2011 College Football: Week 2 Betting Lines Released

Week 2 of the 2011 college football season starts Thursday night with the Arizona Wildcats traveling to face the Oklahoma State Cowboys inside Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

The kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 EST and will be nationally-televised on ESPN.

The first week of action saw two ranked teams fall to unranked opponents, as the No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped a 23-20 home contest against the South Florida Bulls, and the No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs were stunned in a thrilling 52-48 road loss to the Baylor Bears.

Let's take an early look at eight games that will capture plenty of betting interest now that the lines have been released.

Arizona Wildcats at No. 9 Oklahoma State Cowboys (-14.5)

Oklahoma State failed to cover as 38-point home favorites in a 61-34 win over Louisiana-Lafayette Saturday. 

The Cowboys captured a 38-10 bowl victory over the Arizona Wildcats to end the 2010 campaign—covering as 4.5-point favorites easily on a neutral field.

The Wildcats opened the 2011 season with a 41-10 home win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, as the level of competition rises in a quick turnaround week.

Oklahoma State is 2-2 ATS in its last four chances as a double-digit home favorite.

No. 21 Missouri Tigers at Arizona State Sun Devils (-6.5)

Missouri escaped with a 17-6 win over the Miami (OH) RedHawks as 19.5-point home favorites.

Arizona State failed to cover a large 37.5-point spread when hosting UC Davis Saturday night and will be looking to pull out an upset on ESPN Friday night.

The lines-makers wouldn't see it as an upset, which may trap bettors in taking the "better" team in terms of rankings.

Oregon State Beavers at No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers (-18)

Oregon State shockingly dropped a 29-28 home contest to non-FBS school Sacramento State Saturday, which will likely cause this line to climb throughout the week.

Wisconsin tailed an ultra-impressive 51-17 victory over the UNLV Rebels as 34-point home favorites in front of a national television audience Thursday.

Watch out for a Beavers bounce back.

No. 20 Mississippi State Bulldogs (-6) at No. 23 Auburn Tigers

Mississippi State tallied a second consecutive blowout to open a season against the Memphis Tigers, winning 59-14 as 30-point road favorites.

Auburn scored two touchdowns in the final minutes to escape with a 42-38 home win over Utah State, which leaves many wondering if the team will be flat coming out in its SEC opener.

The Tigers escaped Starksville with a 17-14 road win in last year's meeting.

No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (-10) at Penn State Nittany Lions

Both teams opened the 2011 season with easy home victories against lesser opponents, as Alabama crushed Kent State (48-7) and Penn State clobbered Indiana State (41-7).

The Crimson Tide won last year's meeting 24-3 in front of the fans in Tuscaloosa as 14.5-point favorites.

Lines-makers have dropped this year's line in respect of Beaver Stadium on a Saturday afternoon.

No. 12 South Carolina Gamecocks (-3) at No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs

Both teams didn't start the year off in great fashion, but one came away with a victory and one was handed a defeat.

South Carolina survived a 56-37 neutral field contest against East Carolina, as head coach Steve Spurrier removed surprising starter Connor Shaw and brought back Stephen Garcia in the nick of time.

Georgia was handed a 35-21 defeat by the Boise State Broncos inside the Georgia Dome.

Time to refocus—it's the SEC opener for both.

Utah Utes at No. 25 USC Trojans (-10.5)

The USC Trojans slipped past the Minnesota Golden Gophers 19-17 inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday.

Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin had the offense rolling in the first half—scoring 19 points—before being blanked in the final 30 minutes.

Utah was unimpressive in a 27-10 win over Montana State as 29.5-point home favorites, but word out of Salt Lake City is the team was looking dead ahead to its debut in the Pac-12 Conference.

The line screams to take the underdog. 

Danger.

No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-3.5) at Michigan Wolverines

The lines-maker is certainly aware that Notre Dame dominated South Florida statistically despite dropping a 23-20 season opener in South Bend as a double-digit favorite.

Michigan captured a rain-shortened 34-10 win over Western Michigan in Ann Arbor—giving first-year head coach Brady Hoke a win in his debut. 

Early thoughts are the Fighting Irish bounce back with the better defense.