College football Week 3 odds: Betting odds for most notable matchups

Opening odds for the most notable matchups of college football Week 3.

There are four betting matchups between Top 25 teams in Week 3 of the college football season, including a pair of early-season SEC showdowns that will help separate pretenders from contenders in the race for the conference title.

A battle of unbeaten Tigers will take place in Baton Rouge on Saturday when No. 13 LSU (1–0) hosts No. 18 Auburn (2–0), with the home team sitting as a consensus 7.5-point favorite after opening at -6.5.

Auburn is coming off a narrow 27–20 overtime win over Jacksonville State last week to stay undefeated, failing to cover the spread for the second straight game as a huge 39-point home favorite. The team got a touchdown in the final minute of regulation to tie it up at 20–20 and avoided what would have been one of the biggest upsets of all time.

Heisman Watch: Alabama's Derrick Henry leads pack after strong start

Meanwhile, LSU edged Mississippi State 21–19 but did not cover as 3.5-point road chalk last week. Auburn is 4–1 against the spread in the past five meetings with LSU according to the OddsShark College Football Database, but the school has lost three in a row both straight up and versus the line when playing conference opponents.

LSU is also 8–2 SU in its last 10 SEC games at home.

The other matchup pitting two Top 25 conference foes against each other will happen in Tuscaloosa on Saturday when No. 15 Ole Miss (2–0) visits No. 2 Alabama (2–0).

The Rebels are consensus 6.5-point road underdogs after opening at +8.5 and have dropped 10 of the past 11 meetings with the Crimson Tide. Alabama has won 29 consecutive games during the month of September and is 10–1 in its last 11 games dating back to last year.

The two remaining all-Top 25 games include No. 8 Notre Dame (2–0) hosting No. 14 Georgia Tech (2–0) and No. 19 BYU (2–0) visiting No. 10 UCLA on Saturday as well.

• STAPLES: Can the Big Ten send multiple teams to the playoff?

The Fighting Irish lost starting quarterback Malik Zaire to a season-ending ankle injury and are now 2.5-point home underdogs in South Bend after opening at -2.

Then at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, two freshmen quarterbacks will take center stage as Josh Rosen leads the Bruins as 16.5-point home favorites against the Cougars and Tanner Mangum, who threw a game-winning touchdown pass on a Hail Mary play for the second straight week to keep them perfect through the first two games.