Now that we have one (or two, depending on if you count Week 0) weeks of college football behind us, we at least have some data on what these teams are going to look like throughout this season.
After taking the week to analyze, here are out best NCAAF Week 2 bets to lock in.
Texas vs. Michigan Under 42.5 (-110) FanDuel
Texas vs. Michigan, Sept 7, 12 p.m. ET
This is actually the first time since 2021 that Michigan is going to be a home underdog, and in that game, Michigan took down Ohio State. Obviously, this is an entirely different Michigan team with a new head coach, and instead of targeting anything on the spread, we are looking at the total, and a play on the under.
While the Michigan offense looks like it will be a mess the entire season, the opposite can be said of their defense, which is legitimately great. This total has moved a lot over the course of the week, as it opened at 45.5 but was quickly bet down to the 42.5 number you see now, which is where it seems to have stabilized.
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Looking into the matchup, it is easy to see the advantages that both defenses have in this game. Texas had the third-best rush defense in the nation last year, and while they did lose their top linebacker, Jaylan Ford, and star DTs Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat, they still have a ton of depth and talent on defense to trust that they will once again be a top unit in 2024.
The Michigan offense, meanwhile, really struggled to move the ball on the ground in the Wolverines’ Week 1 victory over Fresno State, as they only had three runs that went 10-plus yards, with two coming on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter.
If the Wolverines cannot get much going on the ground, then it is hard to see them doing enough through the air, as Michigan QB Davis Warren struggled in his first career start last week. He finished the game 15-for-25 for 118 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.
On the other side of the ball, the expectation is that the Michigan defense, especially playing at home, will be able to limit Texas. Michigan allowed the fewest touchdowns in all of college football last year (eight), and the Wolverines will likely have one of the nation’s best defenses in 2024 as well.
Tennessee Team Total Over 34.5 (-120) ESPNBet
Tennessee vs. NC State, Sept 7, 7:30 p.m. ET
Young Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava dazzled in his debut, and that is something that we are expecting to carry over into this week as well. To be fair, their opponent was not the highest of competition Chattanooga, but they still managed to go up 24-0 at the end of the first quarter, 45-0 at halftime and 55-3 after three quarters. The Vols gained a total of 718 yards as well.
Iamaleava completed 22-of-28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns, and he looked every bit the electric prospect that he was talked up to be. NC State will present a tougher test, but a test that he should be able to pass with flying colors.
This is an NC State team that gave up 286 yards of total offense to Western Carolina QB Cole Gonzalez last week, so if they are not able to shore up their defensive woes, they are going to be in for a long night against Iamaleava.
Elsewhere, Bru McVoy led the Volunteers in the receiving game last week with six receptions for 89 yards, but the majority of Tennessee’s work in Week 1 was done on the ground, as it ended the game with 304 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.
Overall, it is hard to see NC State being able to consistently get stops against this Tennessee offense, so the Vols’ team total is the way to go here.
Appalachian State +17.5 (-115) BetRivers
Appalachian State vs. Clemson, Sept 7, 8 p.m. ET
It is always hard to judge these situations when a team like Clemson, which got embarrassed by Georgia last week, faces a major step down in competition the following week. The same but opposite applies for App. State, which beat the pants off East Tennessee State 38-10, but now faces a step up in competition in Clemson.
Say what you want about Dabo Sweeney and his refusal to entertain the transfer portal, but there is no questioning the talent discrepancy between Clemson and ETSU.
All that being said, we are still on board the “fade Dabo” train for one more week. Now, to be clear, we are not saying that Clemson is going to lose this game outright, just that App. State should be able to keep this one within three scores.
While it will be night and day going from facing a Georgia team with elite athletes and 5-star recruits up and down the roster to Appalachian State, it is still tough to see Clemson putting up enough points on offense to cover this large spread.
To say the Tigers’ offense struggled in Week 1 is an understatement, as they were completely shut out at halftime and only managed to record 188 yards of total offense. The biggest concern with Clemson is QB Cade Klubnik, who has not quite looked ready to run a college offense.
Yes, Clemson will have an easier time against the Mountaineers, but the expectation should not be a 30-plus point explosion for this offense, while QB Joey Aguilar and the Mountaineers have the ability to keep this one somewhat close.
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