The goal for some teams in Week 3 of the college football season is to get out unscathed ahead of massive matchups in Week 4.
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are among the ranked teams who need to avoid falling into any look-ahead traps.
Penn State’s potential trap is larger on the road against the Illinois Fighting Illini. It could come out sluggish in its first true road contest of the season, but if it plays like it did in the first two weeks, it should cruise to a victory.
Notre Dame needs to remain consistent on offense behind Sam Hartman to prepare for its blockbuster clash with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The rest of the Week 3 slate is not great, but there are some gems on the betting board to take advantage of to build your bankroll for the best week of the season to date.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Noon ET, Fox
Penn State looked like an offensive juggernaut in its first two games.
All aspects of the offense got to shine in the victories over the West Virginia Mountaineers and Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens.
That is why James Franklin’s team should be so confident going into Champaign.
Illinois experienced a rough start with a slender victory over the Toledo Rockets and a road loss to the Kansas Jayhawks.
Illinois was thoroughly outplayed in the first half against Kansas. It needed a second-half surge to make the final score look respectable.
Bret Bielema’s side may not have that luxury if Penn State cruises to a double-digit lead before halftime.
A two-touchdown deficit may seem insurmountable for the Illini against the Penn State defense, who conceded 22 points and an average of 224 total yards per game in its two victories.
Penn State needs a complete performance that starts with quarterback Drew Allar, and if its defense plays as well as it has so far this season, it should ride the young quarterback to a two-score victory at minimum.
2:30 p.m. ET, Peacock
The one thing we know for sure about Notre Dame in 2023 is that it will put up points.
Hartman’s transfer appears to be the best thing to happen to the Fighting Irish offense in a while.
Notre Dame scored at least 42 points in each of its three victories. That is a promising sign for over bettors on Saturday.
The Irish could put up 52 points on their own to cash the over against the Central Michigan Chippewas.
Central Michigan’s defense averaged a concession of 472 yards in its opening two games in which it conceded 31 points to the Michigan State Spartans and 42 in a win over the New Hampshire Wildcats out of the FCS.
CMU’s inability to stop an FCS offense last week should have the Irish offense champing at the bit to get on the field with the MAC squad.
Notre Dame will likely carry the over and most of the points should come in the first half before Hartman rests up for Ohio State.
3:30 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
Yes, the Week 3 slate is so bad that the Virginia Tech Hokies and Rutgers Scarlet Knights could play in one of Saturday’s best games.
Rutgers is off to a nice 2-0 start, but its victories came against the Northwestern Wildcats and Temple Owls.
The blowout wins were nice for Greg Schiano’s side to build confidence, but they did nothing to showcase how well it will play in 2023.
Grant Wells and Virginia Tech should provide a test to the Rutgers defense. The Hokies averaged 267 yards through the air in games against the Old Dominion Monarchs and Purdue Boilermakers.
The Hokies put together a decent performance last week against Purdue, but that game was mired by a hours-long weather delay and both sides were fatigued because of the long day by the fourth quarter.
Virginia Tech has a chance to air it out against a Rutgers defense that conceded 209.5 passing yards per game and either keep the game close, or win outright, as it gears up for ACC play in two weeks.
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