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College Football Week 2 Odds, Picks & Predictions (2024)

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Gear up for another awesome weekend of college football action with BettingPros! We’ll have you covered with all of our top picks for the week along with our projected spreads and totals to help guide your college football bets. Below are our top picks and predictions for this week’s college football games.

Top College Football Odds & Picks: Week 2

Texas vs. Michigan

Michigan didn’t exactly give bettors a reason to feel good about them in last week’s win over Fresno State. The defense played well, but the offense was uninspiring. Texas, on the other hand, dominated poor Colorado State on both sides of the ball. However, Michigan deserves a little credit for being the defending national champions. Yes, many of the players and coaches who made that happen are gone, but the bones of that team remain. Bettors may want to temper their expectations for the Longhorns. It’s one thing to beat up Colorado State and something else entirely to beat Michigan by a touchdown at “The Big House.”

Pick: Michigan +7.5

-Travis Pulver

Arkansas vs. Oklahoma State

The Razorbacks got precisely what they needed from last week’s win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff: proof of concept. They got new quarterback Tayleen Green game reps with the No. 1 offense, which looked great with almost 700 yards of total offense on the day. It will certainly not be nearly as easy vs. Oklahoma State’s defense. But Arkansas will be more concerned with getting the Cowboys offense off the field. But with a running game led by the best running back in college football and a steady, veteran presence at quarterback, Oklahoma State may keep the Razorbacks offense on the sideline for much of the game. However, when they are on the field, Oklahoma State may struggle to contain Green, a solid dual-threat quarterback. This game will likely come down to who has the ball last.

Pick: Arkansas +9.5

-Travis Pulver

Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame

A letdown could be in store for the Fighting Irish, who are four-touchdown favorites after last week’s emotional, hard-fought road victory over Texas A&M. From a pure spot perspective, Northern Illinois is the play at anything over -27.5. The Huskies took care of business in their season opener, whomping Western Illinois 54-15. The Huskies are a relatively experienced group with eight starters back on each side of the ball. NIU is working in a new quarterback, but the offense runs through 1st-team All-MAC RB Antario Brown, who rushed for 69 yards on a light eight carries in the season opener. The Huskies as a team averaged 7.61 yards per rush against the Leathernecks, but will face a stiff upgrade in competition against an imposing Notre Dame defense. That being said, the Irish did allow Texas A&M to run for 146 yards (3.8 yards per carry), so there’s a path for NIU to at least move the ball a bit in South Bend. Meanwhile, an experienced NIU defense that allowed just 21 points per game in 2023 could be stingy against an Irish offense that only averaged 5.56 yards per play in the season opener. The gap in talent is sizable, and I’m not suggesting the Irish are on upset alert here. But with arguably their toughest game on the schedule now past them, Notre Dame can breathe a little easier as their path to the College Football Playoff just became much more feasible. And with a tricky road trip to Purdue on deck, Notre Dame could be looking ahead to next week. I’ll take the Huskies to keep this within four possessions.

Pick: Northern Illinois +28 

-Matt Barbato

Baylor vs. Utah

The Utah Utes will prepare to play their first Big 12 game since joining the conference. Utah isn't just another Big 12 team. Many analysts and projections believe Utah will win the Big 12 Championship this season. That's because Cam Rising is finally healthy and playing in his 7th season with the Utes. Rising looked lethal against Southern Utah in Week 1, adding five passing touchdowns on ten completions in a 49-0 win. The competition will get more challenging this weekend with a home game against Baylor. Baylor defeated Tarleton, 45-3, in their first season game. Transfer quarterback Dequann Finn made some mistakes, but the entire Big 12 knows just how dangerous he could be after the many MAC awards won with Toledo. At the same time, he's in a conference where he probably doesn't belong. Utah's defense is usually elite in the secondary and will force even more mistakes this week. Grab Utah -14.5 at home.

