Latest College Football Odds and Picks Factoring in New Weather Forecasts for Week 3 Schedule

Lane Kiffin's return to Oxford, Mississippi has been circled on the calendars of both LSU and Ole Miss fans for months.

The former Ole Miss and current LSU coach returns to Mississippi on Saturday night for a battle of top-10 programs.

The weather will be ideal for a Saturday night football game, but that's the least of Kiffin's worries at the moment.

LSU starting quarterback Sam Leavitt popped up as doubtful on the team's injury report on Wednesday night. Leavitt could still play, but his status does make you think twice about how to approach the contest.

LSU-Ole Miss is one of three Top 25 clashes on the Week 3 slate. The first of those three games takes place on Friday night in the Big 12. The ACC has a massive game for its title race on Saturday afternoon.

All of the weather forecasts for the weekend's college football games can be found on The Weather Channel.

Week 3 Top 25 Schedule, Odds and Weather

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Friday, September 18

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

No. 5 Miami (-20.5) at Wake Forest

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 93°F

Prediction: Miami 37, Wake Forest 13

No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech (-7.5)

Schedule: 8 p.m. ET, Fox

Forecast: Sunny, High of 93°F

Prediction: Texas Tech 21, Houston 20

Portland State at No. 21 Oregon (-56.5)

Schedule: 10:30 p.m. ET, BTN

Forecast: Sunny, High of 76°F

Prediction: Oregon 52, Portland State 3

Saturday, September 19

No. 2 Georgia (-24.5) at Arkansas

Schedule: Noon ET, ABC

Forecast: Sunny, High of 97°F

Prediction: Georgia 31, Arkansas 10

Kent State at No. 6 Ohio State (-52.5)

Schedule: Noon ET, Fox

Forecast: Sunny, High of 86°F

Prediction: Ohio State 63, Kent State 10

Buffalo at No. 14 Penn State (-40.5)

Schedule: Noon ET, BTN

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 73°F

Prediction: Penn State 34, Buffalo 7

Kentucky at No. 9 Texas A&M (-16.5)

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

Forecast: Sunny, High of 96°F

Prediction: Texas A&M 31, Kentucky 13

Florida State at No. 10 Alabama (-19.5)

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Forecast: Sunny, High of 100°F

Prediction: Alabama 34, Florida State 13

No. 12 USC (-23.5) at Rutgers

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 73°F

Prediction: USC 31, Rutgers 17

No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville (-1.5)

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Forecast: Sunny, High of 95°F

Prediction: Louisville 31, SMU 27

Utah State at No. 17 Utah (-27.5)

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, Fox

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 73°F

Prediction: Utah 37, Utah State 17

UTEP at No. 19 Michigan (-34.5)

Schedule: 3:30 p.m. ET, BTN

Forecast: Showers, High of 71°F

Prediction: Michigan 38, UTEP 10

Western Kentucky at No. 4 Indiana (-44.5)

Schedule: 4 p.m. ET, Peacock

Forecast: Sunny, High of 92°F

Prediction: Indiana 51, Western Kentucky 6

Northern Iowa at No. 18 Iowa (-38.5)

Schedule: 4 p.m. ET, FS1

Forecast: Partly Sunny, High of 82°F

Prediction: Iowa 41, Northern Iowa 10

Troy at No. 20 Missouri (-26.5)

Schedule: 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 94°F

Prediction: Missouri 41, Troy 10

Michigan State at No. 3 Notre Dame (-29.5)

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC

Forecast: Showers, High of 81°F

Prediction: Notre Dame 48, Michigan State 17

No. 7 LSU (-2.5) at No. 8 Ole Miss

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Forecast: Sunny, High of 98°F

Prediction: LSU 27, Ole Miss 24

No. 11 BYU (-17.5) at Colorado State

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, CBS

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 78°F

Prediction: BYU 34, Colorado State 16

New Mexico at No. 24 Oklahoma (-22.5)

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Forecast: Sunny, High of 98°F

Prediction: Oklahoma 45, New Mexico 17

West Virginia vs. No. 25 Virginia (-10.5)

Schedule: 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network

Forecast: Partly Sunny, High of 87°F

Prediction: Virginia 28, West Virginia 21

Kennesaw State at No. 15 Tennessee (-35.5)

Schedule: 7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Forecast: Mostly Sunny, High of 94°F

UTSA at No. 1 Texas (-30.5)

Schedule: 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Forecast: Sunny, High of 100°F

Prediction: Texas 49, UTSA 7

No. 7 LSU (-2.5) at No. 8 Ole Miss

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The dynamic of the LSU-Ole Miss showdown could be changed if Sam Leavitt doesn't start for the Tigers.

