College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 23, 2017

TAMPA, FL – JANUARY 7: The National Championship Trophy during the College Football Playoff National Championship Media Day on January 7, 2017 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

College Football Picks Against The Spread Early September 23, 2017

I had a solid week in week 3 of the college football season. I am now 11 games above .500 for the season. It took me until early November to hit that mark last year, so I am mostly happy with the results. I am also up 32 betting points. Hey, I’m ahead of the casino. That’s all that counts!

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For those of you that are new here, I put myself out there every week. For the last six years, I have picked every single college football game. Sounds easy, right? I thought so too. So I have picked them all against the spread. That significantly increases the degree of difficulty.

I take the average of the odds from the six major Vegas casinos and round that to the nearest half point. There will be no ties here. Ties are for the other football.

Some sites will sell you top ten picks for a fee. Some will even give you a couple of free picks to lure you in. This is every game picked, all for free.

This contains the picks for FBS vs. FBS games only. It is too hard to get an accurate spread on games that involve 1-AA teams.

I will assign a point value “bet” on each game, between one and five points. That way you can see just how confident I am in each pick. Look for those at the end of each line. I am up 27 points after the first two weeks so far.

This is for entertainment purposes only! I cannot be responsible for you losing any of your worldly possessions, significant others, or limbs to a loan shark. I am a simple person. I cannot have that on my conscience.

We are down to 60 games this weekend, but 56 of them are FBS vs. FBS machups. So even though there are less games, this is my largest week of picking so far. 14 of the 52 Saturday games kick off between noon and 3pm eastern. Let’s get to those!

LAWRENCE, KS – NOVEMBER 21: Kj Myers #19 of the West Virginia Mountaineers drops a pass in the fourth quarter against the Kansas Jayhawks at Memorial Stadium on November 21, 2015 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /

UNLV at (10)Ohio State(-40.5)(1): This line is actually rising. I get it. UNLV is terrible. I know the Buckeyes are capable of covering this, but they often don’t get out of their own way. At any rate, UNLV may not score, so I have to go with the Buckeyes.

North Carolina State at (12)Florida State(-12.5)(1): I still think the Seminoles may struggle without Francois, and they haven’t played a game in nearly three weeks. This line partially reflects that, but I’m staying off the Noles until I know what they are going to look like. Give me the Wolfpack.

Kent State at (19)Louisville(-43.5)(2): There is no way Louisville is covering this. Lamar Jackson is way too important to this team to leave him in there past halftime. He will get his 500 yards and watch the rest of the festivities from the sideline. Give me Kent.

Texas Tech at Houston(-6.5)(2): I am expecting a great game here. Houston does have the better defense, so I have to believe that Ed Oliver and company come up with one or two big plays to swing this for the Cougars down the stretch. Give me Houston, and expect a Big 12 invite to follow the season.

Army at Tulane(-2.5)(1): This is a throwback for all you option fanatics out there. Flip on CBS Sports Network and watch what football was like half a century ago. All that nostalgia must mean an Army win.

Texas A&M(-2.5) vs. Arkansas at Jerry World(3): Arkansas has looked somewhere between bored an awful for the entire season. At least A&M adds some excitement with the offense. Then with the defense giving all the points back to the opposition. Aggies hang on by at least a touchdown here.

Massachusetts at Tennessee(-27.5)(2): I expect this line to keep climbing above 28 before kickoff. I don’t really trust the Tennessee defense, but they can’t possibly be down far enough to struggle with UMass, can they? For Butch’s sake, I hope not. I’ll take the Vols, but I have little confidence they can cover this.

West Virginia(-21.5) at Kansas(4): Hey, remember that time the Mountaineers sauntered in to Lawrence favored by 4+ touchdowns and ended up handing Kansas their first conference victory in nearly three years? They don’t either. Give me West Virginia.

Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech(-9.5)(3): The Bees have a knack for dominating a game and only winning by a touchdown. It just seems like more because this offense pounds you into the turf if you can’t stop it. Pitt can’t. Give me Tech.

New Mexico at Tulsa(-10.5)(3): Tulsa is by far the better team, but their defense is atrocious. That is the only reason I don’t have a five spot on this. I still have to go with Tulsa and hope they hold the Lobos under 50.

Old Dominion at (13)Virginia Tech(-28.5)(4): The Monarchs couldn’t move the ball on arguably the worst offense in the ACC. They are going to have a lot of problems with a solid defense. Give me the Hokies.

Idaho at South Alabama(-3.5)(2): This is a tough trip for the Vandals. Matt Linehan is a very good quarterback, but I can’t get that inexplicable loss to UNLV out of my head. It wasn’t just a loss. UNLV thrashed them, fresh off of losing a game to a 45 point dog. Give me USA at home.

Ohio at Eastern Michigan(-2.5)(3): I’m a bit surprised by this line. I thought for sure Ohio would be favored, I could drop a few lines of satirical sarcasm, bet the Eagles, and count my winnings. Well, I guess there is no reason I can’t still do that. I get it though. Ohio’s defense hasn’t looked very good. I picked the Eagles to win the MAC before the season. I haven’t seen anything that changes my opinion. Give me EMU.

Central Florida at Maryland(-3.5)(2): This is precisely the type of game that Maryland loses. Without Tyrell Pigrome, they lose that explosiveness that perplexed Texas in he opener. The Knights may be a little rusty coming into this one, but I think McKenzie Milton is going to have his way with this D. Give me UCF.

Next: ESPN College Pick em Picks Week 4

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