Pick: Utah -14.5

-Jason Radowitz

Iowa State vs. Iowa

The Iowa Hawkeyes scored 40 points in a football game last week! But let's not get carried away. It was against Illinois State, and the Hawkeyes still went into the half only up 6-0. Cade McNamara is easily Iowa’s best quarterback in a few years. But he still had ten incompletions and averaged only 8.1 yards per throw last week. That won't fly against Iowa State this weekend. The Cyclones held North Dakota to just three points in their first game. They held the quarterback of North Dakota to just 121 yards passing and baited him into an interception. Like many Iowa-Iowa State games, we're looking at another low-scoring tilt. Take the Under 35.5 (-115).

Pick: Under 35.5

-Jason Radowitz

California vs. Auburn

Get ready for this ACC-SEC matchup! Yup! If you don't remember, California left Pac-12 for the ACC. With that out of the way, Auburn might be something this season. Granted, Auburn played Alabama A&M but won that game 73-3. Payton Thorne averaged 15.3 yards per pass and threw for four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Auburn also averaged 9.8 yards per carry. They won't do this against high-level opponents, but this time of beatdown was encouraging from Auburn. They'll host California this weekend, who knocked off UC Davis 31-13 to start their season 1-0. If nothing else, California's secondary looked good, forcing UC Davis' quarterback into three interceptions and just a 50% completion percentage. However, Thorne and Auburn look much improved. I'll invest in the Tigers at -12 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Pick: Auburn -12

-Jason Radowitz

South Carolina vs. Kentucky

The Gamecocks were a mess in their season opener against Old Dominion. They won the game because of two touchdown drives that were fewer than 10 yards. If it weren’t for those two situations, they would have lost at home to the Sun Belt team. Kentucky didn’t have a tough opponent in Week 1, but at least they took care of business. They defeated Southern Miss 31-0 and held them to 131 yards of offense. The Gamecocks offense was putrid in Week 1, and they’re going to struggle again here. Don’t take the team total just in case they get a few timely turnovers. But even if things break their way, Kentucky covers the spread.

Pick: Kentucky -8.5

-Phil Wood

South Dakota vs. Wisconsin

Tyler Van Dyke wasn’t the answer for the Miami Hurricanes, and after his first start with the Badgers, he doesn’t look to be the answer for them either. He completed 21 of 36 passes for 192 yards as the Badgers hung on to defeat Western Michigan 28-14. They’re not going to have any trouble beating South Dakota this week, but their offense isn’t good enough to win this game by 21 points. The Coyotes will score at least once, which is all they will need to do against an offense that is unlikely to score more than 28 points more than once or twice this season.

Pick: South Dakota +21.5

-Phil Wood

USF vs. Alabama

The Kale DeBoer era started with a bang as Alabama easily routed Western Kentucky 63-0. DeBoer inherited a championship-caliber team that has a top-20 defense, but there's also Jalen Milroe, who will be in the Heisman conversation and started the season strong with three passing touchdowns and two more on the ground. There was a lot of positive for South Florida in Alex Golesh's first season as he took the team from 1-11 in 2022 to 7-6, the second-best turnaround in the FBS last year. The offense will drive that team, as they finished 32nd in points scored per game last season. It came through with a 48-3 win against Bethune-Cookman. The Tide are a different opponent, and while USF loves the RPO, Bama has a top-tier defensive line that can stop them, then add that they'll be able to push the ball against a Bulls' offense that was in the bottom 20 in points allowed last year.

Pick: Alabama -31

-John Supowitz

Buffalo vs. Missouri

Neither the Tigers nor the Bulls were challenged by their Week 1 opponents. The Tigers defeated the Murray State Racers 51-0, while the Bulls defeated the Lafayette Leopards 30-13. The Tigers are favored by 34.5 this week. Because we didn’t see either team face any type of challenge in Week 1, it’s hard to know exactly what either team is capable of. Therefore, we’re going to play the total. The Tigers will score plenty in this game, and we think that the Bulls will score at least 10 points, even if they’re going to struggle for most of the game. Don’t take the Tigers’ team total, as the number is set at 44.5. That’s a high number, and we think it’s more likely they win this game 42-14 than 45-0.

