College football spread picks: Predictions for Week 3 of 2023 season including Georgia-South Carolina

College football isn’t just one of the best sports to watch on a Saturday afternoon, it’s also one of the best to find ways to make plenty of cash as a sharp sports bettor. Each week we’ll find the best value for NCAA football games against the spread, total, and on the moneyline so you can make plenty of cash. No touts, no fees, and just the best numbers we can find.

Here are our best picks on the board to get all the dollars in Week 3 of FBS football. All lines are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook:

Collin Sherwin: 2023 Record 3-2-1

Memphis -14.5 vs. Navy

The betting market is going with the “well, maybe they aren’t as bad as they looked against Notre Dame” reasoning for this number. And ND looking reasonably solid the last two weeks since is a sign for hope, as is Navy’s 24-0 win over Wagner on Saturday.

We call this a “watch the tape” game. Navy’s defense is just an abomination, and the new blocking rules will continue to make the triple option more obsolete every day. We’re betting against the Middies more than on the Tigers here, and the short week travel is a big factor too.

Maryland -14 vs. Virginia

We’re assuming UVA’s Tony Muskett is out, and the serviceable but hardly world-beating Anthony Colandrea is in at QB. Maryland is pretty festive when they need to be, but UVA will be under a lot more pressure by the Terps No. 29 D via SP+ than they were against James Madison. Losing to JMU 36-35 at home does not mean you automatically get a bounce back.

Louisville -10 vs. Indiana (in Indianapolis)

Louisville improved via SP+ from 51st to 27th this week, but that’s not why we’re here. IU simply cannot score the football, and their lack of offense will be the thing that likely gets beloved coach Tom Allen fired after this season.

Hanging 41 points on FCS’s Indiana State does not solve the original problem, which is there’s just not enough scoring potency in this team that threw for a total of 90 yards across two quarterbacks against Ohio State in Week 1. They can’t make this number big enough, and Allen’s inability to get enough talent in the door will be his death knell. Which is such a shame because there’s maybe not a more popular coach amongst his peers and players in the country.

Grace McDermott: 2023 Record 2-3-1

Maryland -14 vs. Virginia

Virginia has not looked good this season. Starting 0-2 with losses to Tennessee and James Madison, this matchup is the perfect opportunity for Taulia Tagovailoa and Maryland to grab another solid win. The Terrapins walked all over Towson and pulled away from Charlotte in the fourth quarter — so yes, this is the biggest game they’ve seen yet, but this is also the part of the season they’ve been waiting for. Maryland by two or more TDs at home here.

New Mexico - 1 vs. New Mexico State

New Mexico has a major run game in RB Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and New Mexico State has virtually no run defense whatsoever. After the Aggies allowed 250 rushing yards against Liberty last week, they basically handed an offensive game plan to New Mexico. Croskey-Merritt should be seeing the ball plenty, and I like the Lobos to win here.

Indiana +10 vs. Louisville

I’m surprised the line is this wide after Indiana hung in there with Ohio State for so long. The Hoosiers’ defense is the real deal. Tayven Jackson, now officially the starting quarterback for the Hoosiers, passed for 236 yards in a win over Indiana State. With the starting position now his, Jackson will be able to get comfortable leading the offense. This is a home game for Indiana, and I like them to keep it a lot closer than 10 here.

Chris Landers: 2023 Record 0-3

Kansas State -4.5 at Missouri

Middle Tennessee isn’t a total pushover, but it still set off all sorts of alarm bells that Missouri nearly lost to the Blue Raiders at home last week — while averaging less than five yards per play and having no answers offensively not named Luther Burden. Kansas State, meanwhile, stuffed a perfectly respectable Troy team into a locker, with Will Howard continuing to look like the best QB absolutely no one is talking about. Missouri seems hellbent on playing extremely stodgy football, and there’s simply no way you’re going to out-efficient K-State. The coaching gap between Chris Klieman and Eli Drinkwitz is worth at least a couple of points on its own here, and I’d be comfortable riding the Wildcats at anything less than a touchdown.

