his first two games this season. Look for this guy to see quite a bit of action on Saturday.
The Irish are working on a brand new system under Coach Kelly and like anything else there is an expected learning curve. First year starting QB Dayne Crist looks to be in pretty good shape but the offense only returns 2 starters from last season. Crist will have to take well advantage of MSU’s weak secondary if Notre Dame wants to win this game.
Look for this game to go high in the total. Offensively gifted teams with questions on defense could make for a very unpredictable outcome. To get the $20.00 pick check out who our experts recommend putting money on.
Texas Longhorns (2-0) @ Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
Saturday, September 18 – 8:00pm EST
Texas Tech will host their Big 12 rival, Texas Longhorns, this Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Sportsbooks have The Longhorns favored by 3 and are coming off a huge win against Wyoming – a game in which they failed to cover the 27.5 spread in a 34-7 win. Thus far this season the Longhorns are 0-2 ATS despite going 2-0 straigh
t up. Texas Tech, on the other hand, covered the 24.5 spread against New Mexico last week in a 52-17 victory and have split at 1-1 ATS in their first two games. The Red Raiders sport an aggressive defense which will test The Longhorns offensive line and aims to put lots of pressure on QB Garrett Gilbert.
It is noteworthy that Texas has gone 6-1 SU in their last 7 games against Texas Tech and has gone over the O/U in 7 of the last 8. Texas Tech has also not come within 3 points of Texas in a game since their 43-40 loss in 2003.
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Alabama Crimson Tide (2-0) @ Duke Blue Devils (1-1)
Saturday, September 18 – 3:30pm EST
Alabama is going annihilate Duke on their home field this Saturday – there is no question about that. Alabama has possibly the most high-powered offenses in NCAA football and Duke has one of the weakest defenses. The Crimson Tide rolled over a reputable defense against Penn State last week in a 24-3 victory while The Blue Devils defense allowed a combined 81 points to be scored in their first two games. So the question is can Alabama cover the massive 23 ½ point spread that has been laid in front of them on Duke’s home turf?
Last season Duke haD trouble breaking the 16 point mark in many of their games during the second half of the season. Against a great defense like Alabama they will struggle to push past 10. This means Alabama will need to come up with at least 34 points to cover. It would not be surprising to see Alabama score on just about every drive but they will have to hold Duke to its very minimum.
Mark Ingram is set to return to the lineup for this game. After a surgery on his knee coaches say he looks as good as ever. Duke has been awful against teams with good running games such as VT, Miami, GT, and even North Carolina. If Ingram is healthy you can expect him to shred the Duke defense repeatedly.
Special Notes
Alabama is 8-2 in their last 10 road games and have gone over the O/U in their last 9 games played in September. They are also 13-5 against the spread in their last 18 games on grass while Duke is just 16-34-1 against the spread in their last 51 home games. It will be a lofty task to win by 24 points on Duke’s home field – but it is definitely possible. Our experts have some inside information on this one that might surprise you. Get the expert’s pick and you could go up big on this game.
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