College Football Week 3 Odds: Predicting Top Bets Against the Spread
The Backyard Brawl is one of the best games Week 3 has to offer.
The Pittsburgh Panthers and West Virginia Mountaineers renewed their rivalry after an 11-year absence last season, and this season's clash is projected to be one of the closest games on Saturday.
Pittsburgh experienced better fortunes under Pat Narduzzi than West Virginia has under Neal Brown, so the expectation is the Panthers will be better prepared to win in Morgantown.
West Virginia did not look great in its season opener against another foe from Pennsylvania in the Penn State Nittany Lions.
Although West Virginia is only a one-point underdog against Pitt, the Panthers could pull away with a double-digit lead if the Mountaineers play like they did in Week 1.
The Backyard Brawl is one of the few games with a ton of intrigue in Week 3. You may need to go deep into the betting board to pick out the best bets of week because of all the lopsided matchups.
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Saturday. 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Pitt has been the more reliable of the two teams in the Backyard Brawl for quite some time.
The Panthers have consistently been in the Top 25 mix under Narduzzi, and at minimum, you know they are going to play good defense.
Pitt conceded 248.5 total yards per game in its first two games. It held the Wofford Terriers of the FCS to seven points and then conceded 27 points in a loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
The ACC side only allowed 155 passing yards against Cincinnati. That is the key stat to take away from that contest.
Pitt needs to contain WVU quarterback Garrett Greene, who has 402 yards and four touchdowns through the air in two games.
The Mountaineers hold the far better offensive numbers, but they also allowed 108 more total yards per game than their Week 3 foe.
Pitt quarterback Phil Jurkovec can exploit the West Virginia secondary, and that is the one matchup in which the Panthers can hurt the Mountaineers most to pick up their second straight win in the Backyard Brawl.
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
The Navy Midshipmen and Memphis Tigers play two wildly different styles of football.
Navy is known for its triple-option offense, while Memphis loves to throw the ball around the gridiron.
The pass-heavy offense has been dominant in the last few matchups between the American Athletic Conference foes.
Memphis beat Navy 37-13, 35-17, 10-7 and 35-23 in the last four seasons. The Tigers would have covered Thursday's 14.5-point spread in the last two matchups.
Memphis averaged 182 more total yards and 188 more passing yards per game to start the season compared to Navy.
Seth Henigan torched the Midshipmen defense for 415 passing yards last season. He had 215 passing yards against them in 2021.
Navy could be in for another miserable day defending the pass, and if it gets behind by multiple scores early, it may not have a shot to bounce back in Memphis.
Saturday, Noon ET, ESPN2
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons started the post-Sam Hartman era with two wins in which they posted 73 points.
Mitch Griffis has 525 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air in his new role as starting quarterback.
Wake should keep up that offensive consistency against the Old Dominion Monarchs, even though some may see this as a weird road game for an ACC side to take.
Old Dominion allowed 413 total yards per game to begin the campaign. It conceded 272 yards per game through the air.
The Monarchs fell by 19 points in their first meeting with an ACC team in Week 1 against the Virginia Tech Hokies.
A similar fate could await them on Saturday against a Wake team that has not skipped a beat on offense yet.
Wake could face some struggles down the road when Griffis takes on tougher opponents, but for now, the Demon Deacons should be trusted to put up another 30-point performance and win by more than two touchdowns.
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