I haven’t done the research but it feels like in recent years Week 3 and especially Week 2 are really dreadful for college football entertainment as some programs continue to pull back from out of conference matchups. This weekend is really only for the true college fans, I wouldn’t blame someone for being more in tune with the start of the NFL. Still, we’ll throw some picks out there and hope for the best.
2025 Betting Record
Against the Spread: 4-7
Straight Up: 3-8
Week 2 Games to Watch
All times are Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll.
James Madison [+14.5] at Louisville
Friday, September 5, 7:00 PM, ESPN2
Speaking of the NFL, the Shield decided to put the newly annual Sao Paolo game this Friday on YouTube TV against this Louisville. How dare they. This could be worth a check in early Friday evening as James Madison isn’t terrible (44th in SP+) and might make this a game. I think late on the Cardinals pull away.
Louisville 34
James Madison 23
#11 Illinois [-2.5] at Duke
Saturday, September 6, 12:00 PM, ESPN
Could this be Darian Mensah’s coming out party to the country? The redshirt sophomore quarterback played really well last year at Tulane and looked extremely sharp in his Duke debut last week. He’ll face a tough test at home against an Illinois team desperate to keep themselves in the national picture and highly ranked.
A name to know.Â
Let’s role with the upset by the Blue Devils. Mensah has the look of someone who is going to be wooed by larger programs but he’s already on a reportedly 2-year NIL deal worth $8 million. At Duke!
Duke 26
Illinois 24
Baylor [+2.5] at #17 SMU
Saturday, September 6, 12:00 PM, CW Network
With the Iron Skillet Battle just around the corner–and TCU looking impressive in week 1, or maybe North Carolina is truly that bad–this has become a very important game for SMU. My dark horse pick of Baylor this year fell flat in week 1. However, quarterback Sawyer Robertson leads the country in passing yards per game so far and I expect lots of offensive fireworks.
SMU 49
Baylor 44
Iowa [+3.5] at #16 Iowa State
Saturday, September 6, 12:00 PM, Fox
The 72nd edition of El Assico is upon us. A series that Iowa has dominated throughout the years but the Cyclones won last year and have been victorious in 2 out of the last 3 meetings. South Dakota State quarterback transfer Mark Gronowski looked shaky last week for Iowa (44 yards on 15 attempts!) so Iowa State has to take care of business at home this weekend.
Iowa State 20
Iowa 16
Oklahoma State [+27.5] at #6 Oregon
Saturday, September 6, 3:30 PM, CBS
A couple years ago, this huge line would’ve seemed outrageous. Not after the Cowboys’ 3-9 season last year. They flipped quarterback Hauss Hejny from TCU during the winter and then he broke his foot recently. Oklahoma State didn’t even average 5 yards per play against UT Martin in their opener. I think this is a certified bloodbath.
Dante Moore is already a redshirt sophomore.Â
Oregon 45
Oklahoma State 10
#20 Ole Miss [-8.5] at KentuckyÂ
Saturday, September 6, 3:30 PM, ABC
Here we have a couple of SEC teams off the radar for me personally. Most expect Ole Miss to take a step back from last year but someone has to be ranked and they are getting the benefit of the doubt right now. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons made some plays last week but also threw 2 picks. Former Texas A&M/Auburn/Incarnate Word quarterback Zach Calzada is running things these days for Kentucky and last week looked rough. I think Ole Miss avenges last year’s loss, quite comfortably.
Ole Miss 29
Kentucky 10
USF [+17.5] at #13 Florida
Saturday, September 6, 4:15 PM, SEC Network
Coming off their demolition of Boise State the Bulls from USF have to be feeling great but walk into the Swamp this weekend as pretty substantial underdogs. Snap judgement, the line feels too high for a Florida program that has been spinning its wheels for several years in a row and was last seen against USF winning by 3 points a couple years ago here in Gainesville.
Vegas showing the faith.
Vegas must not believe in USF being all that frisky, or perhaps they believe quarterback DJ Lagway is about to blast off and become a Heisman candidate. I was impressed enough with USF last week to think they’re going to annoy the Gators plenty enough on Saturday.
Florida 33
USF 26
#15 Michigan [+5.5] at #18 Oklahoma
Saturday, September 6, 7:30 PM, ABC
Just a couple of top 20 teams who lost a combined 12 games last year in primetime on ABC. Feel the hype! To be serious, I hate hate hate to admit that Bryce Underwood flashed some big potential last week and has a skill-set that is going to be tough to screw up. Maybe Michigan can be the place where it crumbles! Can Underwood actually lead this team to a win in Norman? How much can we trust Oklahoma? They’ve won like 2 out of their last 10 games against anyone with a pulse. The Sooners have to get this done.
Oklahoma 27
Michigan 24
The NFL game is actually on YouTube itself!
Duke Illinois could be a sneaky fun game, it wasn’t on my radar until now!
Voting with your heart for the Sooners? Aspirations always tricky when picking winners. Anyway, I’m with you!
In fact, I was so much with you that I got up at 0400 to watch the fourth quarter as OU ran that 8 minute drive down scUM’s throats. Nice!
By the way, where did OU pick up that QB? Quite the perky player, and his post game interview showed good poise and mastery of the usual interview-speak.
Mateer came from Washington State.
Thanks!
Seemed quite mature, and right now has struck the right chords with his new environment. In that sense, kinda reminds me of Riley Leonard last year.
You were correct (blind squirrel ?) on Louisville vs. JM….14-14 after 3rd… 28-14 Final.
Not sure how this week changed things (although doesn’t look like you did great), but I’m impressed you are better straight up than against the spread. That seems difficult.