Sunday Morning Coffee: Week 3 Point Spreads

Welcome to Sunday Morning Coffee, a short look at College Football projected lines before release in Las Vegas or offshore. This weekly column examines where the point spread should open or trend. Hangover, overlook and general box score notes from the week’s previous action will be captured to help any college football investor get action on a number.

If you plan to hit openers, take a look at the Projected Point Spreads for Week 3:

Notes

• As 17-point favorites in the "Mayor’s Cup," Temple needed a 49-yard field goal to take a late victory against Villanova. Temple continues to trend down and hosts 0-3 UMass this week. Temple does have overlook to Conference USA top dog South Florida.

• Sandwich spot for Iowa State going to Akron. They just lost to their rival Iowa and have their Big 12 Conference opener against Texas in Week 4. It is a spot to fade the Cyclones, but Matt Campbell should know how to prepare for the Zips after coaching in the conference from 2007 to 2015.

• Colorado State comes off Abilene Christian to go to Alabama. The key matchup is Nick Stevens trying to expose any holes in the Tide’s linebacking crew after suffering some injuries. Colorado State heads into a bye after Week 3, while Alabama may have look ahead to the SEC opener in Week 4 at Vanderbilt.

• New Mexico comes off a loss to New Mexico State to visit Boise State. The Lobos have covered four of the last five in this series and rushed for 382 yards in 2016’s game. Boise is coming off an overtime loss at Washington State.

• Notre Dame and Brian Kelly will be looking for a rebound at Boston College. If Boston College continues to go up-tempo without points, this could be a spot for Brandon Wimbush to get back on track. The Irish have look ahead to Sparty while BC has a big conference game with Clemson in Week 4.

• Looking for a game that will have action all on one side? Baylor has lost to Liberty and UTSA and now head to Duke. Duke was very impressive as a dog getting a victory over Northwestern. Duke’s defense has been superb while Baylor’s offense has severely struggled. I expect any Duke opener below a touchdown to get plenty of action.

• East Carolina loses 56-20 to (who lost to Virginia Tech). Don’t look at the 20 points as an improvement, as the WVU game was well out of hand before those scores. With no overlook for the Hokies, scoop any opener less than four scores.

• This is a revenge spot for Louisville and Lamar Jackson against Clemson. They will be a dog at home, but the Clemson defensive front seven should be able to manhandle the Cardinals’ offensive line.

• Memphis, who is marked as a bye week after the UCF postponement, should be fresh for the 9 a.m. PST kick hosting UCLA. The Bruins had no issue disposing of Hawaii. Keep in mind that UCLA has a huge conference match in Week 4 at Stanford. Memphis has no overlook with Southern Illinois on deck. Keep an eye on the weather, as some forecasts have remnants of Hurricane Irma passing Atlanta on Tuesday and heading to the Memphis area.

• Minnesota has done a fantastic job limiting the pass game, with a 5 yard per pass average against Oregon State and Buffalo to date. Middle Tennessee State heads to face the Gophers. The Blue Raiders should be in some trouble, as Minnesota should be able to rush and pass defend all day.

• Mississippi State should be a touchdown or more dog at home against LSU. Cowbell has lost this game three years in a row by a combined 10 points.

• One of the most intriguing games of the week comes between Tulane and Oklahoma. The Green Wave nearly defeated Navy and lost their starting QB, Jonathan Banks. Oklahoma pulled off the upset at Ohio State, and has the ultimate sandwich spot with conference opener Baylor in Week 4.

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