After a rock-solid Week 1 slate of games spoiled college football fans from sun-up to sundown last Saturday, the Week 2 schedule is relatively mid in comparison. But fear not, football fans, there’s still plenty of available action to be had this weekend.
Last week, 3 of the 4 legs of our parlay hit, but any seasoned gambler knows that this does us absolutely no good. Actually, scratch that… seasoned gamblers don’t make a habit of making conference specific parlay bets, but I’ve never claimed to be a”‘seasoned gambler.” Alabama‘s no-show in Tallahassee prevented us from winning any money, and it likely prevented Kalen DeBoer from getting one single good night of sleep over the last 7 days, but frankly, I say he deserves the sleep deprivation for keeping a bunch of money out of our respective pockets last Saturday.
So we’re down one unit for the year, but a long season is ahead. Let’s make some money now, shall we?
All betting lines courtesy of BetMGM.
Leg 1: Kentucky +9.5 (-115) over Ole Miss
In a strange twist, I’m actually rolling with Kentucky after going against the Wildcats last week as they hosted Toledo in a non-conference season opener. Toledo covered the spread and for a minute there last Saturday afternoon, I was convinced I was about to make an absolute killing on this college football season. Then Alabama happened, but we don’t need to rehash that again here.
One week later, here I am backing the Wildcats against an Ole Miss squad that’s ranked, more talented, and coming off of a resounding 56-point win — yes, it was in a glorified tune-up game against Georgia State, but still. Perhaps it’s because such there was such a talent drain from the 2024 team, or maybe I’m just spooked by the fact that Ole Miss was my preseason national championship pick last year, but that all went down the drain when Kentucky came to Oxford and stunned the Rebels by the final score of 20-17.
I’m not quite ready to say that Kentucky is going to score a second-straight outright win against Ole Miss, but with the home crowd behind it in Lexington, I do think this game is played within a 10-point range.
Leg 2: Virginia Tech -2.5 (-105) over Vanderbilt
That’s right, I went against Virginia Tech last week, too, and now, I’m backing the Hokies against a second-consecutive SEC opponent. Last Sunday, Virginia Tech gave South Carolina, a team I believe is a legitimate title sleeper this year, all it could handle on a neutral field.
I know Diego Pavia is expected to capture some of that same magic for Vanderbilt this year as he did last year, and I don’t doubt that at some point this season he’ll put a scare in another top 25 conference opponent if not defeat them outright, just as the Commodores did to the Crimson Tide last season. However, this week as the Hokies make their season debut at Lane Stadium, I’m predicting that Virginia Tech will do what they couldn’t do last year in their season opener… defeat Vanderbilt.
Leg 3: Arizona State -6.5 (-110) over Mississippi State
Mississippi State has lost 11 of its last 12 games versus ranked opponents, so you don’t need me to tell you that the Bulldogs are at a significant disadvantage here. However, there are potentially 3 things working in Mississippi State’s favor heading in Saturday night:
1. All 12 of these games were versus SEC opponents.
2. The last time the Bulldogs played a ranked nonconference opponent was in 2020, when they defeated 22nd-ranked Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl.
3. Last year, these 2 teams hooked up early in the season — almost a year ago to the day — and the Sun Devils only emerged with a 7-point victory in Tempe.
However, that result in the desert last September against Arizona State is a bit deceiving. The Sun Devils led 30-3 halfway through the 3rd quarter before taking their foot off the gas pedal and giving up 20 points unanswered to end the game, still covering pre-game betting line of, you guessed it, 6.5 points.
I don’t see Kenny Dillingham’s squad squandering a big lead like that once again, but even if they do, I still think the Sun Devils win by at least 7 points here.
Legs 4 & 5: Oklahoma -4.5 (-115) over Michigan and Over 44.5 (-115) in Oklahoma/Michigan
The only matchup of the week between ranked opponents pits two prestigious programs with filthy rich histories against one another in a primetime battle that will go a long way in determining conference supremacy in the suddenly very interesting head-to-head showdown between the SEC and Big Ten.
Oklahoma and Michigan’s one and only meeting came 50 years ago in the Orange Bowl, and a 14-6 win gave the Sooners their fifth national title. An 8-point victory doesn’t sound too far off from what I’m expecting on Saturday night in Norman, but there should be plenty more points than the 20 scored in that highly anticipated postseason showdown.
John Mateer’s debut at Oklahoma was about as impressive as you’d expect with the Sooners hosting Illinois State last week. The Washington State transfer will likely put up Heisman-caliber numbers this season, it’s just a matter of if Oklahoma wins enough games to keep him in the conversation. Michigan will provide a solid early season test, and there’s a quarterback on the opposite sideline who will be interested in snatching that primetime spotlight from Mateer. Bryce Underwood certainly looked the part of a 5-star prospect and Michigan’s Gatorade Player of the Year in his first career start for the Wolverines, a 34-17 win over New Mexico.
The Sooners and Wolverines both boast solid defenses, but I don’t think a 28-20 final here is out of the question. In fact, I’ll go on record and say that’s exactly what we’ll be getting.
Total Odds: +2269
