College Football Week 3 Opening Lines, Odds & Best Bets: Lane Kiffin Returns to Oxford

After a thrilling and surprising Week 2, the college football season has progressed to Week 3, where we will be treated to even more headline matchups and sneaky upset possibilities. Last week wasn’t great to us, as Mississippi State took Minnesota to the woodshed on Saturday afternoon, but we are still 2-1 in our early-bird college football best bets this season and right in line with our historical hit rate dating back to the beginning of 2024 (22-11). 

Let’s take a look at the Week 3 early lines and college football odds and cap it off with a best bet from the bunch. For more picks and analysis, check out our CFB predictions for every FBS game throughout the year. 

2026 College Football Week 3 Opening Lines and Odds

Odds courtesy of bet365 at the time of publishing.

Thursday, September 17

• Pitt -10.5 (-110) vs Syracuse; Total 51.5 (Under -115)

Friday, September 18

• Miami -21.5 (-110) @ Wake Forest; Total 55.5 (-110)
• Texas Tech -8.5 (-105) vs Houston; Total 53.5 (-110)

Saturday, September 19

• Delaware -4.5 (-115) vs Coastal Carolina; Total 57.5 (Under -115)
• Minnesota -24.5 (-110) vs Akron; Total 48.5 (-110)
• Arizona State -5.5 (-110) vs Kansas; Total 52.5 (-110) Neutral
• Iowa State -23.5 (-110) vs Bowling Green; Total 45.5 (Under -115)
• Georgia -24.5 (-110) @ Arkansas; Total 54.5 (-110)
• Clemson -3.5 (-105) vs North Carolina; Total 44.5 (-110)
• Texas State -3.5 (-120) vs North Texas; Total 63.5 (-110)
• Kansas State -19.5 (-115) vs Tulane; Total 49.5 (-110)
• Wisconsin -24.5 (-110) vs Eastern Michigan; Total 45.5 (Over -115)
• Vanderbilt -3.5 (-110) vs NC State; Total 52.5 (-110)
• Central Michigan -1.5 (-110) vs Wyoming; Total 39.5 (-110)
• Toledo -5.5 (-110) vs Temple; Total 51.5 (-110)
• Alabama -20.5 (-110) vs Florida State; 49.5 (-110)
• Texas A&M -16.5 (-115) vs Kentucky; Total 49.5 (-110)
• Cincinnati -14.5 (-110) vs Miami (OH); Total 50.5 (Over -115)
• Louisville -1.5 (-110) vs SMU; Total 59.5 (-110)
• USC -24.5 (-110) @ Rutgers; Total 59.5 (-110)
• Utah -28.5 (-110) vs Utah State; Total 56.5 (Over -115)
• Liberty -14.5 (-110) vs Ball State; Total 49.5 (Over -115)
• Baylor -17.5 (-115) vs Louisiana Tech; Total 53.5 (-110)
• Duke -9.5 (-110) vs Stanford; Total 51.5 (-110)
• South Carolina -3.5 (-110) vs Mississippi State; Total 58.5 (-110)
• App State -19.5 (-110) vs Charlotte; Total 51.5 (-110)
• Old Dominion -2.5 (-110) vs East Carolina; Total 49.5 (-110)
• FAU -6.5 (-115) vs FIU; Total 62.5 (-110)
• Marshall -3.5 (-110) @ Missouri State; Total 51.5 (-110)
• UConn -3.5 (+100) @ Southern Miss; Total 54.5 (-110)
• Florida -2.5 (-115) @ Auburn; Total 52.5 (-110)
• Jacksonville State -3.5 (-115) vs Georgia Southern; Total 52.5 (-110)
• UCF -20.5 (-110) vs Georgia State; Total 52.5 (-110)
• Nevada -5.5 (-110) @ MTSU; Total 51.5 (-110)
• South Alabama -4.5 (-110) vs Ohio; Total 52.5 (-110)
• BYU -17.5 (-115) @ Colorado State; Total 52.5 (-110)
• Northwestern -3.5 (-120) vs Colorado; Total 48.5 (-110)
• LSU -3.5 (+100) @ Ole Miss; Total 58.5 (Over -115)
• Notre Dame -29.5 (-110) vs Michigan State; Total 51.5 (-110)
• Oklahoma -22.5 (-110) vs New Mexico; Total 47.5 (Over -115)
• Virginia Tech -2.5 (-120) @ Maryland; Total 53.5 (-110)
• Virginia -10.5 (-105) vs West Virginia; Total 53.5 (-110) Neutral
• TCU -20.5 (-110) vs Arkansas State; Total 57.5 (-110)
• Louisiana -7.5 (-110) vs UAB; Total 56.5 (-110)
• Texas -29.5 (-115) vs UTSA; Total 58.5 (Under -115)
• San Diego State -1.5 (-115) vs James Madison; Total 46.5 (-110)
• Fresno State -6.5 (-110) @ San Jose State; Total 50.5 (-110)
• UCLA -14.5 (-115) vs Purdue; Total 52.5 (-110)

College Football Week 3 Best Bet: LSU Tigers -3 over Ole Miss Rebels (-114)

Odds courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook at the time of publishing. Playable to -6 (-110).

For full transparency, I use bet365 for the list of lines and odds in this column every week for consistency, but make sure you always shop around for the best number, especially this early in the week. Bet365 lists LSU at -3.5 with plus-money odds, which is appealing, but there are multiple affordable -3s out there in the market, so that’s where I’m attacking this game.

This line feels extremely light. In fact, I have the Tigers as more than a touchdown favorite in this matchup, so this is a very easy early-week click from a perceived value standpoint. That said, the Rebels are going to be a popular bet this week, simply because the general population is going to want to see Lane Kiffin lose to the team he effectively deserted prior to the College Football Playoff last year. Maybe that’s suppressing the line here?

This is undoubtedly Ole Miss’ Super Bowl and a game that’s been circled since the exact moment the schedule came out, but how far can that carry the Rebels, and could that end up actually being a detriment for them this week?

LSU looked more than dominant at home against Clemson when it mattered most, and while the Tigers sleepwalked their way through Louisiana Tech last week, I’m not going to punish them for that given the sandwich nature of that game being in between Clemson and Ole Miss.

Ole Miss, on the other hand, wasn’t all that inspiring against Louisville in Week 1. The Rebels averaged only 3.7 yards per carry, lost the turnover battle 2-0 and let a first-year starting quarterback in a new program lead his offense to 469 total yards while averaging 10.6 yards per pass attempt. The Cards were 7-of-16 on third downs against the Ole Miss defense, and they won the time-of-possession battle by about two minutes.

Like Louisville, LSU is loaded with transfers, but Kiffin’s portal class ranks either first or second nationally depending where you look, while he brought in more than double the amount of four and five-stars as Jeff Brohm -- most of them with ample playing experience at the collegiate level. All this to say that this LSU squad is going to be a step up in class for Ole Miss, and the Tigers are led by an offensive staff that knows Pete Golding’s tendencies, being that he worked under Kiffin for three seasons in Oxford before becoming his successor. Additionally, I'm not entirely sold on this Ole Miss secondary being able to hold up against the LSU passing attack.

After hearing Kiffin’s viral halftime speech against Clemson, I have no doubt in him being able to rally his troops for these highly emotional games, especially when everyone is seemingly against them. The world is going to want Ole Miss here, but that's the emotional angle. The numbers are screaming value on LSU. Which side are you on?

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