College Football Parlay Picks for Week 3 (2021)
From a notoriety perspective, the first game of Week 3 of the college football season was overshadowed by the NFL's Thursday Night Football. However, bettors who played under the total in Thursday's Ohio vs. Louisiana game suffered an ultimate bad beat. Sure, it was backups, but did the Ragin' Cajuns really need to be throwing the ball in the final minute with a four-score lead? My heart goes out to those who suffered that gut-wrenching beat!
Fortunately, that game was just the beginning of an intriguing Week 3 college football slate. For every hard-luck loser, there's usually a big-time winner to be found. That is precisely the goal of this college football parlays column. After all, what's better than combining a few positive value wagers into a single ticket and maximizing our payout? Cashing profitable parlays is never easy, but it never hurts to try! Read on for this week's featured college football parlays.
All odds taken from DraftKings Sportsbook
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Week 3 Featured College Football Parlay #1
The first featured parlay for this week features three total legs. A Mountain West underdog catching points combined with two moneyline favorites yields a ticket with +221 odds. Let's look at each bet that comprises the ticket.
Utah State (+9.5) at Air Force
After an uncharacteristically poor season a year ago, changes were made in Logan, Utah, this offseason. Blake Anderson took over as the Aggies' head coach after six successful seasons leading the Arkansas State program. So far, all Utah State has done with Anderson at the helm is win games. The Aggies sprung a Week 1 upset on the road over Pac-12 foe Washington State before putting it on North Dakota in their home opener last week. The casual fan or bettor might dismiss last week's win on the grounds that North Dakota is an FCS program. However, the Sky Hawks are one of the top FCS programs in the country. They were ranked No. 9 entering last week's contest with the loss only dropping them to 11.
Expectations weren't necessarily high for Utah State coming into the year given how last season went. While the rebuild is still a work in progress, it is clear that Anderson is getting the most out of his current cast of players. The fact that he brought quarterback Logan Bonner with him from Arkansas State certainly helps. Air Force is no slouch and deserves to be a favorite in this home game. However, wins over FCS program Lafayette and a horrendous Navy team in their first two games don't inspire a ton of confidence. We'll grab +9.5 with the Aggies for our college football parlay. Note that this number is already starting to move even lower after opening at 11.
Colorado State at Toledo (-675)
The Mountain West Conference is also involved in the second leg of this featured parlay. This time, however, it is for fade purposes only. This marks the first road game of the season for a rebuilding Colorado State program. The Rams were blown out in their opener by FCS foe South Dakota State and also fell to a horrible Vanderbilt team last week. CSU will be hard-pressed to record their first win this week as they travel to the Glass Bowl to face a solid Toledo team. The rockets nearly (and really should have) sprung a top-10 upset over Notre Dame last week. This is a team that will contend for a MAC championship this season and undoubtedly will have some frustrations to take out following last week's near-miss.
Florida State at Wake Forest (-200)
Given that I'm a fan of betting Wake Forest ATS this week, why not include them on the moneyline to round out our first college football parlay? The Demon Deacons are off to a 2-0 start this season. While their wins thus far have come against lesser competition, this team has plenty of talent. Quarterback Sam Hartman is a gamer, and Wake Forest has weapons galore on offense. They welcome a Florida State team that is reeling after a last-second loss to FCS opponent Jacksonville State last week. FSU played Notre Dame tough in Week 1, but given how the Irish looked against Toledo last week, perhaps too much was made of that performance. Look for Wake to take care of business on their home field this week.
Week 3 Featured College Football Parlay #2
With an eye toward capitalizing on some of my favorite ATS leans in the evening slate, our second featured college football parlay for Week 3 combines a pair of point spreads with a healthy moneyline favorite. Bettors have a shot at profiting over three times their wager amount thanks to the +333 odds.
Oklahoma State at Boise State (-3)
To be completely honest, the line move on this game is mind-boggling to me. For whatever reason, the betting market has backed Oklahoma State on the road against Mountain West power Boise State. This spread has come all the way down to an even field goal. All the Broncos have done this season is nearly upset UCF on the road and blowout UTEP last week at home. Meanwhile, the Cowboys struggled just to get past FCS opponent Missouri State and a Tulsa team that has regressed from a season ago. BSU quarterback Hank Bachmeier is both talented and experienced. He has plenty of playmakers on offense. With the Pokes showing an inability to put up points consistently in their first two games, the Broncos are a lock as short home favorites.
Fresno State at UCLA (-11.5)
Well, what do you know: yet another Mountain West team is being featured in this week's column! Fresno State is legit offensively. They come into this game 3-0 ATS having covered as hefty favorites in their opener against UConn and as sizable road underdogs against Oregon the following week. The Bulldogs get another Pac-12 foe this week as they take on 13th-ranked UCLA at the Rose Bowl.
The Bruins had a bye last week following their statement win over LSU in Week 1. Perhaps the week off has people forgetting just how impressive the Bruins looked in their first two games. Chip Kelly is clearly getting this program turned around. Talent adorns both sides of the ball, and one could perhaps even make a case for UCLA as the top college football team in Los Angeles after last week's USC debacle. Based on both the Oregon line from two weeks ago and UCLA's performances to date, this spread is just too cheap. Look to back the home favorites in this late-night matchup.
Tulane at Ole Miss (-630)
We round out our second featured parlay with Ole Miss as a two-touchdown home favorite against Tulane. While the Green Wave may be one of the top teams in the American Athletic Conference this season, they will be hard-pressed to hang with one of the best offenses in the country. Heisman candidate Matt Corral should have no trouble leading Ole Miss to a boatload of points. If the Rebels defense plays as well as it did in Week 1 against Louisville, this game won't even be close.
Other Week 3 College Football Bets to Consider
While the two featured parlays above have been constructed for you, the beauty is that bettors can mix and match to build their own parlays as they wish. Not convinced on any of the picks above? Looking to build an even bigger parlay? This section is for you! Below are a handful of other college football wagers to consider for Week 3. Good luck with all of your NCAAF bets and enjoy the games!
Moneyline Favorites of Various Degrees
Alabama (-650)
Iowa (-2000)
Oklahoma (-1750)
Boston College (-675)
Georgia State (-210)
Moneyline Underdogs with Bite
Michigan State (+200)
Ball State (+210)
Purdue (+225)
BYU (+160)
Point Spread Plays
Penn State (-5)
Purdue (+7)
BYU (+4.5)
Over/Under Options
Minnesota at Colorado (Under 48.5)
Utah at San Diego State (Over 44)
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Henry John is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Henry, check out his archive and follow him @HankTimeSports.