College football betting trends — Week 3
Las Vegas handicapper Bruce Marshall is editor of The Gold Sheet (Goldsheet.com). He provides the Review-Journal with college football tech notes and trends. Follow @thegoldsheet on Twitter.
Northern Illinois at Michigan (-27): The Huskies are 7-3 against the spread as road underdogs under coach Thomas Hammock. Michigan has won and covered its first two games this season but was 1-7 ATS in its previous eight games on the board. The Wolverines were 1-6 ATS against nonconference teams before covering their first two this season. Edge: Northern Illinois.
Virginia Tech at West Virginia (-2½): Virginia Tech has started 2-0 at home for coach Justin Fuente, but the Hokies are 4-7 ATS in their past 11 road games. Virginia Tech also is 1-6 ATS in its past seven nonconference games. The Mountaineers were 4-0-1 ATS at home last season. Edge: West Virginia.
Michigan State at Miami (Fla.) (-6): The Spartans were 2-5 straight up and ATS last season, but they won and covered this season’s opener at Northwestern. Michigan State had been a solid underdog, going 19-9 ATS in the role from 2011 to 2018 under previous coach Mike Dantonio. The Hurricanes are 7-14 ATS in their past 21 games as home favorites. Edge: Michigan State.
Minnesota at Colorado (-3): The Golden Gophers are 16-8 ATS in their past 24 games. They are 6-2-1 ATS in their past nine road games. The Buffaloes got a cover last week but had dropped three straight ATS before that. Edge: Minnesota.
Purdue at Notre Dame (-7): The series resumes after a hiatus since 2014. Purdue is 11-3 ATS in its past 14 games as the underdog and has opened the season with two wins and covers. The Fighting Irish were 1-5 as home favorites last season. Edge: Purdue.
Tulsa at Ohio State (-24½): Tulsa has covered its past five regular-season games as the underdog and is 8-1 ATS in its past nine regular-season games in the role. The Buckeyes are 4-7 ATS in their past 11 games and are 1-3 ATS as home favorites since last season. Edge: Tulsa.
Georgia Tech at Clemson (-28½): Clemson has defeated Georgia Tech by a combined score of 125-21 the past two seasons. The Tigers have won the past six meetings (5-0-1 ATS). The Yellow Jackets are 8-15-2 ATS since 2019. Clemson covered one of five home games last season. Edge: Clemson.
Virginia at North Carolina (-8): The Cavaliers have won and covered as underdogs each of the past two years against North Carolina, and Virginia has covered four straight in the series. The Cavaliers are 11-6 ATS as underdogs since 2018. The Tar Heels are 2-5 ATS in their past seven games on the board. Edge: Virginia.
Central Michigan at Louisiana State (-19½): Coach Jim McElwain is 16-6 ATS (8-5 as an underdog) since taking over the Chippewas in 2019. LSU is 3-4 ATS in its past seven home games. McElwain was 1-1-1 ATS against LSU while at Florida. Edge: Central Michigan.
Tulane at Mississippi (-14): The Green Wave are on a 19-9 spread uptick since late 2018 and have covered five of their past seven road games. The Rebels are 4-3 ATS as favorites for Lane Kiffin, who was 8-2 as a favorite in his last year at Florida Atlantic. Edge: Tulane.
Fresno State at UCLA (-11): The Bulldogs have covered their first three games this season and are 5-0 ATS in their past five games against Pac-12 opponents. Fresno State has beaten the Bruins three times in a row. UCLA has won and covered its first two games but is 2-6 ATS as a favorite since entering the 2018 season. Edge: Fresno State.
Iowa State (-31½) at UNLV: The Cyclones are 6-0-1 ATS in their past seven games after facing Iowa, including five straight covers. Iowa State is 5-3 ATS in its past eight games as a favorite. The Rebels are 0-8 straight up under Marcus Arroyo but 2-0-1 ATS in their past three games. Edge: Iowa State.