College Football Week 2 Picks

by DS Williamson

#12 USC heads north to battle #9 Stanford in the premier matchup for College Football Week 2. Check out odds, analysis, and predictions for this week’s best games!

Friday, Sep. 7

#16 TCU Horned Frogs -22 at SMU Mustangs Heading into the season, nobody knew how TCU’s offensive line might perform. The Horned Frogs O-Line paved the way for 235 rushing yards in TCU’s 55-7 Week 1 win over Southern. North Texas beat SMU 46-23 in Week 1. Horned Frogs should cover the -22 with ease. College Football Week 2 Pick: TCU -22.0

Saturday, Sep. 8

Arizona Wildcats +3.5 at Houston Cougars -3.5 BYU beat Arizona 28-23 in Week 1, but Arizona is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss. Houston is 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games after accumulating more than 280 yards passing in their previous game. Expecting a Houston regression, I see Arizona winning this SU. College Football Week 2 Pick: Arizona +3.5

Duke Blue Devils at Northwestern Wildcats -3 Duke quarterback Daniel Jones led the Blue Devils to a 41-17 win over Northwestern last season. Jones completed 72% of his passes in the 34-14 win over Army in Week 1. Duke is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games in September. Northwestern won’t stop Jones this season just like they couldn’t stop him last season. College Football Week 2 Pick: Duke +3.0

#18 Mississippi State Bulldogs -9 at Kansas State Wildcats In their first game, the Mississippi State Bulldogs showed no ill-effects from losing Dan Mullen as their coach. Miss State trounced Stephen F. Austin 63-6 to cover a massive -47.8 spread. Kansas State barely beat South Dakota State 27-24. Bulldogs should roll in what will be their first real test. College Football Week 2 Pick: Mississippi State -9.0

UCLA Bruins at #5 Oklahoma Sooners -30 The Chip Kelly era in Westwood got off to a bad start after Cincinnati went into the Rose Bowl and upset UCLA 26-17. Trends point to the bad times continuing for the Bruins in their Week 2 game against Oklahoma. The Sooners are 12-2 ATS in their last 14 home games while the Bruins are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 road games. College Football Week 2 Pick: Oklahoma -30.0

#3 Georgia Bulldogs -10 at #24 South Carolina Gamecocks Bettors slightly favor Georgia when the Bulldogs battle South Carolina on Saturday in what's always been a fantastic rivalry. Although Georgia beat South Carolina in last year’s game 24-10, they didn’t cover the spread. The trends point to Georgia not covering the spread again on Sep. 8 because they’re 3-7-1 ATS in the last 11 meetings. South Carolina’s offense has improved while Georgia’s defense had to replace 8 starters. I’m with South Carolina to upset Georgia on the moneyline. College Football Week 2 Pick: South Carolina +10.0

Iowa State Cyclones at Iowa Hawkeyes -4 By a large margin, most bettors believe Iowa easily covers the 4-point spread in their interstate rivalry game versus Iowa State. The trends point to an Iowa State victory, though. The Cyclones are 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 games overall and 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 road games while Iowa is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games following an ATS win. Iowa State’s the SU play. College Football Week 2 Pick: Iowa State +4.0

#2 Clemson Tigers -12.5 at Texas A&M Aggies Clemson doesn’t always cover spreads, but they’re a better team than Texas A&M. Plus, Texas A&M is in the SEC and Clemson is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 versus the SEC. Don't get suckered in by the big name behind the Aggies' program. Clemson is far superior and will show it in a marquee matchup. College Football Week 2 Pick: Clemson -12.5

#12 USC Trojans at #9 Stanford Cardinals -5.5 Both USC and Stanford battle each other after huge Week 1 victories. Trends point to a Stanford win and cover because USC is 1-5-1 ATS in their last 7 road games, 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games following an ATS loss, and 3-12-1 ATS in their last 16 games. But, USC freshman quarterback J.T. Daniels is special. He’ll keep USC in this one for the ATS win even though the Trojans will lose straight up. College Football Week 2 Pick: USC +5.5

#13 Michigan State Spartans -6 at Arizona State Sun Devils Sports bettors want the 6 points after watching Arizona State dominate Texas-San Antonio 49-7 and Michigan State struggling to a 38-31 win over Utah State in Week 1. From my perspective, Michigan State only need to make a few adjustments on defense to shut down Arizona State’s offense. I believe the Spartans easily win and cover on Saturday. College Football Week 2 Pick: MSU -6.0