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After a strong first week of action, our picks went a dreadful 1-6 against the spread in Week 2 of the college football season thanks to a few brutal bad beats. But there's no time to mope - we're back at it again this week with seven more bets on the college football slate, including a huge game for UCF and two in-state rivalries.
Take a look below for our seven best bets of the Week 3 college football slate (* indicates home team).
Penn State was the only pick that came through for us last week, and we're riding them again this Saturday as they welcome Pittsburgh to State College.
This is the 100th meeting between these two schools, with the rivalry renewed in 2016 when Pittsburgh shocked Penn State with a 42-39 upset. Since then, the Nittany Lions have gone to great lengths to crush the Panthers whenever they see them, capped off by a 51-6 win last year.
After a slow start against Buffalo last week, Penn State should be ready to go from the opening whistle for such an important rivalry game. This should not be close.
Temple* (+7.5) over Maryland
This is purely a spot play against Maryland. The Terps scored 79 and 63 points in their first two games, and have yet to get punched in the face by an opposing defense. Temple is capable of throwing that punch.
Further, Maryland is in a classic "look-ahead" spot, with a bye week and a home game against Penn State looming in the next two weekends. The Owls catch Maryland going on vacation a bit too early and come out with an outright win.
Iowa State* (+1.5) over Iowa
Iowa State is hosting ESPN's "College Gameday" for the first time ahead of this in-state battle against the Hawkeyes. The atmosphere should be electric, and plenty of motivation for the Cyclones to play to the best of their abilities.
After an opening week overtime scare against Northern Iowa, the Cyclones had a bye week. That is an extra week of focus for Iowa while the Hawkeyes were busy dispatching Rutgers.
Between the extra time to prepare and an intense home crowd, Iowa State can win this one.
Virginia* (-7.5) over Florida State
Florida State has been far from impressive through two games this college football season, blowing a lead to Boise State in their season opener and then eking out a 45-44 victory over UL-Monroe last Saturday thanks to a shanked extra point in overtime.
Conversely, Virginia has looked solid in two starts and has a matchup against Notre Dame coming in two weekends that has some "Game of the Week" potential should both teams enter the game undefeated.
Take the better team playing at home and hope Virginia can score enough not just to win but to cover.
Alabama (-25.5) over South Carolina*
This is Nick Saban's first chance to flex Alabama's muscles against SEC competition, and he's not one to hold back.
After a being left on the outside looking in of the college football playoff picture for two years, the Knights need every statement win they can get against Power 5 programs to ever dream of reaching a potential playoff berth. With Stanford this weekend, they'll have their best shot at an exclamation point on their resume that they'll get this year.
While this line is two or three points longer than I would prefer, UCF won't be holding anything back on Saturday, and it feels good to bet a team you know is going to be going all-out.
Army (-17) over UTSA
Army came up just short of pulling off their biggest upset in recent memory against Michigan last weekend, forcing the Wolverines to double-overtime before ultimately leaving The Big House with the loss.
Expect the Black Knights to take out their frustrations on an overmatched UTSA team.