Pick: Over 52

-Phil Wood

Kansas vs. Illinois

On a weekend littered with intriguing interconference matchups, don’t look past this one between the Jayhawks and Illini. Both teams did exactly what they were supposed to in Week 1 by dominating far inferior opponents. And this rematch from a season ago in Lawrence could feature plenty of fireworks. The Kansas offense is plenty explosive led by dual-threat QB Jalon Daniels, who is one of the nation’s most electric players when he can stay on the field. However, questions remain about a Jayhawks defense that allowed 27 points per game and returns only six starters. The Illinois offense should be able to hang here. Quarterback Luke Altmyer completed 19-of-24 passes and four touchdowns in the opener against Eastern Illinois. However, Illinois’ defense could suffer after losing their top two players to the NFL. Last year’s game finished 34-23 in Kansas’ favor, and that was a game involving an Illini offense that wasn’t overly impressive. While I don’t have a play on a spread that’s sitting in the dead zone, I do like the over here.

Pick: Over 57.5

-Matt Barbato

Virginia vs. Wake Forest

The seat is uncomfortable and warm for Tony Elliott, as he's led Virginia to a 6-16 record in the last two seasons. They did play tough in some crucial games last year; they beat Duke and North Carolina and took Miami to overtime. This still doesn't project to be a great team with no position upgrades from last year, and they were 90th in points scored and 121st in points allowed. Longtime coach Dave Clawson had a lot of change last season, specifically in terms of offense. He lost quarterback Sam Hartman and top receiver A.T. Perry, both of which were key pieces that took them to an ACC Championship. They struggled on offense, so they brought in Hank Bachmeier, who had 3,000 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in a season with Boise State. The Demon Deacons have never had a defense, so both teams are in a good position to score and lead to the over.

Pick: Over 55.5

-John Supowitz

Tennessee vs. North Carolina State

The Volunteers got off to a scorching start to the season with their Week 1 69-3 win over FCS Chattanooga. Tennessee dominated both sides of the ball, putting up 718 yards of total offense while allowing just 227 on defense. They’ll get a much tougher test in the form of a North Carolina State team that has high expectations for the season. The Wolfpack received a bit of a scare in Week 1 as they needed a 21-0 fourth quarter in order to produce a 38-21 win against FCS Western Carolina. It took transfer QB Grayson McCall a while to get going, but he ended up with 318 yards in the air with three passing TDs. In addition, the Wolfpack put up 204 yards on the ground. These are both incredibly potent offenses, but last week’s results have skewed the perception of this NC State team. They have enough firepower to hang with Tennessee and keep this one within the spread.

Pick: North Carolina State +9

-Ryan Rodeman

Colorado vs. Nebraska

Colorado’s offense looked as explosive as ever last week in its win over North Dakota State., a perennial FCS championship contender. The defense still got shredded, but it made adjustments in the second half and held NDS to a pair of field goals. Nebraska may have a budding superstar in freshman quarterback Dylan Raiolo. He had a solid day against UTEP, going 19-27 for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He should have a career day vs. the Buffs secondary. Neither defense will probably slow down the other’s offense as both air it out for a wildly entertaining contest. Be sure to check if your favorite sportsbook has passing yards props and take the OVER for both. As for who will win-we’re rolling with Coach Prime.

Pick: Colorado +6.5 | Over 55.5

-Travis Pulver

Boise State vs. Oregon

This game was already intriguing, as Oregon is a favorite to win the Big Ten, while Boise State is a darling to qualify for the CFP as the top-ranked Group of Five team. But it got even more fascinating after Oregon sleepwalked in a 24-14 victory over… Idaho. The Ducks mustered only 2.87 yards per carry against the Vandals, while committing eight penalties for 60 yards. But Oregon still outgained Idaho by 270 yards and tripled them in first downs. The Ducks dominated, but untimely penalties and poor execution on third and fourth down led to a somewhat deceiving final score. Boise State, meanwhile, needed 267 yards and six touchdowns from stud running back Ashton Jeanty to get past Georgia Southern in a tricky season opener. While Oregon’s opening effort was uninspiring, the bigger takeaway from these two teams in Week 1 is that the Broncos defense could be a major liability. The Broncos allowed 461 yards against Georgia Southern, and will experience a much bigger jump in competition after playing 85 snaps in muggy road conditions. Oregon has concerns along the offensive line, but I expect last week’s underwhelming performance to serve as a wake-up call for Dan Lanning’s bunch. Take the Ducks to cover against a Boise State team that was also unimpressive making its second consecutive road trip.

