by We’re now onto Week 2, or should I say, “trap week,” in college football and your boy is hungry for some green check marks on the card. If you haven’t noticed, there are so many massive public sides on certain games this week, like Oregon and Colorado, due to the overreactions to Week 1 that I am shying away from a few marquee matchups. Either way, I’m feeling good about this slate and love my fav plays on the card. Put me in coach.
Vanderbilt at Wake Forest Under 57.5
Gross, right? 11 a.m. kickoff, two unproven quarterbacks, and a pair of teams that have combined for a 13-6-1 record in unders in their last 10. Getting my Saturday started off on a high note. STAMP IT! (1 unit)
Notre Dame -7 at NC State
The only heavy road favorite on upset alert that I like this week. While the Irish have proven very little with wins over Navy and Tennessee State, two things have become clearer: 1) the offense is improved, and 2) Sam Hartman just may be the answer. The former ACC record breaker has been near-perfect thus far (82.5 CMP %, 6 TD, 0 INT, 225 QBR) and he’s already seen this Wolfpack defense three times before in his career.
Aside from the Hartman love, I think the difference in this game will be Audric Estime and ND’s rushing attack behind that stout o-line. NC State is effective against the pass but gave up an average of 6.1 yards per carry against UCONN, which raises a red flag. In what will easily be the Irish’s toughest game of the young season, I think they finally have the right balanced attack to take an extra step in Marcus Freeman’s second full season at the helm. (1 unit)
UCF at Boise State Over 60.5
A sexy uniform matchup and two high-flying offenses. Dual-threat QB John Rhys Plumlee leads an explosive UCF offense that loves to go up-tempo and isn’t afraid to air it out; which was Boise State’s kryptonite in Week 1. The Broncos got throttled by a very good Washington team last Saturday, but still put up 402 total yards on offense and played a lot better than the score indicated. Boise also hit the over in 6 out of 8 games and averaged 34 PPG (opposed to 23 PPG on the road) on its blue turf last season. This game has the recipe for a shootout. (2 units)
Texas A&M at Miami (FL) +4.5
Two annually overhyped programs that have everything to lose and so much to prove. Both rosters are similar talent-wise, but I think this game comes down to who can outcoach who. I favor Cristobal, who is a grade-A recruiter and an established coach known to revive college programs (led FIU to its first two bowl appearances in school history in 2010-11 and Oregon to two Pac-12 titles in 2019-20). I think that Miami is an under-the-radar team right now and I love the Canes +4.5 and even ML. Sorry Jimbo, but it’s all about #TheU tomorrow afternoon. (2 units)
Temple +9.5 at Rutgers
My lock of the week. This was an ugly dogfight last season with Rutgers coming out on top 16-14 in Philly. Temple looked rough through the first 30 minutes against Akron last week before the defense decided to put on a clinic and shut out the Zips 14-0 in the second half. While the Scarlet Knights got an easy dub last Sunday, they failed to average more than four yards per play against a broken Northwestern team that hasn’t won a game on American soil since October of 2021. The Owls cover and I wouldn’t be surprised if they win outright. (3 units)
All odds are courtesy of Fanduel Sportsbook