Leavitt is officially listed as doubtful with a shoulder injury, per the SEC injury report.

Leavitt's status came as a surprise to many who watched LSU in the first two weeks of the season. It still remains to be seen if the Arizona State transfer will actually miss Saturday's game. If he plays, he could be impacted by the injury in some capacity.

Sophomore quarterback Landen Clark, a transfer from Elon, took the garbage time snaps in Weeks 1 and 2, so it's presumed he would be the starter if Leavitt can't go.

Ole Miss owns the clear edge at quarterback with Trinidad Chambliss, if Leavitt is unavailable. Chambliss is rated higher than Leavitt by most people, but the quarterback matchup is far more even if they're both active.

LSU has the edge on defense, though, and that might be the key regardless of which quarterback starts on a hot night in Oxford.

LSU held Louisiana Tech and Clemson to a combined 24 points. Fourteen of those points occurred in garbage time in the fourth quarter.

Kiffin knows how Chambliss operates better than any opposing coach because they led Ole Miss to so much success last season.

Ole Miss' defense was gashed for 38 points and 469 total yards in the Week 1 win over Louisville. That was a concerning start to the season, and it's easy to think the Rebels might not be that improved on defense for Week 3.

Even with all of the concern around Leavitt, LSU is favored and it could easily win in Oxford because of its defense.

Prediction: LSU (-2.5)

No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville (-1.5)

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SMU and Louisville will determine who is the No. 1 contender to Miami in the ACC on Saturday afternoon.

The assumption is that Miami will win the ACC. SMU and Louisville are viewed as the two best teams beneath the Hurricanes in the conference hierarchy.

SMU is already 1-0 in conference play thanks to an opening-weekend win over Florida State, but an argument can be made that 1-1 Louisville had the most impressive performance between the two sides early in the season.

Louisville went score-for-score with Ole Miss in the second half of their Week 1 clash in Nashville.

Lincoln Kienholz proved in that second half that he's a capable quarterback in Jeff Brohm's system.

Louisville followed up that loss with a 59-point performance at home against Villanova. Its offense carries plenty of momentum into Saturday. That unit could be the difference-maker.

Running back Isaac Brown is only averaging 3.3 yards per carry so far this season, but he could be vital for the Cardinals. He had 113 rushing yards against Miami in Louisville's toughest regular-season game in 2025.

SMU counters with one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the ACC in Kevin Jennings.

Turnovers have been a problem for Jennings, though. He threw two picks against FSU in Week 1 and had 13 interceptions last season.

If Louisville wins the turnover battle and controls the game with Brown, it could easily jump above SMU in the AP Top 25 and the ACC hierarchy.

Louisville doesn't play Miami in the regular season, and it has zero ranked teams left on its schedule, so a win could propel it to the ACC Championship Game and a chance at an at-large spot in the College Football Playoff.

Prediction: Louisville (-1.5)

No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech (-7.5)

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The Big 12 might be more wide open than people first thought going into the 2026 season.

Texas Tech displayed some flaws in its 35-24 road win at Oregon State in Week 2. The Red Raiders allowed 472 total yards and didn't pull away until the fourth quarter.

Houston held the same Oregon State team to 20 points and outgained it by 131 yards.

The Cougars can beat Texas Tech in two ways, which makes them such a dangerous underdog.

The Makhi Hughes-Re'Shaun Sanford running back tandem combined for 244 yards in the first two games. If they can run at the same rate on Friday, it'll take a ton of pressure off quarterback Connor Weigman.

Weigman threw five of his nine interceptions last season in road games and he only completed 66.7 percent of his passes in Week 1.

He's an imperfect quarterback, but the same argument could be made about Will Hammond, who was benched for a stage of the game and sacked four times in Week 2.

Texas Tech could very well win the game, but the 7.5-point spread seems like too much respect in the Red Raiders' favor given how much talent resides on the Houston roster.

Prediction: Houston (+7.5)