The marquee college football game of the week pits No. 3 Texas against No. 10 Michigan at the Big House in Ann Arbor. But I don’t expect the game to be as close as the rankings might suggest.
The pregame narrative: Michigan’s offence looked wobbly at best in the season opener, which is part of the reason I’m comfortable backing Texas to win by at least a touchdown. I’m also riding with Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola to go over his passing yards total against Colorado.
Check out the best college football Week 2 picks for the action on Sept. 7.
College football Week 2 picks
Click linked odds to add selection to betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| NCAAF Week 2 picks | