What a weekend for football fans and bettors. Week 3 of the 2025 college football season served up a handful of surprises that will ripple through the playoff race, while the Week 2 NFL slate featured the kind of swings that make Sundays so unpredictable. Some teams made statements, others fell flat and a few players turned in the type of performances that shift betting odds in a hurry. From Saturday’s chaos on campus to Sunday’s grind in the pros, let’s look at who was great…and who was not-so-great.
College Football Week 3: Great
Alabama Crimson Tide
I’ll continue banging the drum for Alabama, which feels odd considering I wasn’t that high on them heading into the year. I genuinely believe the Week 1 loss to Florida State had more to do with the Seminoles being awesome than anything else. Bama just blew the doors off Wisconsin, winning 38-14 as 21-point favorites at Bryant-Denny Stadium. And Ty Simpson went 24 for 29 for 382 yards and four touchdowns against a Badgers defense that was previously Top 5 in the nation in EPA per play allowed. This Ryan Grubb passing game suddenly looks potent, and we’re going to learn a lot when Bama takes on Georgia in Week 5. But I said it last week and I’ll say it again: Alabama to win the SEC looks pretty good at +550.
California Golden Bears
It might not amount to anything, but Cal is 3-0 and freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele looks like a star. The 19-year-old southpaw has Pro Football Focus’ 18th-highest passing grade (86.4), and he looks lethal picking opponents apart in Bryan Harsin’s offense. It’s a pretty significant development considering Cal is always sound defensively with Justin Wilcox at the helm. I wouldn’t go running to back the Golden Bears to win the ACC right now, as that seems like a tall order for a team that is somewhat lacking in talent. But you can make worse bets than Cal to make the ACC Championship Game at 17-1. Their toughest remaining games: at Louisville, vs. SMU.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech is now 3-0 after beating Clemson on an Aidan Birr 55-yard field goal as time expired. Now, only Miami is ahead of Tech when looking at odds to win the ACC. I’m still a little lower on this team than most, but the schedule will help the Yellow Jackets. Their toughest remaining conference games are road games against Duke and NC State, and they’ll feel good about their chances in both. It helps having an absolute freaking gamer like Haynes King at quarterback. We keep hearing that the dual-threat signal-caller is banged up, but that’s not slowing him down. He rushed 25 times for 103 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers, and his toughness is rubbing off on all of his teammates.
Miami Hurricanes (and Carson Beck)
You didn’t have to look hard to find South Florida backers last week, as the Bulls had earned wins over Boise State and Florida to start the season and were catching 17.5 against Miami. But the Hurricanes pummeled them at Hard Rock Stadium. Miami won 49-12 and continued to look the part of a College Football Playoff team. Carson Beck also moved to second on the oddsboard for the Heisman Trophy, as he threw for 340 yards with three touchdowns and added another on the ground. That said, Miami and Beck are looking great. But Beck’s relationship with Hanna Cavinder? Not-so-great.
Texas A&M Aggies (and Marcel Reed)
Mike Elko’s first season in College Station was a bit of a letdown, but the Aggies just moved to 3-0 with a road win over the Fighting Irish. Elko has been searching for a signature win with his new program and that might have been it. Texas A&M still sits behind Georgia, Texas, LSU and Alabama when looking at odds to win the SEC, but the Aggies are every bit as good as all of those teams and they’ll have their chances to prove that. Also, Marcel Reed threw for 360 yards with two touchdowns against Marcus Freeman’s defense, and he also delivered a bit of an early-season Heisman moment with a game-winning touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining. At 18-1, he represents the best value on the board in that market. Let’s just hope he can avoid a major injury, as he’s been getting beat up early on.
Tulane Green Wave
While South Florida lost to Miami last week, Tulane moved to 3-0 with a win over Duke — and familiar face Darian Mensah. That was a massive win for Jon Sumrall’s team, as the Green Wave are now in the conversation as the top Group of Five program. Of course, there’s a lot of season left, but you can grab Tulane to make the CFP at +450. It might be worth waiting a little, as Tulane will likely lose at Ole Miss this weekend. But things are looking good with Jake Retzlaff (from BYJew to Jewlane) running the offense.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Does anybody have the stones to take Vanderbilt to win the SEC? The Commodores are three weeks away from having to face Alabama in a revenge spot in Tuscaloosa, which feels problematic. Vandy will also host LSU two weeks later in what could be one of the biggest home games in program history. So, I’m not sure how good things are looking for Clark Lea’s squad moving forward. But right now? Things are going great. Vanderbilt just went into Williams-Brice Stadium and beat South Carolina by 24 points, and the team’s new AP ranking of 20 is the highest the team has been since 2008.
