College football Week 2 best bets
Every Thursday during the college football season, theScore's sports betting writers will release their best bets for the week. Each member has been given a fictitious $1,000 bankroll to manage throughout the season. If you decide to follow any of the picks, please gamble responsibly.
Alex Kolodziej ($1,023)
Season Record: 2-1, +$23
BYU at Tennessee
Line: Tennessee -3
I really, really love this spot for Tennessee on Saturday. Yes, the Volunteers are coming off an outright loss to Georgia State on their home turf, but I think they’ll be more motivated than a BYU team having to play its first road game off an absolute beating by archrival Utah last week. Only one team is going to get up for this game, and I think it’ll be a rout.
Pick: Tennessee -3 ($40)
Syracuse at Maryland
Total: 56
My lone betting takeaway from Week 1 was that the offensive play-calling was horrendous. Perhaps it was nerves or rust, but there were so many timid offenses to open the season, and Syracuse was one of them. Quarterback Tommy DeVito is going to need some time in the Orange's offense to develop, but Dino Babers is still putting the pedal to the metal with his tempo. This game could be filled with fireworks for two offenses that can stretch the field and get out of their comfort zones. My line projection for this game is way off, so if the defenses want to step up again - they both pitched shutouts in Week 1 - I'll tip my cap.
Pick: Over 56 ($40)
Southern Mississippi at Mississippi State
Total: 53
I think Louisiana putting up 28 on an SEC defense says more about the experienced Ragin' Cajuns offense than it does for Mississippi State's defense. This is a much, much easier test for the Bulldogs, who match up with a Southern Miss offense that had a difficult time moving the ball on Alcorn State in the opener. Southern Miss' defense is no slouch, either, as the Golden Eagles were rated as a Top-30 unit heading into the season by S&P+. I think this one has slog written all over it. Take the under.
Pick: Under 53 ($40)
C Jackson Cowart ($995)
Season Record: 1-2, -$5
UCF at Florida Atlantic
Line: UCF -10
The Knights beat Florida A&M by 62 points last week - that's not a typo - and are incentivized to pile up blowout margins to impress the playoff committee. Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic is coming off a 24-point loss to Ohio State that could have been worse had the Buckeyes not eased up after dropping 28 first-quarter points.
UCF might not be Ohio State, but the Knights are a blistering 17-7-2 ATS (70.8%) overall and 7-2 ATS (77.8%) on the road since 2017, covering by an average of 8.78 points in those nine away games. The Owls looked hapless in Week 1 and won't sneak up on UCF like they did early in last year's 56-36 loss. Lay the points in a likely blowout.
Pick: UCF -10 ($75)
Alex Moretto ($896)
Season Record: 0-2, -$104
Eastern Michigan at Kentucky
Line: Kentucky -15
Last week wasn’t great. Admittedly, it was a lot worse for JT Daniels so I’ll limit my griping, but his devastating injury at the end of the first half helped Fresno State to a backdoor cover and sealed my Week 1 fate. Speaking of quarterback injuries, Toledo senior Mitchell Guadagni went down in their loss at Kentucky last week with the Wildcats on the ropes, allowing them to survive a legitimate scare.
The late cover helped Kentucky end an 0-10 run ATS as a home favorite and pulled them to 2-8 ATS when laying double digits under head coach Mark Stoops. They won’t get so lucky this time around against an Eastern Michigan team led by senior dual-threat quarterback Mike Glass III. The Eagles are on a 13-1 run ATS as a road dog, and that’s not stopping here. Eastern Michigan will cash as an underdog and has a legitimate shot to win the game outright.
Pick: Eastern Michigan +15 ($70), Eastern Michigan ML ($10 to win $48)
Eastern Kentucky at Louisville
Line: Louisville -22.5
Some of the value has been sapped here with the line dropping from a -27 open, but it’s not all gone. Louisville is coming off a hard-fought cover against Notre Dame on Monday night, and the short turnaround to this contest puts the Cardinals in a tough spot.
Louisville quarterback Jawon Pass looked comfortable in Scott Satterfield’s new offense, but there’s still work to do. Eastern Kentucky will be eager to prove itself in this in-state rivalry, and it's going up against a revamped offense that will take time to hit its stride. The Colonels have covered seven straight as a road dog, while Louisville is on a 4-12 run ATS as a favorite.
Pick: Eastern Kentucky +22.5 ($20)
Thomas Casale ($891)
Season Record: 0-2, -$109
Old Dominion at Virginia Tech
Line: Virginia Tech -28.5
It's a big-time revenge spot for Virginia Tech after losing 49-35 at home to 29-point underdog Old Dominion last year. We have the exact same situation this week but expect a different result. The Hokies dropped their opener to Boston College thanks to five turnovers. Meanwhile, ODU needed a late touchdown to get past FCS foe Norfolk State, 24-21 despite being a 27-point favorite. The Monarchs are one of the least experienced teams in the nation and now they travel to Blacksburg to face an angry Virginia Tech squad. Hokies head coach Justin Fuente may be on the hot seat but he's 7-1 ATS in non-conference games when laying more than five points. Virginia Tech rolls.
Pick: Virginia Tech -28.5 ($50)
Nebraska at Colorado
Total: 65
Are you a fan of offense? Knock on wood if you're with me. As I watched Colorado attempt to play defense in its 52-31 Week 1 win over rival Colorado State, visions of Nebraska QB Adrian Martinez running wild over them danced in my head. The Buffaloes allowed over 500 yards of total offense and 27 first downs in their opener and now face a much more dangerous Nebraska offense.
The Cornhuskers looked anything but formidable in their sluggish 35-21 win over lowly South Alabama, but they played vanilla on offense. Expect Scott Frost and Nebraska to unload the entire offensive arsenal this week against a Colorado team that can put up points now that stud receiver Laviska Shenault is healthy again. There will be points aplenty in the Rocky Mountains on Saturday.
Pick: Over 65 ($50)
Syracuse at Maryland
Line: Maryland -2
The line in this game has moved five points. Syracuse opened as a 3-point favorite, but money came in on Maryland, pushing the Terrapins to -2.
My number has Syracuse -3 as the right line, so I'm jumping on value here. The Orange were one of the most undervalued teams heading into the season. Dino Babers is a great recruiter and Syracuse now has athletes on both sides of the ball. That was evident in its 24-0 Week 1 win over Liberty where the defense completely dominated, recording eight sacks.
Maryland thrashed Howard in its opener, 79-0, but it's still the same team that was projected to win four games before the season. The line movement is the result of some early-season overreaction. Babers is 19-9-1 ATS on the road in his career, including 6-0-1 ATS when coming off a double-digit win. Give me the better coach and team on the road plus the points.
Pick: Syracuse +2 ($50)