With the first week of college football in the books, we turn our attention to a week 2 slate that is headlined by a Big Ten matchup between #3 Texas Longhorns and #10 Michigan Wolverines.
The week kicks off with 3 games on Friday, but we’re focused on the Saturday contest that is available now in the EatWatchPlay app. We’ve got 9 games to analyze so let’s jump right into it.
#3 Texas at #10 Michigan. Who wins?
It took Texas a while to warm up in its season opener with Colorado State, but the Longhorns eventually got rolling and never looked back, defeating the Rams by a final score of 52-0. Michigan’s offense struggled against a dangerous Fresno State team, but a late pick 6 by All American Will Johnson iced the game and gave the Wolverines the 30-10 win.
Picking Michigan will give you +2 points in the contest, and we are willing to roll the dice on a football team that won the National Championship last season and boasts arguably the best defense in college football.
Our pick: Michigan (+2)
#23 Georgia Tech at Syracuse. Who wins?
Georgia Tech stunned Florida State in its opener and found a way to move to 2-0 with a 35-12 win over Georgia State. Syracuse’s new QB, Ohio State transfer Kyle McCord, was impressive in the Orange’s opener, throwing for 354 yards and 4 touchdowns.
I what should be a close game, we’re going to take a shot with the home team for an extra point in this one as well. Give us Syracuse to pull the upset and enter week 3 as a ranked team.
Our pick: Syracuse (+2)
Iowa State at #21 Iowa. Who wins?
Both Iowa teams won their home openers in week 1 of the college football season, setting us up for what should be an entertaining rivalry game. Rocco Becht, Iowa State’s sophomore quarterback, went 20-for-26 for 267 yards and 2 touchdowns against North Dakota, leading the Cyclones to a 23-3 victory. Iowa’s defense shut out Illinois State, but it was the offense (40 points!?) that stole the show in week 1.
We think the improved Iowa offense is a clear difference in this one, as Iowa State struggles to keep pace allowing the Hawkeyes to run away with the Cy-Hawk trophy this season
Our pick: Iowa (+1)
#19 Kansas at Illinois. Who wins?
Jalon Daniels was far from perfect in the Kansas opener, but it didn’t matter as the Jayhawks cruised to a 48-3 victory over the Lindenwood Lions. Daniels will need to play much better in week 2 if Kansas is going to beat an Illinois team that throttle Eastern Illinois 45-0 last week. Luke Altmyer looked sharp for the Illini, finishing 19-of-24 for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Eastern Illinois finished 8-3 last season, and we can’t get over just how dominant the Illini looked against them. Combine Illinois’ performance with the clear rust exhibited by Daniels in Kansas’s opener, and we’re going with the underdogs here again.
Our pick: Illinois (+2)
#14 Tennessee at #24 NC State. Who wins?
Both of these teams opened with opponents from the Southern Conference, but the results couldn’t have been more different. NC State trailed Western Carolina in the 4th quarter and were lucky to get the win. Tennessee steamrolled Chattanooga by a final score of 69-3.
Both of these teams are extremely well coached, and the game will be played right in NC State’s back yard at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. That said, the Wolfpack finished last season 0-3 against ranked teams and we think that trend continues here in 2024.
Our pick: Tennessee (+1)
Baylor @ #11 Utah. Who wins?
After a disappointing 3-9 season in 2023, Baylor picked up a week 1 win over Tarleton State. If they are going to move to 2-0 they’ll have to take down a Utah team led by 25 year old QB Cam Rising. Rising threw for 5 touchdowns on just 15 attempts in Utah’s 49-0 week 1 win over Southern Utah.
While we’d love to take the +4 points with Baylor, the Utes and Rising are just too good and should roll Baylor at home.
Our pick: Utah (+1)
#17 Kansas State @ Tulane. Who wins?
Kansas State entered the 2024 season as one of the favorites to win the Big 12 and didn’t disappoint with a 41-6 week 1 win over a UT Martin team that went 8-3 in the Big South last season. Tulane finished 2023 11-2 but lost to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. Freshman quarterback Darian Mensah was impressive in week 1, throwing for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 12 attempts.
We’d love to back Tulane at home in this one, but Kansas State is too good of a team to lose to a non-Power 5 team with a freshman QB making his second start.
Our pick: Kansas State (+1)
Arkansas @ #16 Oklahoma St. Who wins?
Arkansas and Oklahoma State will kick off their 2024 Big 12 schedules on Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater. Both teams picked up week 1 wins with Arkansas beating Arkansas Pine Bluff 70-0 and Oklahoma State beating South Dakota State 44-20.
Alan Bowman and Ollie Gordon looked sharp for the Cowboys in Oklahoma State’s opener and we think they will be too much for Arkansas on Saturday.
Our pick: Oklahoma State (+1)
Appalachian State @ #25 Clemson. Who wins?
App State dominated ETSU in its home opener behind 326 yards and 2 touchdowns from QB Joey Aguilar. Clemson opened with a much tougher opponent, and much different result, falling to Georgia 34-3.
Winning in Memorial Stadium is no easy feat, but these teams feel closer than a 5-point difference in this contest. We’ll take the bait and hope App State can pull off a stunner in Death Valley on Saturday.
Our pick: App State (+5)
