NCAAF best bets: College football Week 3 picks and preview

Whew, what a Week 2 that was. Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois as 28-point favorites, Texas routed Michigan on the road to prove it's a legit championship contender, Nebraska humbled Colorado and Penn State, Oregon and Alabama all struggled against inferior competition. College football is fully back, folks.

With Week 3 quickly approaching, let's break down the five biggest matchups and see how we should attack them in the betting market.

No. 20 Arizona Wildcats @ No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats

8 p.m. ET, Friday, FOX

The appetizer for Saturday's slate features a ranked matchup between Arizona and Kansas State on Friday night, and we can't wait for this one. Arizona has one of the most dynamic quarterback-wide receiver connections in the country with Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan. Fifita has already thrown for 595 yards and five touchdowns through two games, and 315 of those yards and four of those touchdowns have gone to McMillan. This duo is going to be a problem for a Kansas State defense that allowed 342 passing yards and 27 points to Tulane last week.
 
Kansas State was lucky to leave New Orleans with a win, as Avery Johnson struggled to push the ball down the field with his arm. DJ Giddens has been the star of the show with 238 rushing yards and a team-high seven catches through two games, but the Wildcats need someone to step up on the outside if they want to hang with Arizona's high-flying passing attack.

The bet to make: Arizona +7 (-108 DraftKings)

No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide @ Wisconsin Badgers 

Noon ET, Saturday, FOX

If you just look at the final score of Alabama's Week 2 matchup against South Florida, you'd have no idea the Crimson Tide were in danger of losing. Alabama was leading only 14-13 through three quarters, but it piled on a few cheap touchdowns late to pull away from the Bulls. Jalen Milroe hasn't improved enough as a passer to put Alabama in the title contender tier, but that might not matter against a weak Wisconsin squad.

Tyler Van Dyke isn't the answer for the Badgers. He was unimpressive against Western Michigan and South Dakota, and the rushing defense was gashed in both games. This isn't the typical Wisconsin team that dominates in the trenches, and we don't trust either quarterback to light it up through the air.
 
The bet to make: First half under 26.5 (-110 BetMGM)