College football betting: Texas A&M, South Florida among five underdogs who can pull Week 3 upsets

Which teams are on upset alert in Week 3? We've identified five underdogs for college football bettors to keep an eye on this weekend

We've already seen some big upsets across the first two weeks of the 2025 college football season. Florida State dominated Alabama in Week 1 and then South Florida traveled to The Swamp and beat the Florida Gators on a last-second field goal in Week 2. Will we see any other big upsets in Week 3?

If you're interested in college football betting on underdogs, we've got you covered. Here, we highlight five underdogs who could pull off big upsets in Week 3, including one squad that's making a name for itself early in 2025.

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Wisconsin at Alabama (-20.5, -1449)

There's no way it happens again, right? Alabama was the biggest loser of Week 1, falling to Florida State in a lopsided affair. The Tide "rebounded" with a 73-0 thumping of Louisiana-Monroe, but that was to be expected. Did Alabama get back on track, or was Week 2 a game where the Tide took out their frustrations and now will let their guard down? Kalen DeBoer is clearly on the hot seat and will do everything in his power to keep Alabama in the national conversation. But that loss to Florida State was already his fifth loss as a two-score favorite while in this role. 

As for Wisconsin, the Badgers haven't taken off under Luke Fickell as many expected or hoped, but they're 2-0 entering this matchup. Fickell needs a signature win at in his third full year at Madison and what better place to start than delivering a potential death blow to DeBoer's time in Tuscaloosa?

The Badgers will need to keep this one close and also churn clock. The team has rushed 37 times per game on average to start 2025, and quarterback Danny O'Neil has completed 76.1% of his passes. O'Neil has two picks already, though, something that can't happen for the Badgers to have any hope of pulling off a monumental upset. And as we've seen in DeBoer's year-plus tenure at Alabama, close games to inferior opponents has been a weak point for the Crimson Tide.

South Florida at Miami (-17.5, -752)

The Bulls have knocked off ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, so how about a trifecta? They face their toughest test in Miami, which is ranked No. 5 overall and kicked off the year with a win against Notre Dame behind a strong effort from new quarterback Carson Beck.

The Hurricanes are far and away the best team USF has on the schedule this year, but the Bulls have a dynamic dual-threat quarterback in Byrum Brown who can keep them in any game. USF has also had great defensive performances across the first two weeks of the year. 

It's rare to see a ranked team as this heavy of an underdog, but the Hurricanes are a clear CFP contender and are at home. The Bulls are coming off a big road win in a tough environment at Florida, so that aspect may not matter as much here. If USF can churn some clock and steal a possession or two, the Bulls can make this one interesting. 

Pittsburgh (-7, -278) at West Virginia

One of the nation's top rivalries takes place this Saturday when West Virginia hosts Pittsburgh. The Mountaineers are 1-1 under Rich Rodriguez, who is back in Morgantown after previously taking the program to new heights before departing for Michigan. The Panthers are 2-0 and are sizable favorites on the road for this year's Backyard Brawl.

As with any rivalry game, you throw a lot of things out of the window. The Mountaineers lost 17-10 to Ohio last week, but they're home for this monster clash. West Virginia is also out to avenge last year's loss, which saw it blow a 10-point lead with under five minutes remaining, giving up a go-ahead score in the game's final minute.

The Panthers went just 7-6 last year and so far haven't really played anyone of note. It still feels too early to tell just how good either of these teams are. Given their letdown last year and a need to recover from that loss to Ohio last week, the Mountaineers as home underdogs seem like a team that can make some noise this week.

Arkansas at Ole Miss (-7,-278)

Two unbeaten SEC squads kick off conference action at Ole Miss on Saturday as the Rebels host the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ole Miss did its typical monster blowout in Week 1 by beating Georgia State 63-7 but the Rebels had a scare last week, beating a lackluster Kentucky team 30-23. Was that a sign that the Wildcats are better than expected? Or is Ole Miss once again not quite up to the standard many expect of Lane Kiffin's squad? We should find out a lot more this week when the Rebels host the Razorbacks. 

Arkansas is also 2-0 after blowout wins of Alabama A&M and Arkansas State. Sam Pittman's squad rebounded from an ugly 4-8 2023 campaign with seven wins last year, and he needs to get the program to take another step forward if he wants to stay in his position. A win over a Kiffin-led Rebels team would certainly help there.

Razorbacks quarterback Taylen Green is a dynamic player who already has 10 touchdown passes and a rushing score on the year. He completed over 70% of his passes in a blowout 63-31 loss to Ole Miss last year, but last season's Rebels seem to be a better squad than this year's. 

Texas A&M at Notre Dame (-6.5, -258)

The Fighting Irish were off last week, licking their wounds after a tough loss to Miami. They return to South Bend for their first home game of the year, a big contest against a ranked Texas A&M squad. 

We don't really know who Notre Dame is quite yet. Star running back Jeremiyah Love is back and could be a Heisman contender this season but CJ Carr was more fine than great in his first start against Miami, though that was obviously a tough landing spot. 

As for the Aggies, they're 2-0 after wins over UTSA and Utah State to open the year. The offense, led by quarterback Marcel Reed and his seven touchdowns, appears to be in good shape, but the defense didn't really inspire a ton of confidence across the first two weeks of 2025.

Notre Dame wants to slow the game down and control the clock. Texas A&M has the ability to speed the game up and turn things into more of a track meet. If this starts going back and forth in that direction, the Aggies could cause trouble for Marcus Freeman's squad and give Mike Elko a signature win in Year 2 at A&M.