We are firmly entrenched in the 2024 college football season and now, Week 2 gives us a few more games worth looking at.
Last week, four of our six picks were with the underdogs. Overall, it was a great week! North Dakota State nearly took down Colorado. Akron, while getting smacked, still covered! Fresno State gave Michigan more than it expected and kept it closer than it probably should have been. Ohio only lost by 16!
We did drop the Oregon matchup, of course. The Ducks only beat Idaho (FCS) by 10. Not great.
The season thus far, we are back on top at 6-4. Let’s keep the momentum going.
College Football Week 2 Game Spread Best Bets
(3)Texas (-7,5) at (9)Michigan
Easily the game of the week, Michigan gets to face off against another CFP from a year ago, Texas. Oddly enough, it’s the first of two CFP teams to play Michigan with the Wolverines traveling to Washington on October 5.
Last week, Texas made quick work of Colorado State, led by a stout defense. The Longhorns pitched a shutout for the first time since that Red River beatdown on October 8, 2022. Quinn Ewers kicked off what looks to be a Heisman campaign with 260 yards and three touchdowns. While Arch Manning tossed a touchdown pass in Week 1, it’s a pretty good bet that his services won’t be needed in this one.
Michigan, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going against Fresno State. The Wolverines may have won by 20 but that was aided by a fourth-quarter pick-six, Defensively, Michigan is more than fine. Offensively, however, there are questions. Despite an offseason of hype, it doesn’t look like Donovan Edwards is RB1. And, at quarterback, Davis Warren only managed 118 yards and a touchdown off 25 attempts. He also threw an interception but Fresno State was not able to capitalize.
This game has a feeling of “the score makes it look closer than it actually was.” Texas’ offense vs. Michigan’s defense will be a matchup to watch. If the Wolverines can’t get a defensive score, however, Texas should be able to go into the Big House and get a big win.
Baylor (+14.5) at (11)Utah
One of the rare out-of-conference in-conference matchups this year (Arizona vs. Kansas State and Army vs. Navy the other two), Baylor travels to Utah to try and derail what looks to be a special season for the Utes.
Both Baylor and Utah easily dispatched United Athletic Conference foes from the FCS level last week. Dequan Finn’s debut was a successful one. The former Toledo signal-caller passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns while adding a 39-yard touchdown run to start the game. He did throw two interceptions, so that’ll be an area he needs to improve. Overall, the Bears outgained Tarleton State, 442-181.
Utah routinely dismantled Southern Utah, 49-0. Cam Rising, one of the elder statesmen of college football, completed just 10 passes on the night…but five were touchdowns. Speaking of old men, Bretn Kuithe hauled in three touchdowns on the day. Running back Dijon Stanley was a star for the Utes as well. He accounted for 34 yards on the ground off six rushes. Oh, and he hauled in three passes for 150 yards and two scores. Those were 64 and 79 yards.
This is going to be a solid matchup. Utah has what it takes to win the Big 12 and Baylor can surprise a team or two on its quest to get back to a bowl. The Utes win, but Baylor keeps it closer than Utah would like.
Iowa State at (21)Iowa (-2.5)
The Battle for the CyHawk Trophy is up next. After last year’s win, the Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 47-23 and have won eight of the last 10 matchups.
The Iowa State Cyclones come into this one after taking care of business against North Dakota, 21-3. Quarterback Rocco Becht was responsible for the scoring for Iowa State with two passing touchdowns and one on the ground. The ISU defense came up big in the second half. North Dakota had just four possessions and they ended with two punts (one three-and-out), an interception, and a missed field goal.
On the other side, Iowa’s defense should be able to deliver the win either way. Even if it was an FCS team, we may be seeing a better Iowa offense. Cade McNamara tossed three touchdowns and 251 yards in his first game back from injury. On the ground, which is where Iowa should be able to win this game, Kaleb Johnson scored twice and added 119 yards.
This is a rivalry game, so records and the like can go out the window. However, Iowa looks like the superior team and should win this one at home.
(14)Tennessee (-7.5) at (24)NC State
A couple of popular CFP at-large picks heading into the season, Tennessee travels to NC State in an early-season SEC-ACC showdown.
So, Nico Iamaleava might be pretty good. The young former five-star quarterback threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns. He was making throws the Volunteers haven’t seen in Knoxville in a long time. His top target was Dont’e Thompson, Jr., and his three-catch, 105-yard, two-touchdown day. At running back, Dylan Sampson had himself a game and added 124 yards and scored three times.
Meanwhile, NC State had a more interesting matchup than it anticipated with Western Carolina (FCS). At half, the game was tied, 14-14. Then, the Wolfpack scored 15 points on five second-half drives to pull away. Grayson McCall, Kevin Concepcion, and Jordan Waters had impressive days for NC State. Defensively, that 6.3 yards per carry stat could be concerning.
This could be a great game. Regardless, Tennessee should be able to win this one by at least eight points.
Appalachian State (+17.5) at (25)Clemson
Finally, we have one of the top Group of 5 programs against a Clemson team that is bordering on getting the Florida State treatment.
The Mountaineers were led by quarterback Joey Aguilar in a solid win over Eastern Tennessee State. He threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns in the win and added two more scores on the ground. Aguilar scored four of Appalachian State’s five scores on the day. In total, the offense amassed 500 yards.
Clemson was beaten into submission by Georgia last week. On the surface, that’s not a terrible thing. However, there have been beatdowns that looked better. Cade Klubnik only managed 142 yards and was held without a score while turning it over once. After getting on the board with a field goal, Clemson couldn’t get anything going. They punted twice, threw an interception, and turned it over on downs when it was too far gone. Meanwhile, the defense allowed four second-half touchdowns in five drives.
Clemson should still win this on talent alone. However, Appalachian State wasn’t as talented at Texas A&M last year but the Mountaineers still rolled into Kyle Field and left with a win.
