College football odds, lines, schedule for Week 3: Louisville vs. Miami a near toss-up, Notre Dame favored big

Week 3 of the college football season will feature 11 ranked teams in action

By David Cobb

Sep 13, 2020 at 8:11 pm ET • 2 min read

USATSI

A quick glance at the schedule for Week 3 of the college football season might cause some fans to turn up their noses, as there are few games with curb appeal. But last week's slate delivered plenty of excitement, and this week's schedule is similar as there will again be 10 games featuring ranked teams.

This week also features something last week's schedule did not with a game pitting two ranked teams against each other as No. 18 Louisville and No. 17 Miami square off in a contest that could catapult the winner into contending status in the ACC.

Of course, the week ahead could bring cancellations or postponements as conferences and programs continue to navigate the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. But for now, here is a look at five of the most-interesting opening lines for the week, courtesy of William Hill Sportsbook.

Saturday, Sept. 19

No. 18 Louisville (-1.5) vs. No. 17 Miami: The ACC is arguably the nation's deepest quarterbacking conference, and two of the most-exciting from that group will be dueling it out in this game. Graduate transfer D'Eriq King started his stop at Miami off with a solid outing in a win against UAB last week, and Louisville's Micale Cunningham began his redshirt junior season by throwing for 343 yards and three touchdowns in the Cardinals' win over Western Kentucky.

No. 11 Oklahoma State (-22) vs. Tulsa: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy might have worried this day would never come. But after an offseason of controversy, he's got arguably his most-talented team yet in tact. Barring a rash of COVID-19 related absences, the Cowboys should be able to handle this line against their in-state neighbors.

No. 19 Louisiana (-17) vs. Georgia State: It's a classic trap game for the Ragin' Cajuns. After their thrilling upset win at Iowa State, they return to the Earth by beginning Sun Belt play against a Georgia State team that has been pretty good in season openers recently. Remember when the Panthers beat Tennessee to open their 2019 season?

No. 23 Appalachian State (-3.5) vs. Marshall: This should be an excellent Group of Five battle between Sun Belt favorite Appalachian State and Conference USA contender Marshall. The Thundering Herd throttled Eastern Kentucky 55-0 two weeks ago, but don't read too much into that final score. EKU is really bad.

No. 7 Notre Dame (-26) vs. South Florida: Notre Dame only scored 27 points total in a win over Duke on Saturday. Now the Fighting Irish are expected to cover a 26-point spread? They will need some more help from their receiving corps if it's going to happen. But South Florida did not look particularly potent offensively in a 27-6 win over The Citadel in the first game of the Jeff Scott era.