Companies featured on this page may be our partners who compensate us if you sign up for one through our links. This doesn't affect our ratings or opinions in any way. Must be 21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. See full disclosure.
We had a great start to our college football best bets, going a perfect 5-0 last week. Let's see if we can keep the ball rolling this week with 5 picks for Week 2 of the NCAAF season.
Below you'll find our picks for the best college football bets to make on Saturday (9/9) for Week 2 of the 2023 NCAAF season. Remember, you can always compare college football lines and odds by sportsbooks here.
College Football Picks Record 2023: 6-0 (+5.65 units)
Best College Football Week 2 Picks
Nebraska +3 @ Colorado – 12 pm ET
Rob O’Connor is a veteran sports handicapper. He broke into the industry in 2002 and has continued to provide high quality sports handicapping advice ever since.
This is an example of a complete overreaction to what people saw in Week 1. Everyone saw Nebraska struggle to score and lose at Minnesota last Thursday night and then Saturday afternoon they watched Colorado score 45 points, looking unstoppable against national runner-up TCU.
When the look-ahead line was out over the summer Nebraska was favored by over a touchdown.
This is simply too big of an adjustment. Yes, Colorado scored 45 last week, but it was not against the same TCU team everyone saw last year. Colorado was not able to establish anything on the ground, getting just 55 yards rushing. This will spell trouble against a strong Nebraska defense, especially as Colorado tries to move the ball through the air against a Nebraska secondary that returns all 5 starters from last year.
Most concerning is the Colorado defense, which gave 42 points against a TCU offense that returned just 3 starters from the previous year.
The Nebraska offense will be better against a step down in defensive competition in Colorado. Look for them to move the ball and get some points, especially on the ground where Colorado allowed TCU to run for 262 yards last week and 7.1 yards per attempt. Expect some long clock-eating drives from Nebraska that will keep the Colorado offense off the field.
On the flip side, expect Nebraska to get more stops against Colorado, especially as they try to move the ball through the air. The Nebraska defense is strong in the secondary where they return all 5 starters from last year. And Colorado had no ground game last week, which could spell trouble and some quick stops for the Nebraska defense.
Play Nebraska at +3 or better against Colorado.
New Mexico State @ Liberty OVER 53 – Saturday 6:00 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
In this Conference USA showdown between two high-powered offenses, it’s not hard to imagine this game being full of fireworks. These are two relatively small schools looking to assert themselves in the conference, and they will likely try to do so by leveraging their electric scoring abilities.
New Mexico State has averaged 44 points per game in their first two games (58 against Western Illinois and 30 against UMass) on the strength of Junior QB and local product Diego Pavia, who has thrown for over 550 yards and 5 touchdowns already this year.
They’ve also had success on the ground, racking up nearly 500 rushing yards on the season, most of which is split between their three-headed monster at running back: Star Thomas (138 yards), Monte Watkins (116 yards), and Jamoni Jones (71 yards).
Liberty’s offensive numbers are less impressive than NMSU’s, but they still were able to score 34 points last week against Bowling Green. They were primarily able to get into the endzone thanks to their aggressive defensive approach that netted them 5 total interceptions last week, including a pick 6.
The Liberty defense definitely impressed last week, but not in a way that really kept the score low against Bowling Green. Liberty has a knack for turning the ball over and setting up their offense to score big points without needing to put up huge offensive yards.
New Mexico State’s defensive strategy seems to be nonexistent. They are banking on simply running up the score and winning on offense, unlike what they did last year against Liberty when they beat them 49-14 with a dominant defensive display.
I expect this game to be eventful, perhaps with a few defensive touchdowns and a whole lot of scoring. Conference USA typically doesn’t disappoint when it comes to scoring.
Offers from our partners
Oregon @ Texas Tech UNDER 69 – 7 pm ET
Rob O’Connor is a veteran sports handicapper. He broke into the industry in 2002 and has continued to provide high quality sports handicapping advice ever since.
This is a game Texas Tech is going to want to control on the ground. They know they can’t match Oregon score for score, so they will look to work the clock rules to their advantage, pick up some first downs, shorten the game, and keep the Oregon offense off the field, very similar to what Wyoming did against Tech last week.
Texas Tech was spotted a 17-0 lead against Wyoming off some turnovers and short fields and then did nothing the rest of the game prior to overtime, where they ended up losing 35-33. The Texas Tech defense actually played well in the game, forcing turnovers and limiting Wyoming to just 20 points prior to overtime.
You can’t put much stock in Oregon’s performance last week as it was against FCS opponent Portland State. Oregon was able to score early and often, but it won’t be the same against a much tougher Texas Tech defense.
Oregon defensively will be stronger this year, as they return 8 starters on that side of the ball.
So look for them to hold the struggling Texas Tech offense in check.
Play UNDER 69 total points in this one.
Cincinnati Moneyline (+235) @ Pittsburgh – Saturday 6:30 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
Cincinnati had an offensive explosion last week, albeit against Eastern Kentucky in what was definitely a tune-up game.
Even with that in mind, I think it shows just that this team might be a lot more dangerous than previously thought. QB Emory Jones scored a whopping 7 touchdowns in his first game as a Bearcat and really set the tone for what I believe will be an excellent season for the University of Cincinnati.
This sets the stage for a matchup against the Pitt Panthers in a renewal of the River City rivalry that has been on hold for the last 11 years.
Both teams are looking to start off their seasons with a 2-0 record after they both won their tune-up games against FCS opponents (Cincinnati beat Eastern Kentucky 66-13, and Pittsburgh beat Wofford 45-7). Cincinnati seemed to have everything working on offense last week, while Pitt leaned more on their stifling defense.
It should be a good game, but with college football, especially outside of the Big Ten, I always tend to trust offenses over defenses, and it is undeniable that Cincinnati’s offense is head and shoulders above Pitt’s. The Panthers were able to gain nearly 500 yards last week, but that was against Wofford, and it was nearly 200 yards less than the Bearcats gained against Eastern Kentucky, which arguably has a better defense than Wofford.
I truly believe that Emory Jones could lead this Bearcats team to a surprising season with a potential ranked finish in the nation and a top-half finish in the Big 12 in their first season in the conference, but this week will be a big test to see if I’m right. I think they have it in them to beat this Pitt team on Saturday.
Alabama -7 vs. Texas – 7 pm ET
Rob O’Connor is a veteran sports handicapper. He broke into the industry in 2002 and has continued to provide high quality sports handicapping advice ever since.
There was nothing about the performance Texas had Saturday against Rice that makes me think they are ready to go into Tuscaloosa on a Saturday night and hang with Alabama for long.
Alabama also faced much weaker competition last weekend when they easily beat Middle Tennessee State 56-7. For all the talk of a quarterback controversy at Alabama, starter Jalen Milroe showed he has what it takes and solidified his hold on the #1 QB spot. He was 13/18 with 3 touchdowns, and ran for 2 more, showing he is a true dual-threat quarterback.
Texas does not have nearly the rushing attack they did last year and that will put more pressure on Texas QB Quinn Ewers to make plays.
Look for Alabama to bring pressure early and often to disrupt Ewers and not allow him to set and make clean throws to the dangerous Texas receivers.
Also, we can be sure that Nick Saban will continue to play the Alabama is being disrespected card. Everyone at Alabama remembers how close the Tide came to losing at Texas last year and they will want to leave no doubt who the better team is.
Look for Alabama to pull away in the second half and win this one comfortably.
Play Alabama at -7 or better.
Offers from our partners
