Week 3 Sportsbook College Previews

Let’s start with #19 Nebraska at #4 USC, as ABC is making “Saturday Night Football” a new buzz word.

USC coach, Pete Carroll is one of the most liked men in college football. His “rah-rah” personality is the perfect fit for the college athlete, and he has built an elite program to boot. Carroll has had to replace a number of key players from last year, most notably quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush.

Those who were expecting a major drop-off though can forget about it. The Trojans spanked Arkansas, 50-14 on the road two weeks ago, in a game where the spread was in single digits.

Quarterback, John David Booty threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns in that game, making a lot of people ask “Leinart who?” The running game certainly lacks the punch of last year’s duo of Bush and LenDale White, but the defense looks faster overall, although they are down at least two starters in this game.

Nebraska Coach, Bill Callahan has the personality only a mother can love. In fact, I’m not sure even his mother loves him. When he was the coach of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, the players basically had an open revolt in the locker room. Callahan had some shaky early times at Nebraska as well, but the team finished strong last year, and there is optimism abound in Lincoln.

Nebraska (2-0) has wins over Louisiana Tech (49-10) and Nicholls State (56-7). The latter of which is Division 1-AA. Cornhuskers’ quarterback, Zac Taylor has played outstanding so far, but he is going to see speed in USC that he is not used to. The Nebraska front four should get some pressure on Booty, but how will their secondary match up with the explosive wide receivers of USC?

This is the first meeting between the two traditional powerhouses since 1970. USC is favored by a whopping 17.5 points, not a lot of respect for the Cornhuskers.

Other games on Saturday include Clemson (1-1) getting 4.5 points at Florida State (2-0). The Tigers are trying to put their one-point loss at Boston College behind them. Ninth ranked FSU barely escaped Troy last week, but should turn it up a few notches for the “Bowden Bowl”, with father Bobby going against son Tommy.

# 2 Notre Dame (-5) hosts #11 Michigan. Both teams are 2-0, although Notre Dame has been much more battle tested with games against Georgia Tech and Penn State. Michigan has wins over Vanderbilt and Central Michigan. The Irish beat the Wolverines, 17-10 last year in Ann Arbor.

#17 Miami (+4.5) is at #12 Louisville. It is kind of surprising that Miami is that large an underdog given that Michael Bush will be sitting on his couch for this game. Louisville (2-0) has looked good without Bush, while Miami (1-1) is still stinging from their opening loss versus Florida State.

Finally, don’t forget there are two great SEC battles with LSU (+3.5) at Auburn, and Florida (-3.5) at Tennessee. All four teams are ranked in the AP’s Top 13.

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