Syracuse -2.5 at Purdue

I remain very much unimpressed with the Boilers under new coach Ryan Walters, who lost at home to Fresno State in Week 1 and then just barely escaped a bad Virginia Tech team in Blacksburg this past Saturday. Granted, that’s better competition than Syracuse has faced so far, but the Orange’s wins over both Colgate and Western Michigan were over before the first half was even through. ‘Cuse is sneaky salty on defense — with a ton of returning starters being coached up by 3-3-5 legend Rocky Long — and I trust Garrett Shrader to make enough plays to get out of West Lafayette with a win.

Washington -16 at Michigan State

Three road favorites does make me slightly itchy, but why am I supposed to think this game will be remotely competitive again? In one corner, we have a Huskies team that has one of the five best offenses in America — one that’s scored 99 points and racked up nearly 900 yards passing through its first two games. In the other, we have a Michigan State team that wasn’t very good to begin with and will now be spending its entire week answering questions about its not-officially-yet-but-very-soon-to-be fired head coach and his alleged sexual misconduct. Michael Penix and Co. dropped 397 yards and four TDs on this Sparty defense last year in Seattle, with the final score only looking remotely respectable thanks to two late TDs from QB Payton Thorne and WR Keon Coleman. You’ll notice that neither of those players remain on Michigan State’s roster; with Noah Kim at the helm on offense, this is not an MSU team that’s remotely equipped to play catchup, and I think they’ll get buried under a barrage of points on Saturday night.

Chinmay Vaidya: 2023 Record 5-1

Tennessee-LSU-UNC ML parlay (+130)

The Volunteers lost five straight matchups against the Gators prior to last season, and they haven’t won in Gainesville since 2003. In fact, Tennessee is 2-17 in the last 19 meetings between these schools. There’s certainly some risk here, especially with Florida seemingly backed into a corner but I’ll add a more talented Vols team in this parlay. LSU should take care of Mississippi State with the Tigers winning four of the last five matchups. Drake Maye and the Tar Heels will find this game against Minnesota to be much smoother than the overtime thriller against Appalachian State.

Kansas State -5 vs. Missouri

This is a painful suggestion as a proud Mizzou alum, but the Tigers were unable to cover the spread against two B-tier non-conference teams and play wildly conservative football on offense. The Wildcats are a highly efficient unit and should be able to put up enough points on Missouri’s defense to easily cover this spread. When the alternate lines are available, it would be wise to add a couple points to K-State’s side and get better odds.

Georgia -27 vs. South Carolina

Similar to the bet with K-State, I’d actually look for an alternate line and give South Carolina a few points. The Bulldogs have covered this spread in two of the last three meetings with one push, but four touchdowns is still a big margin. It is a home game for Georgia and that does ease some of the concerns with the spread, but I’d still look for an alternate line at slightly worse odds before making this play.

Teddy Ricketson: 2023 Record 1-2

Tennessee -6.5 vs. Florida (-110)

I get that playing in the swamp should benefit a struggling Florida team, but I’m still surprised this spread isn’t bigger. I’m no Tennessee fan, and they did struggle out of the gate against Austin Peay, but I have no faith in what we have seen from Florida this year. They should cover as long as the Vols aren’t looking ahead to a home game against UTSA next week.

Minnesota and North Carolina, over 50 points (-110)

Minnesota is giving Iowa a run for the least proficient offense in the Big Ten, scoring just 38 points over two games. While that doesn’t seem too bad, one of the games was against Eastern Michigan, which you would hope they could’ve handled more easily. North Carolina put up 40 in a double overtime win against App State. Drake Maye should lead a solid offensive charge, but the Tar Heel secondary should be what helps the over hit in this one.

Maryland 14.5 vs. Virginia (-108)

Virginia got blown out by Tennessee in Week 1 of the season and was expected to get some reprieve at home against James Madison in Week 2. The Dukes were down 35-24 in the fourth quarter and came back to win the game. The Cavaliers are down bad and will face off with the Terrapins, who have scored 38 points in back-to-back games.