College Football BestBets: Week Two Betting Picks

As we concluded the first weekend of 2009 college football, several big storylines hit the airwaves (and racked us sportswriter's brains).

First of all, two words: Sam Bradford. Where did Oklahoma go?! Secondly, one word: BYU! The Cougars shocker has moved them into the top 10...but is that where they really belong?

Now move on to the fact that the Colonial Athletic Conference should be in the BCS, not the ACC! Both William & Mary and Richmond defeated ACC schools last Saturday, and a third CAA school, UMass, came very close to an upset of Kansas State!

But that was last week. This is...well, this week. And I'm back for another edition of my weekly spread betting picks for College Football Week Two.

As I mentioned in the previous article, all games are assigned points based on my confidence in the pick (200 to 10). Each week, there is also a "BestBet" game.

Last week, If you bet on every game I listed, you would have made 405 points in profit. So, even if you just bet $0.05 on every point, you still would have made over $20 in profit.

So, enough with the bragging. On to the picks. This week's edition (once again) features eight specifically picked-out games to bet on, along with several sentences of analysis and a point pick for each.

25 Points

@ Tennessee.....8.5........UCLA

UCLA may have had a down season last year, but I have an excellent feeling by looking at their breakdown that this could be a return year to the usual Bruins' 8-4 season.

Their opponent in this one will be Tennessee, who may be a decent bowl team as well, but the Vols have a coach who hasn't yet played a big game with this team and still has to win by nine to cover.

Pick: UCLA (+8.5)

25 Points

@ Middle Tennessee.....1......Memphis

Well, three of the first four teams I mention are from one state. Coincidence? Perhaps.

Anyhow, this is basically a neutral location, and Memphis is from a superior conference with a superior record and superior depth chart. I would give the edge easily to the Tigers here.

Pick: Memphis (+1)

50 Points

Kansas State.....7.5.......@ Louisiana-Lafayette

Alright, enough with Tennessee. Let's move a little west.

Frankly, I can't see a single reasonable explanation for this ridiculous spread. Just over a touchdown for a team from the second-best conference to win by against a below-average team from the Sun Belt and they cover.

Really, Vegas?! Go ahead, I'll give the points easily.

Pick: Kansas State (-7.5)

50 Points

@ Minnesota......4.......Air Force

I'll give it to the Gophers that they played a viable game last week and put forth a great effort for the win. Heck, I even watched a Minnesota non-bowl game for the first time in three years!

Still, Air Force may be from a lesser conference, but they are a underrated team year-in and year-out. This may be a Falcon's season, I it just doesn't seem reasonable for a sub-par team like the Golden Gophers here to be favored in this game.

Pick: Air Force (+4)

75 Points

Iowa.....6.5.....@ Iowa State

Now we are moving up the point totals, and the longer you read, the better this pick sounds.

First of all, I can understand why the spread is under a touchdown. First of all, Iowa already had one scare from a major-underdog in-state rival last week! Why can't they have another?!

However, I'm certain they won't. The Hawkeyes are a better team than we saw versus Northern Iowa. All they need is motivation, energy, and (most importantly) a major road game against their main rival to prove themselves.

Expect a double-digit win here.

Pick: Iowa (-6.5)

75 Points

Hawaii......2.......Washington State

Washington State was bad last year, and the're going to be even worse this year. As in, Washington bad. As in, Detroit Lions bad.

So, to be a less-than-a-field-goal underdog against a perennial bowl team that can make a stand for themselves is pretty insensible to me.

Believe me, this pick is Florida Gators good.

Pick: Hawaii (-2)

150 Points

TCU.......11.......@ Virginia

Okay, you may be sceptical (although probably not). So, lets break it down.

TCU is a fairly obvious pick for the top 25. They have one of the nation's best defenses, an up-and-coming offense, and are in title contention in a middle-of the line conference.

Virginia is a team that was bad last year, has a bad lineup, was expected to be bad, and turned out to be worse than bad. C'mon, a loss to William & Mary, at home, by 12 points, giving up eight turnovers to a below-average defense for the FCS?!

Get it?! Yeah, yeah, just give the points and reel the cash.

Pick: TCU (-11)

Weekly "BestBet"....200 points

@ Wake Forest......3.......Stanford

It seems very, very stupid of me to possibly think that perhaps someone might need an explanation for why this game gets the "Weekly BestBet title."

But lets take a look. Stanford may be on the rise, but they haven't been anything decent in 15 years at football and the highest win total since 2001 is five. Yes, five.

Wake Forest, on the other hand, has one three straight bowls out of a BCS conference, has a ready-to-explode QB in Riley Skinner (article picture), and gets the benefit of having this game at home. Yeah, sure, they lost to Baylor last week, but Baylor is an expected 7-5 or better team.

So, the Cardinal travel cross-country to a top-40 team with a great recent history...and the are a three-point underdog?!

Oh my, this could be embarrassing for the state of California...and southern Nevada.

Pick: Wake Forest (-3)

Note: These predictions and their corresponding point evaluations are based on my opinion alone. They are not required bets by any means, but on the other side, I am not responsible for any cash losses suffered by suggested bets that did not pay off. However, I am sincerely sorry for any incorrect suggested bets that I posted on this article.

However, please feel free to comment and tell us your opinions on our weekly picks.