College Football Picks Week 2: Best Favorites to Bet Before Odds Change
The Colorado Buffaloes are the most buzzworthy program entering Week 2 of the college football season.
Deion Sanders' team stole the Week 1 headlines, as it won outright as a 20.5-point underdog against the TCU Horned Frogs.
The Buffaloes come into Week 2 in a different role as a slight home favorite against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Colorado and Nebraska produced two wildly different offensive performances in Week 1, and that has so many people jumping on to the Buffaloes bandwagon for another week.
Another new-look offense flew under the radar in Week 1, but it will be in the spotlight in Week 2, as the Texas A&M Aggies visit the Miami Hurricanes.
Last year's Texas A&M-Miami contest was sloppy to say the least, but A&M's new offense gives the game more potential this time around.
Nebraska at No. 22 Colorado (-3)
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Date and Time: Saturday, Noon ET, Fox
For the latest lines on these games, go to DraftKings.
Colorado is the clear favorite for its clash against Nebraska based on Week 1 performances.
The Buffaloes tore apart the TCU defense for 565 total yards, 510 of which came through the air via Shedeur Sanders.
Nebraska struggled to put up 10 points in a road loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Jeff Sims was intercepted on three occasions and completed just 14 passes.
Sanders' passing stat line should be exponentially higher than Sims' on Saturday, and that means the Huskers could be in for a long afternoon in Boulder.
Nebraska played strong defense in Matt Rhule's program debut, but Minnesota did not exactly offer much on offense.
Colorado features a massive step up in offensive talent for Nebraska to face, and no matter how disciplined the Huskers defense is, it will have trouble slowing down Sanders.
Nebraska can't be trusted anyway to pull off a road win given its turnover issues in late-game situations.
The mistake carryover from the Scott Frost era cost the Huskers a win in Week 1, and there is no guarantee that all of those mistakes will go away in Week 2 against a team with more talent.
Texas A&M (-3.5) at Miami
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Date and Time: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Texas A&M and Miami delivered one of last year's stinkers.
The Aggies beat the Hurricanes 17-9 in a game in which both teams combined to go 9-for-26 on third down.
The yardage totals from last year's game in College Station do not look terrible, but the execution was lacking on both ends.
A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher aimed to fix his team's season-long offensive issues by landing former Arkansas and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino as his offensive coordinator.
The move paid off in the Week 1 thumping of the New Mexico Lobos, as A&M put up 52 points and 411 total yards.
A&M's defense has never been the problem during Fisher's reign, and that is why the Aggies can be trusted in south Florida.
The Aggies held Miami to nine points last year and they can force Tyler Van Dyke into some bad throws and potentially a few turnovers.
Van Dyke has failed to live up to the hype at Miami. He had just 10 touchdown passes last season and he started the 2023 campaign with one passing throw and an interception against Miami (Ohio).
A&M seems to have an answer at quarterback with Connor Weigman, who had five touchdown passes last week. Look for senior wide receivers Moose Muhammad III and Ainias Smith to be Weigman's keys to victory.
Muhammad and Smith have played in countless tough environments in the SEC and they should help Weigman settle into a rhythm that hurts the Miami defense inside Hard Rock Stadium.
Illinois at Kansas (-3.5)
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Date and Time: Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
An Illinois-Kansas Friday night showdown does not sound too appetizing on paper, but when you look deeper into the matchup, it actually could be a ton of fun, especially if you bet on the favorite.
The Jayhawks get quarterback Jalon Daniels back for Friday's Big Ten-versus-Big 12 clash, per ESPN's Pete Thamel, and that should be enough to give them the victory and cover.
Kansas put up 521 total yards without Daniels against the FCS Missouri State Bears in Week 1, and its defense looked impressive by conceding just 74 yards on the ground.
Illinois struggled to put away the Toledo Rockets at home and it may deal with some more offensive troubles in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Fighting Illini have to replace two-time 1,000-yard gainer Chase Brown at running back. Quarterback Luke Altmyer was the team's leading rusher in Week 1 with 69 yards.
Kansas is expected to put plenty of pressure on Altmyer, and that could take away the dual-threat ability of the quarterback.
Illinois' defense was its calling card last season, but it failed to live up to expectations in Week 1 by allowing 416 total yards to Toledo.
Kansas can put up similar offensive numbers with Daniels under center. Even if Daniels can't play a few series, backup Jason Bean is a seasoned starter, so there should not be much of a drop off inside the Jayhawks offense to outplay Altmyer for four quarters.
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