Week 2 of the 2024 college football season wasn’t short on fireworks with plenty of upsets and near pitfalls changing both major polls significantly and altering the perception around some of the nation’s top teams. Though Week 3 doesn’t look as exciting on paper, there are some intriguing matchups — especially in the nonconference — that should have an impact on the national scale.
No. 20 Arizona and No. 14 Kansas State are set to face off Friday night in a game pitting two Big 12 competitors that won’t count towards the conference standings. Even so, Kansas State, which narrowly avoided a setback of their own in Week 2, is favored to make it back to the conference’s title game for the first time since 2022, while Arizona is hoping to make a big splash in its first year in the league.
Meanwhile, a pair of top-25 teams in No. 4 Alabama and No. 24 Boston College face intriguing out-of-conference road games. The Crimson Tide travel to Wisconsin in an SEC-Big Ten clash, while the Eagles are looking to stay hot against a No. 6 Missouri team that wants to maintain a sterling record before conference play begins.
Week 3 lines are out, so let’s take a look at what oddsmakers are thinking as we look ahead.
Odds via SportsLine consensus
The big games
No. 20 Arizona at No. 14 Kansas State (-8) (Friday): Arizona and Kansas State get the weekend started with a bang as they take the field for one of two games featuring ranked opponents in Week 3. Both teams got taken to the brink in Week 2, though Kansas State’s struggles were more understandable. Kansas State was able to scrape out a 34-27 win on the road against a good Tulane team, while Arizona eked out a 22-10 win against Northern Arizona one week after putting 61 points on the board against New Mexico. Expect a lot of offense and a result that will go a long way towards determining national rankings, if not the actual Big 12 standings.
No. 4 Alabama (-14.5) at Wisconsin: This may be a considerable spread, but Alabama did look human in its 42-16 win against South Florida in Week 2. The Crimson Tide didn’t really wake up until the fourth quarter, when they scored 28 points to avoid a disastrous result. Not that Wisconsin has set the world on fire thus far. The Badgers have won their last two games against Western Michigan and South Dakota by 14 points apiece despite being 20-plus-point favorites in both situations. Camp Randall Stadium is sure to be rocking, but will it be enough for Wisconsin to pull the stunner?
No. 16 LSU (-8.5) at South Carolina: A couple weeks ago, this looked like a relatively light game for the Tigers. But after a Week 1 loss to USC and a sluggish followup effort against Nicholls has changed the outlook a bit. Especially since South Carolina opened its SEC slate with a dominant 31-6 win on the road against Kentucky. The Gamecocks have a legit defense, but they’ll have their hands full against an always explosive LSU offense.
No. 24 Boston College at No. 6 Missouri (-16.5): Boston College has been one of the best stories of the 2024 season thus far. The Eagles went on the road in Week 1 and beat No. 10 Florida State to snap a 13-game losing streak to top-10 opponents. Then they followed that up with a 56-0 drubbing of Duquesne to climb into the AP Top poll for the first time since 2018. Missouri is their biggest test yet. The Tigers field one of the best QB-WR duos in Brady Cook and Luther Burden III, and their salty defense hasn’t allowed a single point through the first two weeks.
Memphis at Florida State (-5.5): This game has major College Football Playoff implications, but not for the reasons one might think. Memphis is looking for a marquee win to add to its postseason résumé. The Tigers are a heavyweight in the American Athletic Conference and received votes in this week’s AP poll. A victory on the road against former coach Mike Norvell may be what Memphis needs to grab the spotlight. The Seminoles are certainly beatable; they’ve proven that amid a disastrous 0-2 start to the 2024 campaign.
