Week 2 College Football Off the Radar Best Bets
September 6, 2023
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September 6, 2023
Our first parlay for the new college football season didn’t go very well with a couple of losers right off the bat. The good news is that it’s only one week and there are plenty more opportunities to hit it big when betting on college football. And with a week and a half worth of games to digest the hope is that we have better insight on which teams are overrated and which ones are underrated. Of course it’s still early and one game doesn’t define our betting strategy; but after last week there probably needs to be a change to that strategy.
Like a lot of people I was surprised by the Colorado Buffaloes. I certainly didn’t expect them to upset TCU or be as potent with the football. Deion Sanders changed the culture in Boulder and the Buffs could be a problem in the Pac-12. Remember some of the transfers he brought with him were highly recruited at other major programs before electing to play for Coach Prime at FCS Jackson State, so they’re not your typical lower-level transfers. I’ll wait another week before jumping all in on the Buffs since the betting markets have already caught up. It’s time to scan over the NCAAF lines and odds to see what winners are available on the Week 2 college football parlay card.
College Football Parlay Card Favorites
Troy +15.5
UTEP -1
Utah -7.5
$100 bet to win $624 at BetRivers Sportsbook.
After a disastrous first week picking a pair of favorites and a pair of dogs on separate parlays, I thought I’d change things up a bit. So this week I’m going with a basic three-wager ticket, which is one of the more popular parlays available on the market. They’re only popular if you win so it’s time to take a hard dive into the teams to pick out some winners.
There are some quality teams in the Group of Five conferences and there’s always a few with value when taking on a Power 5 program. The Sun Belt Conference has produced some good football over the years with the Troy Trojans the defending league champs. And I bet you didn’t know what team has the second longest active winning streak in the FBS. I probably gave it away, but if you said Troy you’d be right. The Trojans rattled off 11 straight wins to close last season and started 2023 with a 48-30 win over Stephen F. Austin.
Kansas State is no slouch after winning the Big 12 last year handing TCU its first loss of the season in the conference championship. The Wildcats bested SE Missouri St. 45-0 in Week 1 covering the 28.5-point line but face a much stiffer opponent. And one they may not be ready for. Led by Gunnar Watson, who tossed four scoring passes in the opener, the Trojans possess a diverse offense. Kimani Vidal rushed for 248 yards and Troy racked up 540 total yards, stopped only by four turnovers. With Troy catching 15.5 points on the college football lines I have no problem backing the visitors.
After all the program went through during the summer we expected Northwestern to have a difficult time. They sure did last week in a 24-7 loss to Rutgers. The ‘Cats had a hard time doing anything on offense and avoided being shut out with a late score. Honestly I don’t know if Northwestern will win a game this season. UTEP bounced back from a season-opening loss to beat Incarnate Word 28-14 and more stability within the program will allow the Miners to cover the 1-point spread.
It’s too early to overreact for some teams. For others let the condemnation begin. A few weeks ago the Utah Utes at Baylor Bears game looked like a clash of heavyweights. Utah held up its end of the deal with an impressive 24-11 cover win over Florida last week. The defense was huge making up for the absence of Cameron Rising, who should return possibly as soon as this week. That would be a huge boost for the Utes, but one they proved they don’t really need. Baylor was one of the biggest upset losers falling to Texas State 42-31 as a 27-point favorite on the football lines. Dating back to last season the Bears have lost five straight giving me enough ammunition to back the Utes.
Check out the latest college football betting odds at BetRivers Sportsbook