College Football Week 3: Not-So-Great
Arch Manning & DJ Lagway
Two hyped quarterbacks, two dud performances. Manning completed only 11 of his 25 passes for 114 yards against UTEP, and he finished with one passing touchdown and one pick. Fortunately for Manning, he did rush for 51 yards and two scores. Texas also won by 17 points. But the boo birds were out in Austin, where the fans are getting tired of waiting on Arch to become a Manning. Meanwhile, Lagway tossed five interceptions in a 20-10 loss to LSU, and fewer mistakes might have meant a big road win for the Gators. It’ll be interesting to see how the sophomore bounces back against Miami this weekend, as the Gators are 7.5-point underdogs and should be able to keep that tight. But right now, it’s looking like nobody is suffering more from Billy Napier’s presence than Lagway. The former five-star recruit, and No. 1 QB in the 2024 class, can probably use a change of scheme.
Clemson Tigers & Notre Dame Fighting Irish
When we released the VSiN CFB Betting Guide, Clemson was -200 to make the College Football Playoff and Notre Dame was -190. Well, Clemson just lost 24-21 to Georgia Tech to fall to 1-2, and Notre Dame lost 41-40 against Texas A&M to fall to 0-2. Hope isn’t completely lost for either team, as DraftKings Sportsbook has the Tigers at +350 to make the CFP and the Irish are only +160. But there isn’t much of a margin for error for either team moving forward, and I’m not sure either looks good enough to win out. I know a lot of people expect Notre Dame to do so, but road games against Arkansas and Pittsburgh could be challenging. And I’m not writing in home wins over NC State or USC with a Sharpie either.
Penn State Bettors
There shouldn’t be much to say about a meeting between Penn State and Villanova — unless it’s during the NCAA Tournament — but the Nittany Lions were 46.5-point favorites against the Wildcats on Saturday, and they had a 52-0 lead with four seconds remaining. Then, Villanova quarterback Tanner Maddocks rolled right and hit Brandon Binkowski for an eight-yard touchdown. Check it out yourself, as Binkowski came down with one of the best catches of the year. It was a brutal beat for anybody that took Penn State.
UCLA Bruins & Virginia Tech Hokies
“Not-so-great” is a very generous way to talk about UCLA and Virginia Tech. The Bruins just lost 35-10 in a home game against New Mexico, and the program decided to fire DeShaun Foster as UCLA moved to 0-3 on the year. The story was essentially the same with the Hokies, who lost 45-26 in a home game against Old Dominion and moved on from Brent Pry. Both programs are now in awful shape, and they desperately need to nail their next hires. However, there could be some against-the-spread potential with both moving forward. Neither team is completely devoid of talent, and better decision making at the top could mean more competitive games.
NFL Week 2: Great
Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts
The Colts probably shouldn’t be 2-0 right now, as they were bailed out by a dumb penalty on a missed kick to end the game. Then, Spencer Shrader got to move up 15 yards and won it for Indianapolis. But all that matters is winning the game, and Indianapolis has to be feeling good about things. Led by “Indiana Jones,” who has thrown for a league-best 588 yards and has five total touchdowns, the Colts are the first team in the Super Bowl era not to punt in either of their first two games in a season. They’re cooking at the moment, which is why they’re the new favorites (+150 at DraftKings) to win the AFC South.
Detroit Lions
The Lions don’t deserve too much love as they head into Week 3 with a 1-1 record, but they needed a big win after a poor Week 1 showing and they got it in a 52-21 win over the Bears. Jared Goff threw for 334 yards with five touchdowns, Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown and Amon-Ra St. Brown had nine catches for 115 yards and three scores. All in all, the offense looked unstoppable, which had to feel therapeutic after a full week in which people said this team was nothing without Ben Johnson. Oh, and the win also happened to come over Johnson. Great stuff.
Drake Maye
Every week, players are going to have massive games and I won’t be able to get to all of them. But Maye needs some love for what he did to the Dolphins. Week 1 was rough for New England, but Maye went into South Beach in Week 2 and completed 19 of his 23 passes for 230 yards with two touchdowns and no picks. He also added 31 rushing yards and another score on the ground. Maye was incredibly efficient as a pocket passer in the game, and he was awesome when he needed to make plays with his legs. It was a strong performance for the second-year pro, and it’s exactly what long-term Pats backers wanted to see.
