The second week of the 2018 college football season provided some nail-biting moments for some of the top teams in the nation, such as the two-point win Clemson eked out at Texas A&M and the three-point loss that Michigan State suffered in the desert at Arizona State. Georgia established themselves as a playoff contender by delivering a 41-17 win at South Carolina, and Kentucky got a huge monkey off their collective backs by defeating Florida on the road — the first time the Wildcats had beaten the Gators in football in 31 years. Colorado picked up a huge win at Nebraska, and East Carolina routed North Carolina in a reversal of fortune for both of those programs. Take a look at some of our NCAA Football Week 3 betting thoughts about the most promising matchups for the week ahead. As always, home teams are in all caps.

NCAA Football Week 3 Odds, Overview & Picks

Week 3 is kinda good, you guys No. 5 OU @ Iowa St Rutgers vs. Kansas (LOL) No. 12 LSU @ No. 7 Auburn No. 17 Boise State @ No. 24 Oklahoma State Houston @ Texas Tech No. 1 Bama @ Ole Miss No. 4 tOSU vs. No. 15 TCU No. 22 USC @ Texas No. 10 Washington @ Utah No. 23 ASU @ SDSU

— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) September 9, 2018

Thursday, September 13

Boston College (-5.5) over WAKE FOREST (7:30pm ET)

The Demon Deacons are 2-0 this season, but it’s a shaky 2-0, as they needed overtime to knock off AAC bottom-feeder Tulane and then routed FCS foe Towson. Boston College has scored 117 combined points against UMass and Holy Cross in their first two games of the season, and they can move the ball at lightning speed. Against Holy Cross, AJ Dillon ran for 149 yards and three scores — not in the game, but in less than a single quarter. Going to Wake Forest represents an uptick in the conversation, but the Eagles’ offense has been a force to reckon with this season.

SYRACUSE (+2.5) over Florida State (12:00pm ET)

The Seminoles are not starting the Willie Taggart era in dominant fashion, as they lost at home to Virginia Tech and only beat FCS foe Samford by 10 points, against at home. Now they head north to take on a Syracuse team that scored 55 points against Western Michigan and then 62 points against Wagner to prepare for conference play. The Seminoles’ offense has figured a few things out, and Syracuse doesn’t have the best offense, but I’m not sure that Florida State’s defense will be able to get the Orange offense off the field.

AUBURN (-9.5) over LSU (3:30pm ET)

Auburn delivered an impressive five-point win over Washington in their season opener, and then they routed Alabama State in their second game. LSU thumped Miami in their first game and then took Southeastern Louisiana to the woodshed this past weekend. SEC West games almost always are grinding, physical contests, but LSU does not have the offense to keep up with Auburn’s defense. Jarrett Stidham has the ability to lead Auburn to a convincing win here. The teams might not combine for more than 30 or 35 points on the night, but the Tigers will win by double figures thanks to their ability to move the ball.

Duke (+1) over BAYLOR (3:30pm ET)

We picked Duke to come up short against Northwestern a week ago, but the Blue Devils delivered a 21-7 road thumping to take the win. They have become a most impressive road underdog as of late, and they head to Waco to take on a Baylor team that avenged a home loss to UT-San Antonio from last year by winning by 17 down in the Alamo City. These teams met up in Durham last year, and Duke rolled to a 34-20 win. Duke will be without star quarterback Daniel Jones, who threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter at Northwestern, but who broke his collarbone in the third quarter, and backup Quentin Harris played the fourth quarter. He will lead the Blue Devils against Baylor. The Duke defense is solid enough to limit Baylor, though, and the Blue Devils’ offensive system has the skill players to prevail, such as wideouts Jonathan Lloyd and Davis Koppenhaver. That injury could spell trouble against ACC competition, but they should still be able to win at Baylor.