After an impressive 4-1-1 finish for +2.455 units in Week 2, the SHB money train moves to 7-4-1 for +2.185 units on the year thus far. Onwards and upwards from here.

Although Week 3 is an absolute stinker of a slate (quite possibly the worst slate of games for the entire season)… we’ve zeroed in on the little value this week’s matchups have to offer. With two weeks of college football in the bank, most teams have shaken off the rust and we can more confidently trust the trends beginning to emerge. Battle down the hatches for what should be a boring week of college football and always remember to bet smarter, not harder.

Q’s Best Bets (After Week 2: 4-2, +1.455 units)

Alabama @ USF – Saturday, 9/16 (3:30 PM EST)
Pick: Alabama -31.5 (-115) (1 unit)

I was tempted to take the Bama 1H spread here to avoid a backdoor cover but thought -18.5 was a little too high for my taste considering Bama hasn’t scored more than 28 points in any half this year (which includes a Week 1 matchup vs MTSU at home), USF’s current 1H total is floating around 6.5 points and I could definitely see them squeaking out 10 first half points at home (they’re currently averaging over 20 first half points through Week 2). That said, I have full confidence that Saban will be on full “post big loss, rebound blowout” mode coming into the state of Florida on Saturday. Different bet exchanges have this spread sitting around -32 for similar odds (-110) so I think we’re getting a lot of value here at -31.5 for (-115). Yes, the Texas showing is a concern for Bama fans everywhere. No, this doesn’t mean that Bama isn’t still a very solid team that’s starving for redemption after a home loss to a potentially great team. USF will be outmatched in every facet of this game and I think we see a much better showing out of Milroe on Saturday as well as a stingy effort out of the Tide’s defensive unit. Expect a blowout that puts Bama back into the conversation heading into their Week 4 matchup against Ole Miss (at home). Score Prediction: Alabama 48 – USF 13.

DPJ’s Best Bets (After Week 2: 3-2-1, +0.73 units)

LSU @ Mississippi State – Saturday, 9/16 (12:00 PM EST)
Pick: Mississippi State +9.5 (-110) (1 unit)

Mississippi State pulled out a gritty overtime win in week 2 over my Arizona Wildcats. The Cats fought hard as I anticipated (Beardown) but in the end it was not enough. Arizona was lucky that the game was even that close, they were down 21-7 at the start of the 2nd Q and MSST ran it down their throat from start to finish. These Bulldogs are playing a tough brand of SEC football right now and I feel like they are just the type of team that will knock Jayden Daniels and the LSU tigers around. This was evident in LSU’s week one loss to FSU…and I’m not saying MSST are as good as the Noles but they can control the line of scrimmage and make life tough for the opposition in a similar way. We’re getting nearly 10 points here, so all we need is a relatively close battle with the Bulldogs staying in the game in the fourth quarter. Worst case scenario, we’ll ride it out for the backdoor cover. Score Prediction: LSU 24 – MSST 23.

Tennessee @ Florida – Saturday, 9/16 (7:00 PM EST)
Pick: Total Points Under 59 (-110) (1 unit)

Q and I did some early season predictions of what we thought would be the best game each week of this CFB season. We both begrudgingly picked this game for week 3…and on its face this is a great rivalry but under the hood these two programs are not nearly as interesting as they should be, particularly Florida. Tennessee is still a top program in the country, but it remains to be seen if Joe Milton is ‘the guy’ at QB and I have my doubts. Their offensive line and defense have looked good through two easy games this year but they might get another soft test in Florida. The Gators looked god awful in week 1 against Utah, and I expect much of the same here against Tennessee. I could see a low scoring poop fest this year in Gainesville, much different than last year’s 38-33 shootout in Knoxville. Score Prediction: Tennessee 27 – Florida 17.

ECU @ App State – Saturday, 9/16 (3:30 PM EST)
Pick: App State -9.5 (-110) (1 unit)

We’re digging deep into the trash barrel here and taking the App State Mountaineers -9.5 at home against the lousy East Carolina Pirates. App State nearly came away with an upset victory last week at UNC, where it took the Tarheels 2 OTs to take them down. App State showed their typical grit and resilience that we’ve come to appreciate from a non-power-five darling team. ECU is quite the opposite, they’ve looked like complete ass in both games this year. Michigan dismantled them allowing just 3 points, which came on a sad field goal with 5 seconds remaining in  a 30-3 loss. Then Marshall followed suit with 21 unanswered 4th quarter points to win 31-13. This team might be one of the worst teams in college football, and I’d expect them to look that same way on Saturday. 9.5 points is no small number but the Mountaineers may have this one in the bag by halftime. Score Prediction: App State 37 – ECU 17.

Disclaimer: SidehustlebetsMJQ.com is not an online gambling operator or a gambling site of any kind. Our insights about sports/sports betting are purely for entertainment purposes only.