College Football Betting Odds Week 2: Picks Against the Spread for Top 25 Schedule
September 6, 2024College Football Betting Odds Week 2: Picks Against the Spread for Top 25 Schedule
The Texas Longhorns and Michigan Wolverines have a chance to assert their positions in the College Football Playoff hierarchy in Week 2's marquee game.
Texas made headlines last September with a road win over Alabama. It is in a similar spot on Saturday with its trip to Ann Arbor.
Michigan arguably has more to prove because there are more unknowns about how it will perform in 2024 after so much turnover.
Texas holds the edge at quarterback with Quinn Ewers, but a pretty convincing case could be made for Michigan solely based on its defense.
The only other Top 25 matchup on Saturday comes from Charlotte, where Nico Iamaleava gets his first true test as Tennessee Volunteers quarterback against the NC State Wolfpack.
Week 2 Top 25 Schedule and Odds
Saturday, September 7
No. 3 Texas (-7) at No. 10 Michigan (Noon ET, Fox)
Bowling Green at No. 8 Penn State (-35) (Noon ET, BTN)
Arkansas at No. 16 Oklahoma State (-7.5) (Noon ET, ABC)
No. 17 Kansas State (-9) at Tulane (Noon ET, ESPN)
No. 23 Georgia Tech (-3) at Syracuse (Noon ET, ACC Network)
Tennessee Tech at No. 1 Georgia (-54.5) (2 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Northern Illinois at No. 5 Notre Dame (-28) (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC)
Baylor at No. 11 Utah (-15) (3:30 p.m. ET, Fox)
Iowa State at No. 21 Iowa (-3) (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS)
Jacksonville State at No. 22 Louisville (-29) (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Middle Tennessee at No. 6 Ole Miss (-43) (4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Florida A&M at No. 12 Miami (6 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
South Florida at No. 4 Alabama (-31) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Buffalo at No. 9 Missouri (-34.5) (7 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
No. 19 Kansas (-5) at Illinois (7 p.m. ET, FS1)
Western Michigan at No. 2 Ohio State (-37.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 14 Tennessee (-10) vs. No. 24 NC State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
Nicholls at No. 18 LSU (-50.5) (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Houston at No. 15 Oklahoma (-28) (7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
Appalachian State at No. 25 Clemson (-16.5) (8 p.m. ET, ACC Network)
Boise State at No. 7 Oregon (-21) (10 p.m. ET, Peacock)
Northern Arizona at No. 20 Arizona (-43) (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+)
Utah State at No. 13 USC (-28.5) (11 p.m. ET, BTN)
No. 3 Texas (-7) at No. 10 Michigan
Texas' win last season over Alabama and near victory over the Crimson Tide two years ago proved it could play with the best programs in the sport.
The Longhorns need to bank on that experience, especially Quinn Ewers, to handle the environment inside the Big House.
Michigan will try to make the game nasty with its defensive performance. The Wolverines still have one of the best defenses in the country, but they are still figuring out the offense in the post-Jim Harbaugh era.
Michigan's identity has not changed. The Wolverines are still going to rely on their rushing attack and then ask for a few big throws out of their quarterback Davis Warren.
However, Warren is an unproven commodity in a big game, especially compared to Ewers and his three years of starting experience.
Ewers needs to play mistake-free football against the tough Michigan defense, and if he does that, the Longhorns should have enough firepower to earn their first big win of the season.
Michigan can win this game if it holds Texas under 20 points and puts together a few long possessions on offense that wear down the Longhorns defense.
The Wolverines can certainly pull off the upset, but based on Texas' nonconference history with Ewers, it may be hard for them to keep up with the Longhorns.
No. 14 Tennessee (-10) vs. No. 24 Nc State
Everyone wants to see what Nico Iamaleava can do against a power-four opponent in a regular-season game.
The Tennessee quarterback broke out in last year's Citrus Bowl against Iowa, but bowl games can be hard to judge young players' talents because of the amount of roster turnover in those games.
Iamaleava shined in his first regular-season start in Week 1, as he threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns against Chattanooga.
That performance did enough to ignite Iamaleava's Heisman Trophy hype train, and if he puts up those numbers against NC State, he could move to the front of the award discussion.
NC State struggled in its opener against Western Carolina. That was cause for concern that the Grayson McCall era would not be as fruitful as expected.
The Coastal Carolina transfer carries plenty of big-game experience with him, but NC State may lack overall firepower in the passing game to keep up with Iamaleava and Co.
Tennessee's defense could end up as the X-factor that allows Iamaleava to pull away.
The Vols have one of the best NFL prospects in defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. who could wreak all sorts of havoc on the NC State backfield.
Simply put, Tennessee has the best player on offense and defense in the matchup and has the potential to overwhelm NC State to put itself into the CFB Playoff conversation.
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