College Football Picks Week 2
Week 0: -1.5 units
Week 1: -14.93 units
Week 1 got off to a nice start on Friday as Old Dominion beat Virginia Tech in the week’s only G5 over P5 upset. It was all downhill from there though as Saturday was an 0-6 bloodbath with North Texas, Texas State and Rice all nowhere close to covering. On to the next week.
New Mexico State @ UTEP (Saturday, 8 PM Central)
This is a big rivalry game as UTEP is much closer to New Mexico State than it is to any of the FBS schools in Texas. Unfortunately, the Miners just missed covering last week against Oklahoma and are off to an 0-2 start. However, I think they’ll rebound here as the gap between these two teams is absolutely massive. UTEP has a real quarterback and a few decent recruits on the roster, while New Mexico State has a washed up coach in Jerry Kill and an army of crappy junior college players. These teams were even years ago but UTEP has pulled way ahead.
UTEP -14 (3 units)
North Carolina @ Georgia State (Saturday, 11 AM Central)
North Carolina beat Appalachian State 63-61 last weekend in what was the clear best game of the weekend. The Tar Heels are going to put up points against people all year but DC Gene Chizik has his work cut out for him on the other end of the field. I was disappointed in Georgia State last week as they dropped a winnable game to South Carolina. However, I think they’ll be able to move the ball against UNC and should cover in another track meet.
Georgia State +7.5 -110 (2 units)
Georgia State ML +240 (1 unit)
Kansas @ West Virginia (Saturday, 5 PM Central)
Kansas made quick work of Tennessee Tech last weekend. That might not sound like much, but for a program that has lost as many FCS games as the Jayhawks in recent years, it is a big step up. It would be another big step up for them to knock off a conference opponent this weekend in West Virginia. The Mountaineers nearly beat Pitt in week 1 but some late interceptions from QB JT Daniels doomed them. As I noted in my season preview I think the gap between Kansas and the rest of the Big 12 has closed a bit and fancy their chances in this matchup.
Kansas +13 -110 (2 units)
Kansas ML +380 (1 unit)
Boise State @ New Mexico (Friday, 8 PM Central)
The standard at Boise State is extremely high, with conference titles and occasional BCS bowls the norm. Andy Avalos is in his second year as head coach and people are starting to ask questions of him as the Broncos went 7-5 last year and got blown out by Oregon State in week 1. I share some of these doubts, but this line is still a bit ridiculous. Boise is the most talented team in the Mountain West by a large margin and New Mexico might not even have a single 3 star on the roster. Even a Broncos team that is far from their past heights should take care of the Lobos.
Boise State -16.5 -110 (2 units)
Boston College @ Virginia Tech (Saturday, 7 PM Central)
This is going to be the rare case where I bet against a team one week and bet on them the next. Both of these teams were extreme disappointments in week 1, as Boston College lost as a big favorite to Rutgers and Virginia Tech lost to Old Dominion. The underlying fundamentals of Virginia Tech’s loss were pretty weird though, they had a botched field goal returned for a TD among other things. Boston College, meanwhile, just got straight up beat at home by a bad Rutgers team. I think this is an overreaction to Virginia Tech’s loss and think they bounce back here.
Virginia Tech -3 -110 (2 units)
Ohio @ Penn State (Saturday, 11 AM Central)
Ohio had their worst year in a decade in 2021 but looked much improved last week in a win over Florida Atlantic. Sean Clifford was up and down for Penn State agianst Purdue, throwing a backbreaking pick 6 before responding with a heroic TD drive. Penn State is around the 30th best team in the country, they’re healthy favorites here but Ohio is a plucky enough team that this line is around a touchdown too fat in favor of PSU.
Ohio +24.5 -110 (1 unit)
Kansas ML/Georgia State ML +1532 (0.2 units)