Fearless Freddie’s Football Forecast
Week 3 of the NFL season is here and things are already lurching into strange territory. The Buffalo Bills are 2-0 and have yet to play at home, while a trio of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks are suddenly sidelined in New Orleans and Pittsburgh with injuries and in The Big Apple with ineffective play.
The surging Bills grapple with the Cincinnati Bengals in Orchard Park Sunday and are favored to win. The New England Patriots are looming next week, so a little stumble could be in the offing.
Freddie sees it this way:
BILLS 24, Bengals 21
HOME teams are capitalized. Teams picked to win are listed first, followed by the expected margin of victory. The official Las Vegas odds are in parentheses.
COLLEGES
Friday
Utah +3 over. USC (+3.5)
Saturday
FLORIDA +17 over Tennessee (+14)
Oregon +6 over STANFORD (+8.5)
UCF +6 over PITTSBURGH (+10)
TEXAS +6 over Oklahoma St. (+7)
Auburn +3 over TEXAS A&M (-4)
WISCONSIN +5 over Michigan (+3)
GEORGIA +7 over Notre Dame (+12)
ALABAMA +42 over S. Miss. (+38)
LSU +20 over VANDERBILT (+22)
Cal +3 over MISSISSIPPI (+1.5)
THE OHIO ST. +41 over Miami +38
Washington +9 over BYU (+6.5)
TCU +7 over SMU (+9.5)
VIRGINIA +27 over Old Dominion (+30)
CLEMSON +47 over Charlotte (+41)
ARIZONA ST. +3 over Colorado (+7)
WASHINGTON ST. +8 over UCLA (+17)
WVU +7 over Kansas (+5)
Nebraska +10 over ILLINOIS (+13)
WEEK: 17-3 (.850) vs. line 9-11 (.450)
YEAR: 32-8 (.800) vs. line 16-24 (.400)
PROS
Thursday
Tennessee +3 over JACKSONVILLE (+1.5)
Sunday
BUFFALO +3 over Cincinnati (+6)
GREEN BAY +11 over Denver (+9)
KANSAS CITY +9 over Baltimore (+7.5)
NEW ENGLAND +18 over NY Jets (+22.5)
DALLAS +17 over Miami (+21.5)
PHILADELPHIA +6 over Detroit (+7.5)
Atlanta +3 over INDIANAPOLIS (even)
MINNESOTA +3 over Oakland (+9)
ARIZONA +3 over Carolina (off)
TAMPA BAY +10 over NY Giants (+7)
SAN FRANCISCO +6 over Pitt (+8)
SEATTLE +7 over New Orleans (+4.5)
LA CHARGERS +1 over Houston (+3)
LA Rams +7 over CLEVELAND (+2.5)
Monday
Chicago +3 over WASHINGTON (+4)
WEEK: 11-5 (.688) vs. line 12-4 (.750)
YEAR: 22-9-1 (.688) vs. line 22-10 (.688)