In Week 1, the SEC lost a pair of high-visibility games, but it had an overall strong showing. The conference went 14-2 overall with a 4-2 record against other power conference teams.
In Week 2, more major matchups await. Four SEC teams play other power conference teams and we get an early conference battle in Lexington. There should once again be a robust market for DFS players.
Week 2 DFS predictions
Below are 3 DFS picks from the Week 2 college football slate that can all be found on Underdog Fantasy. If you’re new to Underdog, grab Saturday Down South‘s exclusive Underdog Fantasy promo code that will help you earn $50 in bonus credits when you enter your first $5 contest!
Texas QB Arch Manning lower than 276.5 passing yards
The good news for Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian is that no one else this season will be able to do what Ohio State just did. No other team has a player like Caleb Downs. And Matt Patricia’s NFL experience can’t be understated when it comes to defending quarterbacks. The switch from Ohio State to San Jose State will give quarterback Arch Manning whiplash.
Manning completed just 17 of his 30 pass attempts for 170 yards with a touchdown and a pick in his debut last weekend. The hype train feverishly emptied as each sidearmed pass flew off target. Manning looked uncomfortable for long stretches, not at all like the player we saw in spot starts throughout 2024.
I expect that guy to return in Week 2 against the Spartans. Against UTSA last season, Manning totaled 223 passing yards and 4 scores from 12 throws. Against Louisiana-Monroe, he threw for 258 yards. Against Mississippi State, he threw for 325 yards. Those defenses are much more comparable to the one he’ll now face. San Jose State ranked 80th in EPA per dropback faced last year. In its 2025 opener, Central Michigan performed in the 75th percentile for EPA per dropback and the 85th percentile for yards per dropback against the SJSU defense, according to Game on Paper.
Manning threw 29 times in his start against ULM and 31 times in his start against Mississippi State last season. He threw 30 passes in the opener this year. Texas should be able to run on this Spartan defense, stay in standard downs, and give Manning plenty of opportunities to throw from advantageous spots. But that will also mean he’ll likely be in that 24-30 attempt range. And it could be less if Texas runs away with the game and turns the fourth quarter into garbage time. A smaller number would have been nice here; Manning has 1 career game with more than 260 passing yards.
Mizzou RB Ahmad Hardy higher than 80.5 rushing yards
Kansas did this last season, too. The Jayhawks opened the 2024 campaign with a pair of standout performances stopping the run. They gave up 2.8 yards per carry to FCS Lindenwood in a 48-3 win and then held Illinois to 2.3 yards per carry in Champaign in a Week 2 loss. Over the next 4 games, Kansas gave up 789 rushing yards at 4.9 a carry.
The Jayhawks have opened the 2025 campaign by giving up just 90 combined rushing yards on 57 carries through their first 2 games. Fresno State’s leading rusher had 34 yards in a 7-point effort. Wagner’s leading rusher had 25 yards in a 7-point effort. Kansas has been exceptional at limiting the opposition’s opportunities, with its first 2 opponents averaging just 53 snaps. Mizzou got off 69 snaps in its opener, running 38 times for 219 yards.
Kansas’s defense just hasn’t been tested yet, so it’s hard to know how real these first 2 performances are. Fresno State looked like a completely different team in Week 1 than it did in its Week 0 loss. While we could say the same of Mizzou — how much can one learn about the offense against Central Arkansas — tailback Ahmad Hardy is reliable.
He has at least 80 rushing yards in 9 of his last 10 outings. Hardy runs like a man who knows the defense isn’t quick enough to touch him. One cut, boom. Only 2 FBS runners forced more missed tackles last season, and both those guys are now on NFL rosters. And for all Kansas’s success stopping the run through its first 2 games, the Jayhawks’ tackling grade from PFF is 103rd out of 134 FBS teams.
Oklahoma QB John Mateer lower than 232.5 passing yards
I’m expecting a defensive-minded fight in Oklahoma’s Week 2 matchup with Michigan. New Mexico threw on the Wolverines 48 times in Week 1 and gained just 217 yards (4.5 per pass). That was the seventh time in the last 8 games in which Michigan held the opposing quarterback under 225 passing yards. Michigan did wonderfully in Week 1 to limit the explosives, and that’s what OU’s offense lived off of in its opener against Illinois State.
Since taking over as a starter, quarterback John Mateer has 5 games over 300 yards passing and 4 games under 200 yards passing. In games against power conference teams, he has a 49% completion rate with 2 touchdowns, 2 picks, and a 6.8 yards-per-pass average. Mateer has been excellent against sub-par teams, but he hasn’t yet seen a defense like Michigan’s at any point in his career. It’s fair to ask how he’ll look against the Wolverines. This was the question all offseason, after all. How would his game scale? This is a preview for SEC play.
Oklahoma also needs to help him. The Sooners cannot be one-dimensional, as they were in Week 1, and hope to find offensive success against Michigan. They gained 107 yards on the ground against an FCS defense and averaged 3.5 yards per carry, adjusted for sacks. Jaydn Ott, the big-name transfer get from Cal, ran 1 time for a 3-yard loss. Wideout Deion Burks had a 12-yard run that helped the average. If Oklahoma isn’t getting much from its ground game, everything falls on Mateer. He might have to do more as a runner in this game.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
