Two of the best games of the week in college football are on Friday night. These are some bets to make for Friday’s Week 3 college football slate on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Friday Slate
UNLV (+9.5) vs. Kansas, o57.5
Kansas had one of the best offenses in the country over the last two seasons, but this offseason, their offensive coordinator, Andy Kotelnicki, left for Penn State. Kotelnicki had a positive effect on the Penn State offense right off the bat, and the loss of Kotelnicki showed for Kansas last week.
They scored just 17 points last week against Illinois, and quarterback Jalon Daniels threw for 141 yards and three interceptions. This Kansas offense doesn’t look the same without Kotelnicki running the show. These teams played each other in a bowl game last season, and Kansas scored 49 points.
UNLV brought in transfers this offseason to improve its defense, which held it back last season. That improvement has already been shown. They held Houston to just seven points in Week 1, and then Houston took Oklahoma to the wire in Week 2. That tells us a lot about where UNLV is and how it can contend with Power Four teams like Kansas.
UNLV is third in the country in rushing offense this season, and Kansas’ defense is 73rd in EPA/rush allowed. UNLV should be able to pick up big chunks on the ground and have that open up their explosive passing game.
Jalon Daniels likely won’t throw three interceptions again, so it should be a bounceback performance for the Kansas offense. This bowl game last year finished 49-36 Kansas. The game should look somewhat similar this year, but with UNLV’s defensive improvements, the teams should be closer, and both put up numbers in the 30s. UNLV should be able to stay within the number, and this game should go over the total with two explosive offenses.
Arizona (+7) vs. Kansas State
Arizona has one of the most electric offenses in football, as it showed in Week 1 when QB Noah Fifita threw for 422 yards, and 304 of them went to star WR Tetairoa McMillan. That is bad news for Kansas State, who showed major defensive frailties against Tulane last week. Tulane’s true freshman quarterback threw for 342 yards, and the running back ran for 128 yards. Kansas State couldn’t stop Tulane at all and was lucky to win that game. They will need to make some drastic improvements this week if they want to stop Arizona.
Kansas State was very optimistic about its team, led by young quarterback Avery Johnson, this season, but it hasn’t quite lived up to the billing. The defense was supposed to be a major strength, and it struggled mightily against Tulane.
Offensively, Johnson hasn’t been able to get going. This team has leaned heavily on its running game, and it’s struggled to create big plays. Another major issue for this team has been converting third downs, which can happen with an inexperienced quarterback. The Kansas State offense is 98th in the country in third-down conversion rate, at just 35%.
Kansas State should be able to move the ball some on the ground, but they will struggle to create explosive plays. On the other hand, Arizona should be able to move the ball efficiently through the air, which will, in turn, open up the ground game for their offense. This should be a high-scoring affair that could come down to who gets the ball last. That makes Arizona catching a full touchdown a great bet to make on Friday night.
Place your College Football bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is blakekrass) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
