College Football Best Bets for Week 3: Expert Picks & Predictions

My college football best bets for Week 3 look to build off the momentum of nailing all of our wagers on game totals from a week ago, even if we fell short on some big underdogs with point spreads of more than 30 points.

My college football Week 3 predictions look similar to last week in which my portfolio is balanced between two totals and two ATS plays. But instead of backing two huge underdogs like last week, I have a play on one ACC underdog of less than a field goal, while I’m laying more than two touchdowns with an SEC favorite.

🏈 College football best bets & expert picks: Week 3

See all of our experts' college football picks for Week 3 based on the latest college football odds.

Total wagered: 4 units | Max profit: +3.58 units

💰 Best college football bets this week

Miami-Wake Forest Under 56.5 (-110 via DraftKings)

It’s unfathomable to think that in a matchup of two conference rivals, this is Miami’s first road game at Wake Forest since 2009. 

The public sentiment surrounding this game is that the Hurricanes are going to roll the Demon Deacons, just like they’ve done when logging a plus-109 point differential through their first two games. In addition, Wake Forest just allowed 455 to Purdue last week, the most the Demon Deacons have allowed under head coach Jake Dickert.

I’m using this as an opportunity to make the contrarian play, especially since Miami racked up more than 850 yards last week. Wake Forest’s strength was always projected to be its defense (No. 32 preseason defensive SP+ projection), and more than half of its players who logged 200-plus snaps on that side of the ball returned.

NC State-Vanderbilt Over 49.5 (-122 via FanDuel)

NC State’s CJ Bailey did not look like himself in the season opener against Virginia, when he threw for just 84 yards. He was always bound for positive regression and attacking more downfield, especially coming off a season where he tied for the most touchdown passes of all ACC quarterbacks on throws of 20-plus yards downfield (11).

I’m also excited to see what newly named Vanderbilt starting quarterback Jared Curtis can do. Curtis was the No. 1 pocket passer in the 2026 SC Next 300, and NC State allowed two touchdown passes on 11 pass attempts in its only game against a power conference starting quarterback.

Texas A&M -16.5 (-118 via DraftKings)

Texas A&M covered as one of my top ATS plays from last week, and I’m going back to the well in its first game against an SEC opponent. Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed can cause frustration for bettors, as he has gone without an interception in just four of 17 games against Power 4 opponents. But his talent is limitless, and he looks to improve from a solid season where he finished fourth among SEC quarterbacks in yards per dropback (7.79) and yards per attempt (8.41).

Kentucky held a halftime lead over Alabama last week before allowing 32 unanswered points and being shut out over the game’s final 30 minutes. The Wildcats have now gone 5-21 in their last 26 games against Power 4 competition, and scored 21 or fewer points in 77% of those contests.

Maryland +2.5 (+100 via FanDuel)

Similar to my Miami-Wake Forest Under play, I am selling on the James Franklin early season hype at Virginia Tech. Yes, the Hokies have already scored 82 more points through two games than they did at this point last season. But they also opened last season with two SEC opponents who were either ranked or ended the season ranked (South Carolina and Vanderbilt), and that’s a far cry from this year’s competition of VMI and Old Dominion.

While a soft schedule allowed confidence to creep in, Maryland had this game circled on its calendar after Franklin ran up the score with a late touchdown in a 37-point blowout the last time he faced the Terrapins. 

Maryland returned the second-most production of FBS team from last year’s roster (163 total returning starts). That includes quarterback Malik Washington, who is a nightmare to defend after a season in which he took the fewest sacks among Big Ten quarterbacks despite attempting the most dropbacks.