The 2022 college football season is now officially underway with Week 0 and Week 1 behind us, so what fun will Week 2 be?
The first week of the college football season usually brings a lot of…well…ugly matches. eruptions. Powerhouses slay cupcakes. But with the addition of games like Chick-fil-A Kickoff and with many FBS schools moving away from a creampuff opening week, the number of high-quality games has increased exponentially.
We saw some pretty cool stuff last week, as well as some pretty unexpected explosions (looking at you in Oregon, seriously?). Now the nerves are settled and the first big blow has been made. College football is officially back.
The bet is back too, and last week I gave you one upset, one lock and a bad bed to get away with. So, how did you do?
annoyed: I chose Rutgers +7 against Boston College. The Scarlet Knights both beat the spread and win the match.
a lock: I took Arkansas -6.5 against Cincinnati. The Razorbacks won 7
2-0 in the shots, and maybe steering away from UNC and App State would be a good idea. Even though Tar Heels covered the one point difference, it was one of the craziest back-and-forth games of the weekend.
Here are my picks for Week Two with odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.
the match
Tennessee Volunteers
1-0
Pittsburgh leopards
1-0
Saturday 10 September
3:30 p.m. Eastern time
College Football Week 2 upset pick: TN vs. Pete
Vegas shows a lot of respect for the 24 volunteers in this game, despite the team’s highest-ranked house being 17th.
The Panthers participated in one of the best games of this past weekend, which prevailed at Backyard Brawl on West Virginia, 38-31. Meanwhile, the Vols opened the season with a 49-point win over the Ball State. While the big points differential sounds great, the level of competition each team faced was vastly different.
So why take Pete into a rage here? The Panthers are 11-5 from the Australian group in their last 16 games and 6-1 in a row in their last 7 games, including 5-1 in their last 6 home games. Bottom line, Pat Nardiozi knows how to coach his team and how to get the most out of it, no matter what level of talent – something we haven’t seen in Knoxville since the days of Phil Vollmer (coach, not AD version).
Pick: Pitt outsmarts the Vols, and takes a minuscule win for the second week in a row.
With some cupcake games still going on early in the season, I had to dig around to find a suitable match that could count as week 2 lock-in. Here’s one game I would safely put in this category.
the match
Mississippi bulldog
1-0
Arizona wild cats
1-0
Saturday 10 September
11:00 p.m. Eastern time
FS1
Miss State -11.5, O/U 59.5
College Football Week Lock 2: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Arizona Wildcats
I’m giving you two for one on this choice, which is a rarity for my conservative thinking.
Mike Leach’s air raid attack is finally (maybe?) a click and the Bulldog appears to be the well-oiled attacking machine we’re used to seeing from Leach’s coaching staff. Mississippi State put 49 points on a very good Memphis team last week, and Arizona State probably won’t reach that level of play.
The Bulldogs are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games on the road. The only thing that would make me sick of this choice is the 11pm EST kick-off, but even a little jet lag probably won’t make a difference here.
I’ll also give you 59.5 points. The Dogs might score that number alone if Arizona doesn’t find some consistency in defense.
Pick: Mississippi State quits early and scores a big win.
While there are plenty of potential bad bets to avoid this weekend, one does stand out from the crowd. Head to SEC Country for an old-fashioned grudge match.
the match
Kentucky wild cats
1-0
Florida Gators
1-0
Saturday 10 September
7:00 p.m. Eastern time
College Football Week 2 Bad Bet: Kentucky Wildcats vs Florida Gators
For 31 consecutive seasons starting in 1987, the Gators completely owned the series with the Wildcats. But under Mark Stubbs, Kentucky was 2-7 against Florida, and if it wasn’t for some bad bounces and bad calls by officials, that record could easily have been 4-5.
Bottom line, Kentucky is not an easy task as it once was on the football field, and what was once considered an annual sacrifice for Florida has now turned into a game that game analysts, commentators, and the fan circle refer to in their calendars.
The Gators only favor 4.5 points in a swamp rush match. This is a good indication of how the pendulum swings in a different direction for both programs.
Florida takes a big win as they put in so much passion and energy, in a game that they could have lost. Wildcats are going to be another tough one. This point will probably be closer than 5 pips, but you won’t see me betting this line with Paul Finebaum’s money, less my money.
Choose: Barriers prevail, but it may take another last-minute miracle.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets coach Jeff Collins. Mandatory credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Weirdest Thing We’ve Seen in College Football Week 1
There were a lot of weird things that happened in the first full week of the season, which is no surprise. What was unusual was Jeff Collins, head coach of Georgia Tech, lacks clock management skills As well as the public’s lack of confidence in his team.
The Yellow Jackets were straight in the game against Clemson during the first half of Monday night, despite a number of fouls and unforced errors. But with time running out in the second quarter, Clemson stopped driving. Collins could have (and should have) called a timeout to take at least one more shot in the scoring, but instead let Clemson run out the clock to finish the inning.
The decision confused everyone, including the announcers in the match. When asked why he chose not to use the available timeouts, Collins basically made it clear that he was afraid Clemson would go fourth down to keep the drive alive or play a trick game and end up scoring.
A way to instill confidence in your comrades, coach. This seat is getting hot?
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