The Week 2 college football schedule is usually one of my favorite weeks for betting because you get a lot of overreactions to what happened in Week 1. However, with the transfer portal and a lot of new faces trying to learn how to play together, it is difficult to know how teams will progress. We saw a lot of sloppy football this past week. We saw a lot of quarterbacks lead their teams in rushing yards because they simply had to get out and run to avoid pressure. How much can be fixed in a few days worth of practice?
Time will tell how these teams come together – or do the opposite – with each passing week. Unfortunately, if you want action on the games, you don’t really have time to be patient and let everybody iron out the kinks. The nice thing is that the sportsbooks are trying to figure everything out at the same time that we are, so there are sure to be some mispriced lines and spots where they’re going to get games wrong.
It’s up to us to find them. Some bettors have already found some of them on Sunday with the initial line moves that we saw across the market. Others will move significantly on Monday and Tuesday as groups, syndicates, and deep-pocketed, respected individuals get all of their numbers updated and enter the market. And, of course, we still have one game this week with TCU vs. North Carolina, previewed by my Senior Editor Zachary Cohen.
Check out the DraftKings College Football Betting Splits and Circa College Football Betting Splits to follow line moves all week long!
Week 2 College Football Odds Report
Lines as of Sunday, August 31 at 7:00 p.m. PT
Northern Illinois vs. Maryland (-16.5, 47.5)
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
A very lackluster debut from new OC Quinn Sanders and the NIU offense coupled with a very impressive showing from Maryland QB Malik Washington led to a couple of line moves for one of Friday’s two games. First, Maryland went from -14.5 to -16.5 based on the DraftKings opener. Maryland also got whacked on Circa’s -16 opener. We also saw this total tick down a half-point or a point, as the Huskies looked great on defense and objectively terrible on offense.
Northern Illinois-Maryland Matchup
Iowa vs. Iowa State (-3, 42.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
The Big Noon Kickoff this week isn’t quite Texas vs. Ohio State, but it is a rivalry game in Ames. Circa actually opened Iowa State -2 and got hit all the way up to -3.5 before either taking some resistance or simply feeling comfortable with that number. Most of the market was still holding -3 as of Sunday night. DraftKings opened -2.5 and got up to -3.5 before some Iowa buyback did hit the books at their shop. It is definitely interesting to see Circa willing to go up from the key number of 3 right away to try and get some nibbles. With Iowa State’s start to the season, I’d be stunned to see 2.5 anywhere and honestly think touching -4 is possible.
UConn vs. Syracuse (-7.5, 59.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
This game is low-key fascinating. Syracuse looked out-talented and overmatched by Tennessee last week in a neutral setting. They face a much more manageable opponent here in UConn, but this game means the world to UConn. The Huskies went 8-4 during the regular season last year and three of their losses were to ACC teams. They felt like they got jobbed against Wake Forest prior to the Syracuse loss and Jim Mora let the ACC know it about their officials. This is a chance at redemption against a Power Four program and early indications are that the Huskies are the sharp side with a move from as high as 9 to as low as 7.
Baylor vs. SMU (-3, 65.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
Another big-time noon game, as Baylor and SMU battle it out for Lone Star State bragging rights. SMU usually gets a crack at TCU, but this will be the first time they’ve faced the Bears since 2016. This has some semblance of a Little Brother vs. Big Brother game in that respect, and with Baylor’s four straight blowout wins, but it is SMU who made the College Football Playoff last season. Baylor laid an egg against Auburn, but the market seems to prefer them here with a move down from +4 to +3. Again, a game going to or coming off of a key number very early in the week is noteworthy.
UAB vs. Navy (-21.5, 58.5)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
It turns out that giving up a 40 burger to Alabama State is bad for market confidence. Even though UAB came back and won with a 50 burger of their own, nobody believes in Trent Dilfer’s dudes. Navy barely used Blake Horvath in their Week 1 thumping of VMI, so he’s plenty fresh and the backup looked great with seven carries for 180 yards. Navy’s got a more balanced attack now with Drew Cronic’s offense, which definitely gives bettors more confidence in their ability to cover big numbers. Normally it would be scary because they could have a 19-play, 10-minute drive, but that doesn’t seem to be a concern here.
West Virginia (-2.5, 59.5) vs. Ohio
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
People were betting on Rutgers against Ohio last week as if they knew the final score before the game began. As it turned out, Ohio only lost by a field goal while catching more than two touchdowns. This week, Ohio has gotten some early love, once again with a notable move around a key number. While Circa was still holding steady at -3 on Sunday night, other shops had already made a move down to 2.5. MAC teams usually get bet against pretty heavily in games against Power Four opponents. That’s why this one sounded alarm bells in my head.
Michigan vs. Oklahoma (-5.5, 46.5)
Embed from Getty ImagesSaturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
All aboard the John Mateer train! Many were intrigued by Oklahoma this season after drawing in the Washington State transfer. Michigan didn’t look overly convincing against New Mexico in Week 1, so that’s part of this line move, but there are also a lot of people that feel like the Sooners can fix their offense with Mateer and that longtime DC Brent Venables will get the other side of the ball figured out. This is a big one in Norman and we’ve seen Oklahoma go from -4.5 to -5.5 at DraftKings. Keep in mind that moving between 4 and 6 doesn’t necessarily mean a ton, and sportsbooks are far more willing to dance around those numbers than key numbers like 3 and 7.
UCLA (-2.5, 56.5) vs. UNLV
8 p.m. ET
After getting embarrassed at home by Utah, we see UCLA taking some early-week action against UNLV. UNLV looked terrible in Week 0 against Idaho State, but bounced back nicely on the road against Sam Houston State. I am always paying close attention to games where one team looked really bad the previous week, especially in something of a marquee game. Obviously bettors feel like the Utes’ win said more about them being really good than UCLA potentially being rather bad. We’ll see if this one hits 3 and, if it does, will it stay there?
Tulsa (-3.5, 53.5) at New Mexico State
Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
I talked about the Wyoming and Akron line move last week and also on the College Football Betting Podcast. When a team as bad as Akron is getting bet on by some influential people, you take notice. Tulsa is a bad team, but so is New Mexico State. In this game, Tulsa has grown to a bigger road favorite and because this is a low-handle game, the books had no issues blowing through the key number of 3. Remember, future handle is a big factor in how the lines move and how quickly they move. This is not a game that will carry a high handle and will probably not feature much support for New Mexico State.
Tulsa-New Mexico State Matchup
Keep an eye out for more line movements by tracking our VSiN College Football Betting Splits.
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