Welcome to Week 3 of the 2020 college football season.

This is the last slate of games before the SEC kicks off next week, and there are some interesting games on the horizon. 

The Louisville Cardinals and Miami Hurricanes will clash in the first meeting of ranked teams this season on Saturday.

It’s also the debut of the 11th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys as well as the 13th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats.

Here are my top picks for Week 3.


Tulsa Golden Hurricane at Oklahoma State Cowboys (TSN2)

Spread: Oklahoma State -23.5

Total: 66.5

Oklahoma State is led by Sherwood Park, Alta.’s own Chuba Hubbard, who burst onto the scene last year with 2,094 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. Hubbard surprised some by returning to school rather than declaring for the 2020 NFL Draft and will obviously provide a massive boost to this offence. When these two teams met last season, Chuba went off for 256 yards and three touchdowns in a breakout performance.

Oklahoma State also has QB Spencer Sanders back after a solid season as a freshman starter and importantly they return a Biletnikoff award candidate in star WR Tylan Wallace. This offence will be dynamic all season long as is this shortened season Oklahoma State is a darkhorse candidate for the College Football Playoffs. Tulsa, on the other hand, returns their top three skill position players led by QB Zach Smith. Smith came on strong in the latter part of last season, and with Tulsa running the Air Raid offence look for ‘POINTS! POINTS! POINTS!’ in this game.

THE PICK: Over 66.5

(17) Miami Hurricanes at (18) Louisville Cardinals

Spread: Louisville -2.5

Total: 64.5

Miami started slow last week, but finished strong by showing great team speed in not only winning versus UAB, but also covering the spread. D’eriq King is a big upgrade at quarterback for the Canes and made a ton of dynamic plays on his feet last week. If he can clean up the passing a little bit, it will add a whole new element to the Hurricanes offence as they ran for 337 yards last weekend. Louisville is well coached as Scott Satterfield has improved that offence dramatically since taking over from Bobby Petrino (19 PPG to 33 PPG), but when these teams met last season Miami won in a 52-27 rout with an inferior offence. Watch out for Hurricanes’ Brevin Jordan who might be the best tight end in the country. By this description, you can tell where I’m going with this pick. Saturday Night it will be all about ‘THE U.’

THE PICK:  Miami +2.5

SMU Mustangs @ North Texas Mean Green

Spread: SMU -14

Total: 69.0

When it comes to picking games, we all have that one friend. Let’s call him Danny Public - the person who is always on the side of the heavy public money. What do we do to Danny Public? WE FADE HIM. In this game, 77 per cent of the public is on North Texas. People are overreacting to the sloppy start by SMU. Shane Buechele will look to improve on that Week 1 performance against Texas State as he is a potential Sunday player. North Texas was one of the most disappointing teams in the country going 4-8 and lost star QB Mason Fine to graduation - he is now on the Roughriders negotiation list. The North Texas defence allowed 32.5 points per game last season. With a 45-minute drive between campuses and the obvious lack of fans, this isn’t much of a road game.

THE PICK: SMU – 14

Boston College Eagles @ Duke Blue Devils

Spread: Duke – 6

Total: 52.0

Duke looked competitive last Week against Notre Dame and Clemson transfer QB Chase Brice impressed against likely the best defence he will see all season. On the other side, Boston College has high hopes for Notre Dame Transfer QB Phil Jurkovec, but it will be hard to replace star running back A.J. Dillon, who left early for the NFL. BC also has a new head coach in Jeff Hafley, who brings a highly regarded defensive pedigree. This game has all the makings of an absolute grind and I don’t see either team scoring in the 30s. So with that comes everybody’s least favourite option – the under.

THE PICK: Under 52.0

Syracuse Orange @ (25) Pittsburgh Panthers

Spread: Pittsburgh -21.5

Total: 50.0

Pittsburgh looked good last week led by QB Kenny Pickett in a blowout win of Austin Peay, but we also have to put into perspective the level of competition they faced. Syracuse struggled offensively, but played a strong North Carolina team tight through three quarters (10-6 going into the 4th) and the game just got away from them in the final frame. Pittsburgh has a very impressive defensive line, which is a staple of coach Pat Narduzzi. As you can tell by the spread, they are clearly the better team. However, 21.5 seems like too many points. If this line dipped below 21, I’d consider backing the Panthers. For now, I’m taking the points with Syracuse. Also, if you are looking for some Canadian content, look for Levis, Que.,’s Geoff Cantin-Arku, a Syracuse linebacker who had eight tackles and a pass breakup last week.

THE PICK: Syracuse +21.5

Wake Forest Demon Deacons @ NC State Wolfpack

Spread:  NC State -2.5

Total: 52.5

This is the one line of the week I just do not quite understand. Wake Forest looked as solid as they could be against Clemson last weekend and Sam Hartman is a quarterback with a lot of experience. When these teams played last season, the Demon Deacons routed NC State 44-10. Although this is a “road game,” the drive between campuses is less than two hours and fans will be less of a factor than ever before. The Wolfpack went 4-8 last season, with their lone ACC win coming against Syracuse. With no non-conference games this year, NC State might be in for a rough season. I’m more confident in Wake Forest +2.5 than any other pick I’ll make this week.

THE PICK:  Wake Forest +2.5

Other Considerations

Austin Peay Governors at (13) Cincinnati Bearcats

THE PICK: Cincinnati -33.5

Desmond Ridder is an absolute stud at quarterback for the Bearcats. 33.5 points is a lot to give up, but that’s what I’m doing backing Cincinnati to roll over Austin Peay.

Navy Midshipmen at Tulane Green Wave

THE PICK: Tulane -7

Two triple-option teams will go head-to-head in this matchup. However, Navy just looked horrendous in a blowout loss against BYU and I can’t get that out of my head. Tulane is well coached and after some early jitters they came together in the second half last week to beat South Alabama. I’ll take Tulane -7 here.

Just remember: good teams win, but great teams COVER!

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