College Football Week 3: What we learned to help us win

This week is kind of a funny one because we are getting a mix of conference and nonconference games, so some of these notes might have more value later than sooner.

What We Learned ...

Big Ten is a Big 3

Ohio State and Michigan dominated against weak foes this weekend. Those scores were ugly and most polls have them in the Top 5 right now. While Michigan State looked terrible at Washington, Penn State went to Auburn and posted one of the most impressive wins of the weekend. Yes, the Nittany Lions were small favorites but they ran away from the Tigers, literally, and seem to be building under new coach Kalen DeBoer. They definitely look like they could be a live underdog at Michigan in a couple of weeks and James Franklin has had "success" against Ohio State in the past. They host the Buckeyes a few weeks after that.

Betting Takeaway: PSU is 3-0 ATS this season and I will be looking to back them as an underdog against anyone. Good defense and an ability to run the ball is how you stay in games and pull away. 

No Confidence in No-Tre Dame

The Irish avoided a disaster at the end of their win against Cal but there is not much to celebrate in South Bend right now. They made a change at QB and while Drew Pyne did not throw any picks, it was a pretty staid performance. There is just no pop to this offense right now and that is why they are a tier or two below the big boys. This week was another noncover against an inferior opponent where the offense showed it is nowhere near up to snuff.

Betting Takeaway: ND is still in the fade zone. The numbers are just way too big for a that barely gets it into the end zone. 

SEC New Elites

We all know how good Georgia and Alabama are but the SEC has some teams in the next tier that are looking better and better each week. Namely, those are Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Each is a little different so it will be interesting to see how they match up with the big boys. The Rebels and the Wildcats pitched shutouts this past weekend while the Vols gave up a couple of field goals in their win over Akron. Similar to Penn State above these results are showing a lot more depth at the top of the SEC (maybe even Arkansas is viable too though it is hard to like what we saw from last them last week).

Betting Takeaway: There are going to be lots of underdog looks in the SEC as the Dawgs and Crimson Tide look to repeat recent success. 

The ACC is a Power Conference, right?

The ACC's best win last week?  Syracuse by three points over Purdue at home? That might not be an exaggeration as Miami did not inspire much with their loss to Texas A&M and teams like Wake Forest and Virginia barely beat what should have been overmatched Group of 5 schools. NC State finally took care of business in beating Texas Tech but beyond them and Clemson, you have to wonder just what is going on in the ACC right now. Instead of using the nonconference schedule to establish some credentials, the ACC has looked haphazard.

Betting Takeaway:  Be looking to take the points with the underdogs in the ACC, even against Clemson, who still struggles more than it should on offense. It is not clear who is actually good in the league right now.

PAC 12 Rising

While the ACC struggles the PAC 12 had a pretty good weekend even though Arizona State looks like a sinking ship. It was all about the top of the league with USC continuing its ascent, and Oregon and Utah both looking good despite losses in Week 1, and best of all Washington getting a quality win over ranked Michigan State. I am still not sure what to make of the Oregon State Beavers but there is separation at the top of the league. That should make for some easy picking throughout the season. Some familiarity is probably not going to help the lower half of the league reel these top teams in.

Betting Takeaway: Don't be shy about getting behind some big numbers with the big boys.