Week 2 of the College Football season sees more out-of-conference matchups as Alabama travel to Austin to take on the Longhorns and Tennessee travel to Pitt among six of our previewed games.
Overall Record
Sam Overall: 10/18
Sam Moneyline: 4/6
Sam Spread: 3/6
Sam Over/Under: 3/6
Matt Overall: 5/6
Alabama(1) @ Texas – Saturday 10th September – 12pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Alabama
Spread: Alabama to cover
Over/Under: Under 61.5
There’ll be a raucous crowd in Austin and expect the Longhorns to come out fired up in the first quarter, but Alabama will assert themselves quickly in this game to minimise home-field advantage. Texas may get a touchdown and a field goal or two, but expect this Alabama team to have too much for them as Bryce Young and Will Anderson build upon their Week 1 dominance.
Matt’s Pick
Alabama to cover
Tennessee(24) @ Pittsburgh(17) – Saturday 10th September – 3:30pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Tennessee
Spread: Pitt to cover
Over/Under: Over 65.5
Despite being ranked 7 spots lower in the AP Poll than Pitt and heading out on the road, Tenneessee are still -6.5 favorites this Saturday. The key is how well the Pitt O-line can protect QB Kevon Slovis – they’ll need to vastly improve upon last weeks effort as the Vols will score points and quickly. Pitt covers, but loses in a tight shootout with the over hitting.
Matt’s Pick
Tennessee to cover
Iowa State @ Iowa – Saturday 10th September – 4:00pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Iowa State
Spread: Iowa State to cover
Over/Under: Over 39.5
Iowa head into this season’s El Assico only the way Iowa could. Last week their offense scored a whopping 3 points against San Diego State, with their defence outsourcing them through two safeties to take their total gameday points to 7 – and they still won. Not only that, they’re favorites to pip Iowa State this weekend. I’m probably being incredibly naive, but it’s not possible for the Iowa offense to be as poor as they were last week. For Iowa State, the key is keeping hold of the football – they turned the ball over 4 times in last season’s loss to Iowa who scored 20 points as a result of these. If the Cyclones can do that, it should be enough to take them past the Hawkeyes even playing on the road. The Over/Under is exceptionally low. Granted, these aren’t the offenses of Alabama or Ohio State, but I can still see both teams clearing the 20 point mark.
Matt’s Pick
Under 39.5
Kentucky(20) @ Florida(12) – Saturday 10th September – 7pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Florida
Spread: Florida to cover
Over/Under: Over 51.5
Florida and new Head Coach Billy Napier picked up a statement win in Week 1 against 7th ranked Utah. Whilst initial predictions were reserved prior to last week, in classic Florida fashion expectations have rocketed after their win over the Utes – which would make it all the more fitting that Florida actually lose this game. If RB Chris Rodriguez was a definite starter for Kentucky that would be my pic. But with Rodriguez still expected to miss 3-4 games to start the season, I’m backing the Gators to win and cover.
Matt’s Pick
Kentucky Moneyline
Arizona State @ Oklahoma State(11) – Saturday 10th September – 7:30pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Oklahoma State
Spread: Oklahoma State to cover
Over/Under: Over 58.5
Spencer Sanders and Oklahoma State will have too much for ASU transfer QB Emery Jones. The former Florida QB has always been a weapon running the ball, but questions remain over the passing game and they were evident last week. As we saw last week, the Cowboys defense do have a tendency to take their foot off the gas with a large lead, making the over very tempting.
Matt’s Pick
Over 58.5
Baylor(9) @ BYU(21) – Saturday September 10th – 10:15pm EST
Sam’s Picks
Moneyline: Baylor
Spread: Baylor to cover
Over/Under: Under 53
Whilst I expect this to be a much closer matchup than Baylor’s 14 point win over BYU in Waco last year, I’m still backing Dave Aranda and the Bears to have too much for this Cougar team. Whilst there’s a lack of experience in the skill positions, the lines on both sides of the ball are loaded and Dave Aranda knows his way around coaching up a secondary.
