Fall has officially arrived, and the final weekend of September in college football includes two Top 25 match-ups. A special edition from Soldier Field in Chicago features No. 12 Notre Dame vs No. 18 Wisconsin with the Badgers a 6.5-point favorite. In SEC action, a pair of undefeated teams clash with No. 7 Texas A&M a 5.5-point favorite against surging No. 16 Arkansas in another neutral site game from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX.
Top ranked Alabama held on for a 31-29 win at Florida last week with the Gators easily covering the spread in Week 3 Top 25 action. Georgia is the other SEC dominator and remains at No. 2 in this weeks Top 25 AP Poll.
Notable teams moving up in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 include BYU, who made the largest jump eight spots to No. 15 after beating a third straight Pac 12 team to start the season. Other undefeated teams moving up are Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Penn State, as the Nittany Lions are No. 6. Three Big Ten teams are in the Top 10 and six in the Top 20 this week.
Saturday, Sept. 25
- No. 12 Notre Dame vs No. 18 Wisconsin (-6.5) - 12:00 p.m. ET on FOX
- No. 7 Texas A&M (-5.5) vs No. 16 Arkansas - 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS
A doubleheader on ABC features Rutgers at No. 19 Michigan at 3:30 p.m. ET followed by West Virginia at No. 4 Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. ET. West Virginia picked up some Top 25 votes but is still unranked after the Mountaineers beat then No. 15 Virginia Tech last Saturday.
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Betting lines, totals and moneylines are subject to change and vary at different sportsbooks. This week’s Top 25 college football lines provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.
Others receiving votes: TCU 91, Liberty 56, Virginia Tech 52, Oklahoma State 51, Maryland 29, Arizona State 24, Texas 22, USC 16, San Diego State 16, West Virginia 14, LSU 14, Kentucky 12, Boston College 9, Wake Forest 7, Texas Tech 5, Stanford 3, Memphis 3, Louisville 1, Wyoming 1
Notre Dame vs Wisconsin
A rare meeting between midwest powers and the first in 57 years. Another storyline includes Notre Dame QB Jack Coan, who transferred from Wisconsin for his senior season. Coan has passed for 300 yards per game and 9 touchdown passes in leading the Irish to three close wins. He’ll have to be his best again with a running game that will find it tough going against the stout Wisconsin defensive front.
The Badgers struggled in their opening game against Penn State in a 16-10 defeat but did pound the ground 58 times for 174 rushing yards in defeat. Off a bye week and extra prep, the Badgers have a situational edge but will QB Graham Mertz make enough plays as needed in the passing game? He’s struggled when pressured, and despite the stronger running game and defense, the risk free bet option is not likely worth the reward when laying these points in a game projected to have less scoring and a posted total dropping to 46.5 points on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Preferred Pick: Under total
Texas A&M vs Arkansas
Arkansas (3-0) was picked to finish last in the SEC West division by many major college football publications. The Razorbacks offensive line and running backs were the teams lowest-graded units. Yet the Hogs tore through Texas in a 40-21 Week 2 win with 333 rushing yards at 7.1 yards per rush and totaled 471 yards offense in victory. Dual-threat quarterback KJ Jefferson has thrown two interceptions and is second on the team in rushing as the Razorbacks average 46 rushing attempts per game.
Texas A&M brings a much stronger challenge with the Aggies defense dominating thus far holding Kent, Colorado and New Mexico to 10, 7 and 0 points in A&M’s 3-0 start. The Aggies defense was expected to be a top-tier unit. The 10-7 road win at Colorado in Week 2 looks less impressive with a poor offensive showing, but the Aggies offense has highly-rated RBs, WRs and TE. Running back Isaiah Spiller is among the best in the country, and Devon Archane gives the Aggies a strong backfield duel. Quarterback Zach Calzada has missed too many open receivers, but if he makes a few more plays to assist the rushing attack, A&M wins with it’s stronger defense for coach Jimbo Fisher the difference. Projections show Arkansas struggling to gain more than 300 yards total offense, and both young quarterbacks should find it much more challenging in the SEC opener with Texas A&M gaining a victory and parlay bettors adding the Aggies to their bets. If A&M’s defense shuts down the Arkansas offense as many expect, then the game should finish under the posted total is 47.5 points on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Preferred Pick: Texas A&M
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