Thor Nystrom’s College Football Power Rankings for Every Team: Week 3 (2023)
College football is finally back, and we have real games with real stakes (and real lines to bet on). A couple of months ago, I released my initial College Football Power Rankings. And now, we'll be updating them throughout the season. See below for my complete College Football Power Rankings for every single team ahead of Week 3.
Thor Nystrom's College Football Power Rankings: Week 3
| Rank | Team | ATL | Conference |
| 1 | Georgia | 50.2 | SEC |
| 2 | Michigan | 47.3 | B1G |
| 3 | Texas | 46.8 | B12 |
| 4 | Ohio St. | 46.4 | B1G |
| 5 | Florida St. | 45.9 | ACC |
| 6 | USC | 45.5 | P12 |
| 7 | Alabama | 45.2 | SEC |
| 8 | Penn St. | 44.9 | B1G |
| 9 | Notre Dame | 43.4 | IND |
| 10 | Oregon | 43.1 | P12 |
| 11 | Washington | 42.3 | P12 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | 42 | B12 |
| 13 | LSU | 41.5 | SEC |
| 14 | Ole Miss | 41 | SEC |
| 15 | Utah | 39.1 | P12 |
| 16 | Oregon St. | 38.4 | P12 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 38.2 | SEC |
| 18 | Kansas St. | 37.9 | B12 |
| 19 | Miami (FL) | 37.6 | ACC |
| 20 | Texas A&M | 36.6 | SEC |
| 21 | Clemson | 36.3 | ACC |
| 22 | Auburn | 35.2 | SEC |
| 23 | UCLA | 34.7 | P12 |
| 24 | North Carolina | 34 | ACC |
| 25 | Syracuse | 33.1 | ACC |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 32.9 | B1G |
| 27 | Iowa | 32.7 | B1G |
| 28 | UCF | 32.5 | B12 |
| 29 | Texas Tech | 32.4 | B12 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 32.2 | SEC |
| 31 | Arkansas | 31.8 | SEC |
| 32 | Mississippi St. | 31.7 | SEC |
| 33 | Duke | 31.3 | ACC |
| 34 | Florida | 30.9 | SEC |
| 35 | Maryland | 30.7 | B1G |
| 36 | Colorado | 30.4 | P12 |
| 37 | Washington St. | 30.2 | P12 |
| 38 | TCU | 30.1 | B12 |
| 39 | Cincinnati | 30 | B12 |
| 40 | Louisville | 29.7 | ACC |
| 41 | South Carolina | 29.4 | SEC |
| 42 | Kansas | 29 | B12 |
| 43 | California | 28.8 | P12 |
| 44 | Minnesota | 28.7 | B1G |
| 45 | Memphis | 28.6 | AAC |
| 46 | Pittsburgh | 28.5 | ACC |
| 47 | Missouri | 28.3 | SEC |
| 48 | Michigan St. | 28.1 | B1G |
| 49 | Baylor | 27.8 | B12 |
| 50 | SMU | 26.9 | AAC |
| 51 | Iowa St. | 26.6 | B12 |
| 52 | North Carolina St. | 26.4 | ACC |
| 53 | Wake Forest | 26.2 | ACC |
| 54 | Oklahoma St. | 26 | B12 |
| 55 | Toledo | 25.8 | MAC |
| 56 | Illinois | 25.7 | B1G |
| 57 | Tulane | 25.5 | AAC |
| 58 | Arizona | 25.3 | P12 |
| 59 | Purdue | 24.7 | B1G |
| 60 | Rutgers | 24.3 | B1G |
| 61 | Nebraska | 23.6 | B1G |
| 62 | West Virginia | 23.4 | B12 |
| 63 | Brigham Young | 23.2 | B12 |
| 64 | Boise St. | 23.1 | MWC |
| 65 | UTSA | 22.7 | AAC |
| 66 | Houston | 22 | B12 |
| 67 | Marshall | 21.2 | SBC |
| 68 | Georgia Tech | 21 | ACC |
| 69 | Western Kentucky | 20.6 | CUSA |
| 70 | Coastal Carolina | 20.3 | SBC |
| 71 | Appalachian St. | 20.2 | SBC |
| 72 | Air Force | 20 | MWC |
| 73 | Fresno St. | 19.9 | MWC |
| 74 | Virginia Tech | 19.7 | ACC |
| 75 | Indiana | 19.5 | B1G |
| 76 | Wyoming | 19.3 | MWC |
| 77 | Troy | 19.2 | SBC |
