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College football Week 3 betting insights and key matchups

Which college football teams are getting the most betting action this week?

LSU Tigers head coach Brian Kelly walks the field during pregame before the game against the Nicholls State Colonels at Tiger Stadium.
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Week 2 of the college football season brought some fascinating results, as No. 3 Texas (-6.5) dominated No. 10 Michigan 31-12 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score, No. 5 Notre Dame lost outright 16-14 to North Illinois as 28.5-point favorites in South Bend, and No. 8 Penn State escaped with a 34-27 win over Bowling Green as 35.5-point favorites.

Week 3 brings us several intriguing games, starting with No. 14 Kansas State (-7.5) hosting No. 20 Arizona on Friday night. No. 24 Boston College is a 17-point underdog at No. 6 Missouri on Saturday, and No. 9 Oregon (-16) travels to Oregon State in an always-intense rivalry game.

We spoke with two bookmakers – Thomas Gable, the sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City and Seamus Magee, a trader at BetMGM sports – to get updates on the betting action, including where the public and respected money has come in on several games.

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No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State (-7.5, 59.5)

Gable: Kansas State is currently -7.5, probably going to go 7 here on the spread sooner rather than later. Total has gone up, as we have taken some early money on the Over. Took some early money at 56.5, now up to 59.5. Little bit more money on Kansas State, but pretty even overall.

Magee: We opened 7.5, moved some juice to Arizona. We get a lot of Arizona Wildcats money from Arizona and we get a lot of money from Kansas as well on KSU. Two-way action on the money line, and Arizona outright isn’t good for us. We’ve taken some Arizona money on the spread, as it stands we’re going to need Kansas State to cover right now.

No. 24 Boston College at No. 6 Missouri (-17, 54)

Gable: Mizzou, we opened them 16.5-point favorites and did take some money on them early, up to -17 here. Total has been sitting steady at 54. No real decision on the total, as we haven’t moved off that number and very evenly bet. This game isn’t one of the more heavily-bet games on the board for us. It probably will get a decent share of action by kickoff, but I can’t say it’s very popular in the early week.

Magee: This opened 16.5, pushed up to 17 we’re we’re currently sitting. Some money on the Over, little bit more money on Mizzou -16.5, some action coming back on BC at 17. I think this will be interesting as we approach kickoff, because people are high on BC how they looked while Mizzou was an offseason darling. I could see action coming in from either side, but right now not too much of a need. We saw some sharp money on Mizzou -16.5.

No. 9 Oregon (-16.5, 50) at Oregon State

Gable: Oregon has been bet up from the opener of -14. We opened there and are now up to -16.5. I’m a little surprised by the early Oregon money, but we’re starting to see a little buyback at 16.5 on Oregon State. Little bit more money on the Over, but haven’t moved off the opener of 50.5

Magee: It’s been mostly Oregon money coming in. We opened a flat 14, took plenty of Oregon money to get up to 16.5, and we’re finally starting to see some money come in on Oregon State. By kickoff, it’ll be interesting to see which team we need. I could see some believers in the Beavers, but sharps definitely got in on Oregon early to push this number up two points.

No. 4 Alabama (-16, 49.5) at Wisconsin

Gable: Alabama is up from 15.5 to 16.5 and it’s probably 4-1 tickets on Bama. Total has come down slightly from 51.5 to 50 and no real respected wagers I’d say on the total. Despite being Alabama, this is not one of the biggest bet games. We’re getting more money on LSU-South Carolina and Indiana-UCLA.

Magee: We took a big bet on Bama at -15.5, that didn’t have much to do with us moving to -16.5. It’s definitely been one-way traffic on Alabama so far, along with sharper money. I could see more money coming in on Bama -16.5 as well.

No. 16 LSU (-7, 49.5) at South Carolina

Gable: Opened LSU -7 and hasn’t moved. Balanced action on both sides. Total is 50.5, that did come down after we took some respected money on Under 51.5. This game by far is the most heavily-bet game on the board so far.

Magee: Lot of LSU coming in, probably from customers in Louisiana. Opened 7, and still at 7. Still no sharp action either way, but it feels like a lot of people if they are betting the Gamecocks are taking them to win. It’s 50-50 on moneyline and spread bets for South Carolina. If this continues, as it stands the best result is LSU winning and not covering. I think we’re going to get a heap of LSU parlays on Saturday.