College football Week 3 scores, updates: Oklahoma-Nebraska, BYU-Oregon, Miami-Texas A&M
Coming off a week full of upsets, Saturday’s lineup provides several more opportunities for highly ranked teams to run into trouble. Will we see more chaos in Week 3?
Here’s what we’ll have a close eye on today.
Time: 12 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Oklahoma -10.5 | Total: 65.5
Oklahoma opened the week as a 14.5-point favorite on the road in Lincoln against Nebraska. After Nebraska fired Scott Frost over the weekend, the betting market started taking off. What’s interesting is that as of Saturday morning, Oklahoma was the most popular bet of any side on Saturday’s college football slate. No team has received more bets backing them than the Sooners. Usually that kind of one-sided action prompts a line to move in favor of the team getting the bets, not against them. Nebraska has already lost twice this season as a double-digit favorite. However, there was hope for Nebraska entering the season and maybe the coaching change makes an impact.
Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: Oregon -3.5 | Total: 58
Last week, BYU pulled out a big home win in double overtime over Baylor, the defending Big 12 champions. After such a hard-fought win, BYU has to travel up to Eugene to play in another raucous environment — this time as the road team. Oregon will get its second shot at the national spotlight after a 49-3 loss to defending national champion Georgia in Week 1. The Ducks rebounded last week by blowing out Eastern Washington at home 70-14. Can that carry over against a far superior opponent?
Time: 3:30 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: PSU -3 | Total: 48.5
Knocking off a ranked Big Ten team — especially one that beat you last year — would be hugely beneficial for coach Bryan Harsin and Auburn team that finished 2021 on a sour note. But to beat Penn State, the Auburn offense needs to play much better than it did a week ago in a 24-16 win over San Jose State. On the other side, the Nittany Lions had a dramatic win over Purdue in Week 1 before blowing out Ohio last week at home. Now, the PSU offense will have the challenge of facing an SEC defense in a hostile environment.
Time: 7:30 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: UW -3.5 | Total: 56.5
Michigan State is 2-0 to start this season, but hasn’t been super sharp on offense in wins over two MAC opponents — Western Michigan and Akron. Now the Spartans get to travel across the country to face Washington, a team in its first season under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Huskies went 4-8 in 2021, but are off to a good start with Indiana transfer Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback. He’s played well in two games, albeit against lackluster competition (Kent State and Portland State). We’ll learn a lot about how improved the Huskies really are with MSU making the trip to Seattle.
Time: 9 p.m. | TV: ESPN | Line: A&M -5.5 | Total: 44.5
On the heels of an embarrassing loss to Appalachian State, Texas A&M has to quickly turn the page with Miami coming to Kyle Field. Will coach Jimbo Fisher be able to get the offense back on track? For Miami, this is a big chance to get a win over an SEC opponent on a national stage early in Mario Cristobal’s tenure. Expectations are sky-high for the Hurricanes with Cristobal now in charge at his alma mater. Miami’s 2-0 record against inferior competition hasn’t told us much yet.
Time: 10:30 p.m. | TV: Fox | Line: USC -12.5 | Total: 73.5
USC is off to a fast start under Lincoln Riley. Trojans crushed Rice in Week 1 handled Stanford 41-28 in Week 2 behind a sterling offensive outing from Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison and Travis Dye. All three were high-profile transfers for USC. While the USC offense has been stellar, the defense has been a bit leaky and will have its hands full against Fresno State. The Bulldogs, who lost a heartbreaker to Oregon State at home last weekend, has played well against big-name programs before, so quarterback Jake Haener and the Bulldogs will not be intimidated at all going against the Trojans.