| 78 | South Alabama | 18.8 | SBC |
| 79 | James Madison | 18.6 | SBC |
| 80 | Georgia Southern | 17.8 | SBC |
| 81 | Liberty | 17.4 | CUSA |
| 82 | Vanderbilt | 17 | SEC |
| 83 | Florida Atlantic | 16.6 | AAC |
| 84 | Northwestern | 16.4 | B1G |
| 85 | Georgia St. | 16.2 | SBC |
| 86 | Texas St. | 16 | SBC |
| 87 | Arizona St. | 15.6 | P12 |
| 88 | Ohio | 15.3 | MAC |
| 89 | Rice | 15 | AAC |
| 90 | San Diego St. | 14.6 | MWC |
| 91 | San Jose St. | 14.5 | MWC |
| 92 | Louisiana | 14.2 | SBC |
| 93 | Army | 14 | IND |
| 94 | Stanford | 13.7 | P12 |
| 95 | Virginia | 13.2 | ACC |
| 96 | Boston College | 13 | ACC |
| 97 | UNLV | 12.9 | MWC |
| 98 | Utah St. | 12.7 | MWC |
| 99 | East Carolina | 12.6 | AAC |
| 100 | Miami (OH) | 12.5 | MAC |
| 101 | Northern Illinois | 12.4 | MAC |
| 102 | UAB | 12.3 | AAC |
| 103 | Tulsa | 12 | AAC |
| 104 | Southern Miss | 10.8 | SBC |
| 105 | Old Dominion | 10.2 | SBC |
| 106 | Middle Tennessee | 10 | CUSA |
| 107 | Temple | 9.6 | AAC |
| 108 | Navy | 9.5 | IND |
| 109 | Jacksonville St. | 9.4 | CUSA |
| 110 | Sam Houston | 9.2 | CUSA |
| 111 | South Florida | 9 | CUSA |
| 112 | Louisiana Tech | 8.9 | CUSA |
| 113 | Eastern Michigan | 8.8 | MAC |
| 114 | Charlotte | 8.3 | AAC |
| 115 | Buffalo | 7.9 | MAC |
| 116 | Connecticut | 7.5 | IND |
| 117 | Ball St. | 7.4 | MAC |
| 118 | UTEP | 7.2 | AAC |
| 119 | Bowling Green | 7.1 | MAC |
| 120 | Louisiana-Monroe | 7 | SBC |
| 121 | Hawai’i | 6.9 | MWC |
| 122 | Central Michigan | 6.7 | MAC |
| 123 | Akron | 6.6 | MAC |
| 124 | North Texas | 6.3 | AAC |
| 125 | Colorado St. | 6 | MWC |
| 126 | New Mexico | 5.6 | MWC |
| 127 | New Mexico St. | 5.2 | CUSA |
| 128 | Florida International | 4.8 | CUSA |
| 129 | Western Michigan | 4.7 | MAC |
| 130 | Massachusetts | 1.7 | IND |
| 131 | Nevada | 1 | MWC |
| 132 | Arkansas St. | 0.7 | SBC |
| 133 | Kent St. | 0 | MAC |
What is Betting Against the Spread?
Betting "against the spread" refers to the act of choosing the winning team based on a numeric handicap placed on the team that oddsmakers believe is superior, rather than picking the outright winner. For example, if the Rams face the Bengals, and oddsmakers set the spread at Rams -3.5, you would need Los Angeles to win by 4 or more points in order to cash your Rams bet.
What is an Over/Under Bet?
Over/Under is a wager based on how many points you think will be scored in a specific game. Oddsmakers set the total, and bettors decide whether the final score will be higher or lower than that number. If an Over/Under is set at 44.5 points and you bet Over, you will need the combined score of both teams to be 45 points or higher to win your bet.
What is a Moneyline Bet?
A moneyline bet involves choosing which team you believe will win a specific matchup. The moneyline favorite carries a minus designation, like -130. This means that you need to wager $130 to earn a $100 profit. Conversely, the underdog carries a plus designation, like +110. This means that you win $110 in profit on a $100 bet.
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