Week 3: Arizona vs North Dakota State 9/17/22 College Football Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Arizona Wildcats and North Dakota State Bison clash Saturday night in week 3 college football action at Arizona Stadium. The North Dakota State Bison look to build on their quick 2-0 record. The Arizona Wildcats look to get a game above a .500 record.

The North Dakota State Bison have won 6 of their last 9 road games. Cam Miller is completing 61.9 percent of his passes for 207 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Noah Gindorff and Zach Mathis have combined for 115 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, while Hunter Luepke has 2 receptions. The North Dakota State Bison ground game is averaging 211.5 yards per contest, and Luepke leads the way with 68 yards and 2 touchdowns. Defensively, North Dakota State is allowing 8.5 points and 204 yards per game. Logan Kopp leads the North Dakota State Bison with 11 tackles, Spencer Waege has 2 sacks and James Kaczor has 1 interception.

The Arizona Wildcats have lost 6 of their last 7 home games. Jayden de Laura is completing 56.3 percent of his passes for 519 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan have combined for 312 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, while Dorian Singer has 9 receptions. The Arizona Wildcats ground game is averaging 105 yards per contest, and DJ Williams leads the way with 98 yards and 1 touchdown. Defensively, Arizona is allowing 29.5 points and 329 yards per game. Jerry Roberts leads the Arizona Wildcats with 22 tackles, Jalen Harris has 1.5 sacks and Jaxen Turner has 1 interception.

The Bison are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 road games and 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games on grass. The Wildcats are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 non-conference games and 2-6 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The under is 15-7 in Bison last 22 games overall. The over is 3-1-1 in Wildcats last 5 games overall.

The North Dakota State Bison are the Alabama on the FCS side, and for some reason they don’t schedule quality FBS programs often. You’d have to go back to 2016 when the Bison upset Iowa for its last big matchup against FBS competition. There’s going to be motivation here, and the talent for North Dakota State is legit. With all that said, the Arizona Wildcats are a decent team in their own right, with playmakers on the outside and a quarterback who can lead the way if he can just trim down his mistakes. Arizona also has an underrated home field environment. Near pick em spot and North Dakota State has a legit chance here. I still give the slight edge to Arizona at home.