NCAAF Week 3 Upset Report - BYU Takes Down Wisconsin

by Fairway Jay

A flurry of activity over the college football weekend was highlighted by major showdowns between ranked teams. LSU and Auburn put on a barn burner, as BYU launched there way to infamy by dethroning a usually sturdy Wisconsin team. Read on to find out more about what went down in the NCAAF Week 3 upset report!

TOP-5 TEAMS UNSCATHED No changes at the top of the college football rankings, as No.1 Alabama, No.2 Clemson and No.3 Georgia all rolled to easy victories by 30 or more points. Alabama’s win over SEC rival Ole Miss was a 62-7 romp, and the Crimson Tide became the first SEC team to score at least 50 points in its first three games. No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Oklahoma both scored non-covering, double-digit victories to complete the top 5 in the college rankings as all these teams avoided the consequences of suffering an NCAAF Week 3 upset.

AUBURN, WISCONSINS BOTH LOSE BIG GAMES No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 7 Auburn were wounded with setbacks in defeat. Wisconsin was shocked by BYU 24-21 in Madison, as the Badgers were a 23.5-point favorite. According to ESPN’s FPI, the Badgers had a 93.1% chance to win, but the home loss will cost them in their pursuit of being a college football playoff participant. Wisconsin is now a long shot even if the Badgers run the table. They're priced at +3300 to win the NCAAF Championship, but need a bevy of things to go their way.

In the marquee SEC match-up of the week, No.12 LSU kicked a last-second field goal to stun No. 7 Auburn, 22-21. Auburn was a 10-point home favorite, making this a major NCAAF Week 3 upset when you factor on the size of the betting line.

Two goal line turnovers forced by No. 8 Notre Dame’s defense helped the Irish escape at home over Vanderbilt, 22-17. Even though they lost Bryce Love to a minor, undisclosed injury, No. 9 Stanford won 30-10 in non-conference play. No. 10 Washington won at Utah 21-7 in the top PAC-12 game of the week. Utah took money opening as a 6.5-point home underdog, but Washington won and covered as a 4-point favorite at kickoff.

ARIZONA STATE STUNNED BY SAN DIEGO STATE The remaining top-25 results included oneNCAAF Week 3 upset, as No. 23 Arizona State managed just 36 rushing yards in a 28-21 loss at San Diego State, who smashed the Sun Devils with 311 rushing yards in a dominant point of attack display. The other key match-ups in the top-25 saw No. 24 Oklahoma State block two punts and return one for a touchdown to beat No. 17 Boise State 44-21. Texas took a little money as a 3-point favorite and used a blocked field goal return for touchdown to blowout USC in the second half of a 37-14 win in Austin.

OTHER NEWS AND NCAAF WEEK 3 UPSET GAMES No. 13 Virginia, Tech, No. 14 West Virginia and No. 18 Central Florida (UCF) had their Week 3 games cancelled due to Hurricane Florence.

Of the 52 lined FBS games on Saturday, 11 underdogs of 3 or more points won the game outright. Syracuse, Pittsburgh, UAB and San Diego State pulled off the home upsets of less than 6 points, while these underdogs were the biggest NCAAF Week 3 upset winners on the road.

BYU (+23.5) over Wisconsin 24-21 Akron (+21) over Northwestern 39-34 Temple (+16) over Maryland 35-14 Troy (+10.5) over Nebraska 24-19 LSU (+10) over Auburn 22-21 Duke (+6) over Baylor 40-27 North Texas (+6) over Arkansas 44-17