Pick: Oregon -19

-Matt Barbato

Texas Tech vs. Washington State

It’s going to be a transition year for both of these teams. Washington State’s story has been rehashed ad nauseam but they were able to put all of that noise behind them with a 70-30 win over FCS Portland State. It was quite the performance for QB John Mateer who threw for 352 yards on only 17 attempts and 11 completions, five of which went for touchdowns. Texas Tech will be a tougher test for this Cougar offense, but how much tougher? The Red Raiders got their season started off with a win over Abilene Christian, but they needed overtime to do it. They were outgained 615 to 539 yards and they allowed almost 10 yards per attempt in the air on 51 attempts, all the while winning the turnover battle. There is plenty of reason to think this performance exposed some ugly truths about Texas Tech. This game feels like a mismatch and it will be the biggest game the Cougars play in front of their fans in Pullman in 2024. I like them to pull this one off.

Pick: Washington State -1 

-Ryan Rodeman

Liberty vs. New Mexico State

The Flames and Aggies met twice last season, including the Conference USA championship game in Lynchburg. Liberty won the regular-season battle 33-17 to cover a 9.5-point spread, and it won the title game 49-35, cashing as a 10-point fave. That was an Aggies team with QB Diego Pavia doing big things. He is now making magic for Vanderbilt, leading the ‘Dores to an upset of Virginia Tech over the weekend. NMSU snuck by FCS SE Missouri State 23-16 in the opener, failing to cover as 10-point favorites. The Aggies no longer have coach Jerry Kill, either, so NMSU is a shell of its former self. While the Ags rushed for 210 yards, it had just 60 passing yards, and it allowed the FCS team to go for 295 yards through the air. Not good. In addition, the Aggies O-line allowed three sacks, while NMSU didn’t get any. This should be a long day for the Aggies, as the Flames rolled up 279 rushing yards and 254 passing yards in their 41-24 win over FCS Campbell. Back Liberty to get it done by at least 30.

Pick: Liberty -22 

-Daniel Dobish

Mississippi State vs. Arizona State

Expectations are high for Mississippi State, so when Zach Arnett lost three straight, he was out in just his second season. In comes Jeff Lebby, who has put together high-powered offenses; he did that with Dillion Gabriel at Oklahoma and Matt Corral at Ole Miss. Now, he will try to mold Blake Shapen, who's come over from Baylor. Arizona State was sitting near the bottom of PAC-12 last year, but we can guarantee that won't happen because there will is no more PAC-12. The move to the Big-12 for Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils will be tough, as he will have five ranked conference opponents. Miss State will play up-tempo, and it will be on ASU to try and keep up; they also have to play physically on the line of scrimmage, which they don't have the advantage of over the Bulldogs.

Pick: Mississippi State +5.5

-John Supowitz

Western Michigan vs. Ohio State

Western Michigan put up a tremendous fight in Week 1 at Wisconsin. The Badgers faithful nervously did “Jump Around” heading into the fourth quarter, with Wisconsin leading just 13-7 as 24-point favorites. Western Michigan actually took a 14-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, before the Badgers scored twice late to win 28-14. The Broncos comfortably earned the cover, however. For Ohio State, it started off rather sluggishly. It fell behind midway through the first quarter to lowly Akron 3-0, and led just 10-3 late into the second. However, the second half was all Buckeyes, and they powered to a 52-6 win, aided by two defensive touchdowns. Still, Ohio State was unable to cover as giant favorites, which got as high as 50.5 points at one point. Western is a little bit better of a MAC opponent, although this game will be under the lights at Ohio Stadium, and that’s always special for the home side. The Broncos won’t win, or come close to it, but 38.5 points is an awful lot of points. Take the visitors.

Pick: Western Michigan +38.5

-Daniel Dobish

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