The 2025 College Football season rolls on with Thursday and Friday action to kick off Week 3. Welcome to our CFB Best Bets as we break down CFB picks for this week’s games. Let’s focus on two matchups for our top CFB predictions. Plus, check out more college football bets below.  

The Week 3 college football slate starts up on Thursday with NC State vs. Wake Forest. Plus, we have a handful of games on Friday to make some CFB picks for. Note that all bets below are for one unit unless otherwise noted. Without further ado, let’s dive into our CFB Best Bets. 

 

 

 

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Thursday, 9/11

Let’s kick off our Week 3 CFB Best Bets with a Thursday night conference showdown. Wake Forest hosts NC State in an ACC matchup to start the college football weekend. It’s an intriguing in-state rivalry game with the Wolfpack favored on the road.  

NC State vs. Wake Forest Prediction: Thursday, September 11th

Week 3 of the college football season gets underway with this ACC game. Both North Carolina State and Wake Forest are 2-0 to begin the season. However, the Wolfpack are much more battle-tested with impressive victories in two tough games under their belt. Conversely, Wake Forest has yet to face a competent opponent with a pair of soft matchups to start the year. 

NC State took care of a sneaky-tough Week 1 matchup against East Carolina, a bowl team from last year that went 8-5. Then the Wolfpack came back from a 10-point halftime deficit last week against Virginia to win, 35-31. It’s worth noting that both UVA and ECU won their Week 1 and Week 2 games, respectively, by a combined 104-10 scoreline. 

As for Wake Forest, it barely squeaked out a 10-9 win at home over Kennesaw State in its season opener. That same team then lost by 47 points to Indiana. In Week 2, the Demon Deacons blew out Western Carolina with a 42-10 win. It’s a good result, but it’s also not saying much since the FCS squad gave up 52 points to Gardner-Webb the game prior. 

With that in mind, the Wake Forest offense has yet to prove itself against a respectable defense. Despite his dual-threat skillset, transfer QB Robby Ashford remains unpolished as a passer. The Demon Deacons’ offense also lacks playmakers outside of running back Demond Claiborne. When he wasn’t much of a factor in Week 1, the offense managed just 10 points – against Kennesaw State, no less. 

The NC State defense was a liability last year, but the unit made strides to get better in the offseason with some key transfer additions on all three levels. Yes, the unit just looked vulnerable against Virginia. Yet, that was against a higher-powered offense than Wake Forest has to offer. Expect a bounce-back effort from the Wolfpack D in this spot. 

On the other side, NC State brings in a balanced offensive attack with a dual-threat QB of its own in CJ Bailey. Plus, RB Hollywood Smothers anchors a run game that racked up 216 yards on 6.2 yards per carry last week vs. UVA. The competition now ramps up for a Wake Forest defense that has yet to be tested by a decent offense. The Deacs allowed 32.5 PPG a year ago (114th in FBS) and could struggle again this year. 

Let’s back the road favorites for this Thursday night game. North Carolina State will have revenge on its mind after blowing a 10-point fourth-quarter lead last year at home against Wake Forest – and eventually losing. Plus, check out these trends. Wake was 0-6-1 against the spread (ATS) at home last year, including 0-4-1 ATS as a home underdog. NC State was 3-1 ATS on the road last season. 

 

 


CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Friday, 9/12

Time now to turn our attention to Friday’s slate for our Week 3 CFB Best Bets. Kansas State visits Arizona in an interesting matchup of Big 12 foes. Let’s make some CFB picks on a game that should be a tight one, based on the spread. 

Kansas State vs. Arizona Prediction: Friday, September 12th

Kansas State has been one of the bigger disappointments of the college football season. After losing at home to Army last week, the Wildcats are now 1-2 on the year. That includes the notable Week 0 loss in Ireland to Iowa State. Even their lone victory was a 3-point squeaker over North Dakota. 

The public and overall perception of Kansas State is clearly down right now. The ‘Cats are 0-3 ATS through three games while failing to live up to preseason expectations. Yet, this provides a prime opportunity to buy low on K-State ahead of Friday night’s matchup against Arizona. 

This is still a team that was ranked 17th in the AP Poll at the beginning of the season. Kansas State was the preseason betting favorite to win the Big 12, following a 9-4 campaign last year. Despite their slow start, the Wildcats still have College Football Playoff aspirations and are very much alive to win the conference. 

As for Arizona, its 2-0 start is a bit of fool’s gold. It won 40-6 at home against a Hawaii team with an injured starting QB. Then ‘Zona blew out FCS-level Weber State, which also lost 45-10 to James Madison. Those two easy matchups haven’t told us much about these Wildcats yet, and they simply haven’t been tested so far. 

More specifically, the Arizona defense remains unchallenged this season. The unit ranked 109th and 106th nationally last year in points and total yards allowed per game, respectively. It’s still unclear if the defense has improved, if at all, from one that was routinely gashed a season ago.

Kansas State, meanwhile, has the offensive firepower to exploit potential weaknesses in the Arizona defense. QB Avery Johnson is one of the top dual-threats in the country. He ran for 110 yards against ‘Zona last year en route to a 31-7 win. K-State could also get top running back Dylan Edwards back from injury for this game. 

On the other side, Arizona QB Noah Fifita makes his offense a dangerous one. However, the supporting cast is still unproven with stud WR Tetairoa McMillan now in the NFL. It’s also hard to ignore that the ‘Cats were held to only 7 points in last year’s matchup vs. Kansas State. 

 

 

 

Best CFB Prop Bets & Other Picks for Friday Week 3

 

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