With the 2025 college football season moving into Week 3, we’ll start seeing prominent conference games, including this Saturday in the SEC when the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs take on the No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers in the biggest ranked matchup of the day.
But it’s a really stacked lineup this Saturday with Clemson vs. Georgia Tech, Wisconsin vs. Alabama, South Florida vs. Miami, Florida vs. LSU, and Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame, also worthy of bettors’ attention.
With the help of OddsTrader, we found our favorite picks for Week 3.
The Week 3 Theme: Repeat Success
One of the nicest things about conference games is the familiarity the teams have with one another, and the recent results in head-to-head matchups providing us with more data to improve the confidence in our bets. While teams can change dramatically from one year to the next, now, thanks to the transfer portal, if a coach is 5-0 with all double-digit wins against another coach, we’re going to weigh that heavily in making our pick.
With this theme in mind, let’s look at 3 examples this week of teams matching up who have already met recently.
Clemson vs. Georgia Tech (+3)
The Clemson Tigers have gotten off to a rough start after losing 17-10 to LSU before falling behind 16-0 to Troy before rallying. Quarterback Cade Klubnik is faltering under the attention for the Heisman and NFL future, but at least he made up for his pick-6 with a couple of touchdown passes in the win.
Georgia Tech is 2-0 and has played some solid football, most notably with a 27-20 win in Colorado in Week 1. But while these teams didn’t meet in 2024, the fact is Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has won 9 straight games against the Yellow Jackets, and 8 of those games were won by 14-plus points.
The last meeting was in 2023, a 42-21 win by Clemson. Klubnik was around then and threw 4 touchdowns that day. He needs to get back to that level of play, and the Georgia Tech defense is not special enough to stop him from playing well in this game.
Dual-threat quarterback Haynes King also played in that 2023 game against Clemson, where he threw 4 interceptions. He’s grown as a player since then, but he’s also coming off an injury and hasn’t played since Week 1, when he threw an interception and had much more success on the ground (156 yards, 3 touchdowns vs. Colorado).
But we’re going to trust Clemson to play respectably against the run and for Klubnik to play better. The Tigers get the road cover.
Expert Pick: Clemson -3 (-115) at BetMGM
Wisconsin vs. Alabama (-20.5)
Is it safe to get back on the Alabama bandwagon after they defeated Louisiana-Monroe 73-0? Some bettors seem to think so with the spread moving a point in the Crimson Tide’s favor this week after quarterback Ty Simpson completed all 17 of his passes and the defense pitched that shutout.
But you definitely pause for concern with the way Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer has already lost 4 games to unranked opponents this early in his career. But a game he won big in Week 3 last year was a 42-10 contest in Wisconsin. The Badgers don’t have many big road wins to speak of under coach Luke Fickell.
Since 2023, Wisconsin is 0-6 against ranked opponents, but to its credit, the team only lost one of those games by more than 21 points. It just so happened to be the 42-10 Alabama loss last year.
Things may be closer this year, but with Alabama getting explosive wide receiver Ryan Williams back, we’re going to side with them to cover at home.
Expert Pick: Alabama -20.5 (-115) at BetMGM
Georgia vs. Tennessee (+3.5)
Similar to Clemson vs. Georgia Tech in the ACC, this SEC rivalry has recently been dominated by Georgia. The Bulldogs have won 8 in a row against Tennessee, including a 31-17 game last year and a 38-10 rout in Tennessee in 2023.
Georgia hasn’t been tested much at all yet this year, by playing Marshall and Austin Peay. But the Bulldogs only allowed 13 points in those games, and new quarterback Gunner Stockton is finding his way as he completes 69% of his passes with no interceptions yet, which was a problem for Carson Beck last year.
But the main reason to like Georgia here is that Kirby Smith’s pro-style defense has had great success against the gimmicky offense of the Volunteers, which has struggled to make good NFL pros. Not only has Georgia won 8 straight in this rivalry, but the Vols have only surpassed 17 points once in those games, and that was just a 44-21 loss back in 2020.
We’ll trust the Bulldogs to cover on the road since the spread isn’t that large.
Expert Pick: Georgia -3.5 (-110) at BetMGM
Make the Most of Your College Football Bets Today
It’s never too late to get started betting on the 2025 college football season, especially with Week 3 bringing conference games into the fold. That means fewer matchups with 45-point spreads as these teams will be challenged more by teams they are used to facing on their annual conference schedule.
You can always join a new sportsbook and take advantage of their sign-up bonus to enhance your bets on big college games in the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and more this season.
Get Help with OddsTrader Turbo
We gave our picks on 3 of the top games this Saturday, but you can see how there are many interesting games with betting angles. That’s why it’s worth checking out OddsTrader Turbo, where you can get help with BetStation for expert betting advice, track line movement, and find the best prices for your bets with live game alerts.
There is a 30-day free trial currently available, so you can check out OddsTrader Turbo today to see its value for betting on college football.
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