Green Bay Packers
After a dominant 27-13 win over Detroit in Week 1, Green Bay earned a similarly straightforward 27-18 win over Washington on Thursday Night Football last week. So far, the Micah Parsons trade is paying big dividends for the Packers. They’re fifth in the NFL in EPA per play allowed (-0.091), and many are calling them the team to beat in the NFC. Of course, it’ll be nice to see how the team performs away from Lambeau Field, but Matt LaFleur appears to have himself a contender. Green Bay is down to +400 to win the NFC and +650 to win the Super Bowl. Thursday’s defensive performance was another beauty, and the Pack were so relentless that Jayden Daniels is now questionable for Week 3 with a knee injury.
Mac Jones
You can ride all day long, but you’ll never catch Mr. Jones. Filling in for an injured Brock Purdy, Jones torched the Saints to the tune of 279 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. He also finished the 26-21 victory with a Passer Rating of 113.1. Jones won’t be lighting everybody up this season, but it’s clear he has a decent command of the Kyle Shanahan offense. And, in some ways, it’s actually poetic. Shanahan was rumored to be hot for Jones in the 2021 NFL Draft. Now, the former Patriots quarterback is steering the ship in The Bay. And because of how steady the 27-year-old looked under center, you can’t write the 49ers off in the division — or the conference.
Overs
In Week 1, 12 of the 16 games that were played went Under the total. It was a big talking point on our network, along with many others. But you know what? Unders are overrated. In the 13 games that were played on Sunday, we saw 10 go Over the total. And realistically, that could be a sign of things to come. The new kickoff rules are leading to better starting field position, and kickers are drilling 50+ yarders like they’re chip-shots. Scoring should continue to be up.
NFL Week 2: Not-So-Great
Chicago Bears
After blowing a big lead against Minnesota in Week 1, Chicago went to Detroit and lost by 31 points. The Johnson era is off to a terrible start, as people are already calling for Caleb Williams’ job and the defense looks like a disaster. The Bears do have a decent get-right opportunity coming up, as they’ll host a Cowboys team that has a shaky offensive line and a miserable secondary. So, let’s see how that goes. But if Chicago ends up in this section again next week, Johnson is going to be under fire very, very early.
Cincinnati Bengals (Joe Burrow out three months)
The Bengals, who are known as slow starters under Zac Taylor, are 2-0 to start the 2025 season. However, things definitely aren’t great in Cincinnati. Joe Burrow injured his toe against Jacksonville on Sunday, and he’s going to miss three months as he recovers from surgery. The vibes are suddenly rather low with this Bengals team, as the defense is still below average and Jake Browning didn’t look great against the Jaguars. Cincinnati’s next four games are also incredibly tough: at Minnesota, at Denver, vs. Detroit, at Green Bay.
J.J. McCarthy (now out vs. Bengals in Week 3 with injured ankle)
Chicago’s Week 1 loss was bad when it happened, but it looked a lot worse after Minnesota’s Sunday Night Football meeting with Atlanta. McCarthy went 11 for 21 for 158 yards in the game, and he also threw no touchdowns and tossed two interceptions. McCarthy also happened to lose a fumble in the game. The 22-year-old just doesn’t look comfortable operating Kevin O’Connell’s offense right now. He’s taking a little too long to process things, and he’s not dealing with pressure well. All of that will have to change in order for the Vikings to live up to their potential.
Fortunately for McCarthy, help is on the way. Minnesota will eventually get Christian Darrisaw back at left tackle, and that should stabilize the line. Also, Jordan Addison returns from a three-game suspension soon, meaning the Vikings will have a good group of weapons for the young quarterback. But McCarthy did pick up an ankle sprain against the Falcons, and Adam Schefter is reporting he’ll miss 2-4 weeks. Let’s see if he gets Wally Pipped by Carson Wentz.
New York Jets
In Week 1, the Jets put up 32 points in a game they should have won against the Steelers. In that game, Justin Fields threw for 218 yards with a touchdown and added another 48 yards and two scores on the ground. New York also got 107 rushing yards out of Breece Hall, and Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. Everything looked crisp for the offense as a whole, and it actually led me to a play on offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand to win Assistant of the Year. Unfortunately, that might have just been a fluky performance, as the Jets were Jet-ing in Week 2. New York lost 30-10 against Buffalo and got outgained 403-154 in total yards. The Jets also saw Fields suffer a concussion, putting a massive damper on everything heading into Week 3.
