If you followed my CFB Week 1 picks, you should be sitting pretty at 5-2. It would have been better had Ohio State not hit the spread perfectly and messed up my three-team parlay (App State -9 + NCSU -18 + OSU -14 which ended up pushing).
Either way, week 2 of college football is about to get underway and I must say, there is not a lot of excitement. It was like the CFB schedulers blew their load in week 1 and gave us a few decent matchups to keep us entertained this week.
It should be outlawed for teams like Alabama and Georgia to play schools like Mercer and UAB. I mean I get it; the schools are showing up to get paid a few million and take an ass whooping, but come on. Who is going to want to go to or watch that game?
Either way, here are my week 2 picks:
Oregon vs Ohio State (Ohio State -14.5, o/u64): Ohio State did not start off well against Minnesota and came back to score just enough points to push my bet and screw up my parlay, reason #1,325 that I despise The Ohio State University (reason #1 being their obnoxious fans). It took until the 2nd half for young, CJ Stroud to get comfortable behind center for Buckeyes; however, he was able to bring them back to win the game.
The biggest question mark for Oregon is going to be whether Kayvon Thibodeaux’s ankle will be healed enough for him to go this weekend. He is one of the critical success factors that could make it a long day for the rookie QB. Oregon’s defense went from suffocating to nonexistent as soon as Thibodeaux left the game which subsequently let Fresno State make a comeback.
Gambling Prediction – Oregon+14.5: Winning by 3 scores is not easy, especially against a ranked opponent. With as unimpressive as Ohio State started against Minnesota, I like the Ducks to at least cover the spread. Final score: Ohio State 42 – Oregon 31
Pittsburgh vs. Tennessee (Pitt -3, o/u 56.5): Neither team played anyone credible last week with Pitt playing UMass and UT playing Bowling Green. The only key takeaway anyone could have from either game is Tennessee’s QB, Joe Milton, completing less than 50% of his passes against a weak defense. While Tennessee can run the ball, Pitt is coming off of a season where they had one of the best rush defenses in the country. Basically, Pitt will stop the rushing game and force Tennessee to beat them in the air. It will all come down to if Milton can hit a pass this week or not.
Gambling Prediction – Pitt -3: Again, this is a bit of a wild card so do not bet heavy on it. This was just to add some action to my card because the majority of this week’s games are snoozers. As I said, it will be up to QB Joe Milton to have to beat Pitt’s defense through the air. Final Score: Pitt 24 – Tennessee 17
Buffalo vs. Nebraska (Nebraska -13.5, o/u 54.5: I do not have much to say on this game, but Nebraska looked embarrassingly bad against Illinois and Scott Frost is coaching to save his job. Buffalo destroyed a nobody in Wagner last week 69 (nice) – 7. Buffalo does have a high scoring offense; however, usually does not play too many noteworthy opponents. This is their Super Bowl while this is going to be Nebraska trying to put out its dumpster fire.
Gambling Prediction – Buffalo +13.5: I think Nebraska is bad enough to not only blow the spread, but to also potentially blow this game. For fun, I am also going to sprinkle a little cash on the Buffalo Bulls ML as well as the odds are ridiculously high. Final Score: Buffalo 35 – Nebraska 31
Iowa vs. Iowa State (Iowa State -4.5, o/u 46): I am not going to lie to you fine readers and pretend like I know or care anything about either team. The only reason I am including this game is because College Gameday will be there and it is one of a few halfway decent games this week.
Apparently, Iowa State’s offense was a disaster in week 1 and only scored 16 points against Northern Iowa. All the Gameday crew would talk about is how good Iowa State’s QB Brock Purdy is along with a few other offensive weapons.
Similarly enough, Iowa looked just as unimpressive in their victory over Indiana. If you take away the 2 pick-sixes Iowa scored, the game was not the domination that a 34-6 final leads you to believe.
Gambling Prediction – Iowa +4.5: Iowa is 45-22 in this rivalry and have won the last 4 games played in Ames (20-8 in Ames lifetime). As mentioned, I am not big on this game; however, I do think the numbers favor Iowa
Appalachian State vs. Miami (Miami -9, o/u 54.5): Miami got absolutely destroyed last week. As many analysts say, the game was over as soon as Saban brought the Alabama boys off the bus. It was ugly. It was embarrassing. It was the definition of an ass beating. A 44-13 score doesn’t show the true domination Alabama displayed against Miami. That game could have easily been 88-3 if Saban wanted it to be.
App State is a powerhouse amongst the Group of Five teams and doesn’t get enough of the national spotlight each season. This being said, does anyone recall what they did to Michigan back in 2007? It would not surprise me to see them pull it off again in 2021.
Gambling Prediction – App State +9: If you are bold and feeling a bit feisty as well, for +280, throw a bit on App State ML as well. I think Miami is going to be licking their wounds from the ass beating they just took and will overlook App to focus on Michigan State who comes to town the following week. Final Score: App State 31 – Miami 28
NC State vs Mississippi State (NCSU -2.5, o/u 55.5): NC State beat the living daylights out of a very bad USF with a final score of 45-0. While the defensive backs looked great against a terrible team who used 3 different QB’s in the first half, it will be a whole different ball game against Mike Leach’s air raid style offense. The secondary was often the question last season for the Wolfpack; however, with the majority of those players returning and having another season under their belt, they hopefully will be able to withstand the passing game.
Will Rogers and the MSU offense might be highflying, the MSU defense has proven itself to be subpar over the years. Rogers completed 39 of his 47 pass attempts for 370 yards while the defense gave us 268 yards in the air and another 101 in rushing. The bulldogs barely squeaked out a win against Louisiana Tech in a 35-34 game. Either Louisiana Tech is a lot better than most give them credit for or Mississippi State better step it up if they want to pull off a W against the Wolfpack.
Gambling Picks – NCSU -2.5 & O55.5: I think this will boil down to whether or not the defensive backs for the Wolfpack can make enough stops and create turnovers to hold off the air raid from Leach. If Louisiana Tech can put up 34 points, I believe NC State should be able to do so as well. I do not foresee the MSU defense being able to stop much. Final Score: NCSU 45 – MSU 38