College football schedule Week 2
Week 1 is in the books, so every team was able to get rid of the jitters and get out there between the lines to hit people that weren’t teammates. Some teams performed well and others did not, so we’ll see what Week 2 has in store, but there are some really interesting situational spots to think about.
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A quick reminder that these spots could be letdowns, lookaheads, bad travel, sandwiches, or revenge games. There are a lot of factors that come into play with the schedule. Some of them may matter and some of them may not. I would advise against making a bet solely on the backs of these spots, but consider them part of the handicap and see if they swing you one way or another.
Week 2 Hub | College football odds | College football betting splits
(Games sorted by Kickoff Time; odds as of September 6, 8:30 a.m. PT)
Nebraska Cornhuskers at Colorado Buffaloes (-3, 59.5)
Saturday, Noon ET
The Coach Prime era really started with a bang, as Colorado went on the road and beat TCU as a 21-point underdog. The Buffaloes celebrated and Deion Sanders talked about being disrespected and now everybody in the industry has made a huge adjustment going into Week 2. Colorado has taken a lot of one-sided betting action in what is definitely a bit of a letdown spot after such an historic moment for the program against the Horned Frogs. Whether or not that is nearly enough to step in front of the Buffaloes is an altogether different story, but Nebraska is on some extra rest and extra prep after playing on Thursday last week.
Utah Utes (-7.5, 47.5) at Baylor Bears
Saturday, Noon ET
It was a good weekend for Utah and a bad weekend for Baylor. The Utes were able to hold serve at home against Florida, despite the absence of QB Cam Rising. Baylor was not, as QB Blake Shapen got hurt and the Bears defense got hurt a lot by Texas State’s offense in a 42-31 loss. Baylor should be uber-motivated to erase the bad taste of that loss, but will have to do so with backup QB Sawyer Robertson in an 11 a.m. local time kickoff. As of Tuesday, we still didn’t know if Rising would play, but this is a tricky spot both ways, especially with a forecasted high temperature of 101 on Saturday.
James Madison Dukes (-6, 40.5) at Virginia Cavaliers
Saturday, Noon ET
I wouldn’t call this a Little Brother vs. Big Brother game with the hard times that have fallen on the Virginia program, but there are a lot of storylines in play here. This will be the first home game in Charlottesville since the tragic shooting last November that took the lives of three football players and wounded another. Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry were killed and Mike Hollins was wounded. He had three carries for -7 yards last week against Tennessee and a reception for two yards.
It will be an emotional day for the Dukes as well, as they get their first crack as an FBS team against an in-state, Power Five rival. They didn’t get UVA or Virginia Tech last season, but they will here and they are a favorite to take down the victory.
Southern Illinois Salukis at Northern Illinois Huskies (N/A)
Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET
We won’t have a line on this game until probably Friday, but this is a fascinating spot, as Northern Illinois comes off of the overtime win against Boston College to host a really solid FCS program in Southern Illinois. Southern Illinois beat Northwestern last season 31-24 in Evanston, so they’re certainly not going to be the least bit overwhelmed. I really think that we’re going to see a major scare for the Huskies.
New Mexico State Aggies at Liberty Flames (-10.5, 53.5)
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET
Liberty hosted this head-to-head meeting last season and got completely obliterated by New Mexico State in a 49-14 laugher. The Aggies were vying for bowl eligibility and the Flames had effectively quit on the season with Hugh Freeze two-thirds of the way out the door. That was on November 26, so it will have been less than a year since that embarrassing loss for Liberty. They’ll be out for revenge here against a NMSU team that has struggled through its first two games and has the long travel to Lynchburg, Virginia.
Texas Longhorns at Alabama Crimson Tide (-7.5, 54.5)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
Texas probably should have beaten Alabama last season in Austin. They’ll get another crack this season in Tuscaloosa. It will be the rematch game between the two teams here and Alabama is facing a number that they don’t usually see at home with the line at just 7.5. Instead of having Bryce Young, the Tide have Jalen Milroe and Texas has Quinn Ewers, whose injury in last year’s game completely changed the outcome. This is an enormous game with huge National Championship implications, as my colleague Zachary Cohen wrote about.
Memphis Tigers (-21.5, 58.5) at Arkansas State Red Wolves
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
Arkansas State wasn’t the only team to get embarrassed last week, but video of Butch Jones having a real hard time with how the game was going surfaced on social media. Memphis is going on the road as a 21.5-point favorite against the battered and bruised Red Wolves, but this is not a good spot for the Tigers. Memphis faces Navy in the conference opener on Thursday night. Prepping for the option is never easy, especially one that is modified for this season like Navy’s. I’d be a little bit worried about Memphis this week laying a big number against a team that lost 73-0 in Week 1 because I’m not sure they’ll be fully invested in that one.
