Betting the Big Ten: Week 3 sees the start of Big Ten play

Week 2 started off horrendously as we missed on Friday night in the Rutgers matchup and a majority of the games in the noon slate on Saturday. However, we rallied back with an incredible afternoon slate as Mississippi State crushed Minnesota and Duke, Michigan State, and Maryland all covered.

We wrapped up a solid week at 9-7 and now sit at 16-18 on the year. One more good week and we'll be back above .500.

Week 3 is a bit of a dud on the schedule as only two Big Ten teams have games with spreads in the single digits. Maybe someone will surprise us.

All lines are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Please bet responsibly.

Portland State at Oregon (-57.5), O/U 67.5, 10:30 p.m. Friday

Oregon's start to the season has been shockingly bad, with a narrow win over a Group of 5 team and essentially a blowout loss to Oklahoma State. Unsurprisingly, the Ducks are 0-2 ATS on the year. Portland State, on the other hand, is 3-0 ATS. Who am I to bet against a trend like that?

Kent State at Ohio State (-52.5), O/U 59.5, Noon Saturday

Despite Ohio State's loss last week to now-No. 1 Texas, the Buckeyes actually covered the +1.5 spread. They are now 2-0 ATS on the season. However, the total is more appealing to me in this matchup. The Buckeyes hit the over in their only home matchup so far this season, and Kent State has gone over in both of their matchups so far as well. Give me the over.

Buffalo at Penn State (-41.5), O/U 50.5, Noon

This spread has shifted from 39.5 to 41.5 in recent days. While Penn State is just 1-1 ATS, Buffalo is 0-2 ATS and hasn't shown much sign of life. I'll take the Nittany Lions while it's still under six touchdowns.

Akron at Minnesota (-23.5), O/U 49.5, Noon

Vegas knows something in this matchup. The spread has dropped from 28.5 all the way down to 23.5 with no signs of stopping. A part of that may be due to the Golden Gophers' disappointing showing last week against Mississippi State, but I'm always one to follow the group.

Eastern Michigan at Wisconsin (-23.5), O/U 45.5, 12:30 p.m.

Both of these teams have been underwhelming ATS this year, with Eastern sitting at 1-2 and Wisconsin at 0-2. They've also gone under more often than not, as Eastern has hit the under in each of their three games while Wisconsin has gone over just once so far. I expect this game to be an ugly slog of a game, which leads me to the under.

Southern Illinois at Illinois (-38.5), O/U 54.5, 2 p.m.

The Fighting Illini have been a tad underwhelming to date, losing to Duke outright last week and being 0-2 ATS. The Salukis of Southern Illinois haven't been much better but they did cover last week. Throw in the fact that this line is creeping in Southern Illinois's favor, and I'm going to take a chance on the Salukis.

UTEP at Michigan (-35.5), O/U 49.5, 3:30 p.m.

Both of these teams are 1-1 ATS this season. Against the total, unsurprisingly, Michigan has gone under twice, as the offense has yet to kick it into gear. 35.5 feels awfully high to me for an offense that hasn't scored more than 17 points yet this season. I like the Wolverines to win comfortably, but until I see the offense have a breakout game, I can't pick Michigan to win by more than five touchdowns.

USC (-23.5) at Rutgers, O/U 59.5, 3:30 p.m.

The spread in this matchup has been all over the place. It started at 23.5, jumped up to 25.5, and has now settled back down to 23.5. I like USC to win this matchup with ease, but the Trojans are below .500 at covering the spread. Instead, I'm looking at the total. 59.5 seems very reasonable for these two offenses to surpass.

Western Kentucky at Indiana (-44.5), O/U 60.5, 4 p.m.

Curt Cignetti's Hoosiers continue their trend of playing absolutely no one in the non-conference. They've been massive favorites in each of their first two games but have failed to cover in both. I don't expect that to change.

Northern Iowa at Iowa (-40.5), O/U 49.5, 4 p.m.

The total is tough here as Northern Iowa has gone over twice while Iowa has gone under twice. Against the spread, both of these teams are an even 1-1 so this is a tough selection. I've been an unabashed hater of the Hawkeye offense but they've made me look silly most of this year. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt just this once.

North Dakota at Nebraska (-24.5), O/U 51.5, 7:15 p.m.

We have two excellent options to take in this matchup. Nebraska is 2-0 ATS while North Dakota is 1-2 ATS and 0-1 on the road. That in and of itself is a strong trend that makes me consider Nebraska -24.5. However, through these teams' combined five games, the over has hit each and every time. That's an even stronger trend. Give me the over.

Eastern Washington at Washington (-42.5), O/U 56.5, 7:15 p.m.

The total is untouchable in this matchup, as Eastern Washington has hit the over in each of their three games while Washington has only gone under. Washington has yet to cover as a favorite as well. While Eastern Washington isn't much better at 1-2 ATS, that one cover is about all we have to go off of.

Michigan State at Notre Dame (-29.5), O/U 52.5, 7:30 p.m.

I enjoy the fact that one of these two teams has to lose this game. The spread hasn't moved much since its initial release, and I think that's for good reason. Notre Dame is 2-0 ATS and has looked impressive while doing so. We don't know much about MSU just yet because they haven't played a Power Four team, but I tend to think that it's going to be a rough evening for the Spartans.

Colorado at Northwestern (-3.5), O/U 48.5, 7:30 p.m.

According to The Action Network, 77% of all bets are on Northwestern in this game. However, the spread has dropped from 5.5 to 3.5. This implies that there's big money on Colorado in this matchup. While the Buffaloes didn't cover a huge spread against Weber State last week, they looked very impressive winning outright as a 6.5-point underdog against Georgia Tech in Week 1. Give me Colorado.

Virginia Tech (-3) at Maryland, O/U 53.5, 7:30 p.m.

Both of these teams are undefeated ATS, with Virginia Tech covering against VMI and Old Dominion while Maryland covered large spreads against Hampton and UConn. I'll admit that I am making my pick here based on vibes alone, but I love the Hokies in this matchup. James Franklin had no trouble with Maryland when he was at Penn State. Given that Franklin imported a majority of his Penn State roster, I like Virginia Tech to cover.

The spread in this matchup has slid all over the place. It opened at UCLA -13.5, quickly shifted to 11.5, then plummeted to 16.5 in UCLA's favor. It has since settled back down to 14, but that is a ton of movement in a short amount of time. I like the Bruins in this game as they are 2-0 ATS against two solid opponents in Cal and San Diego State.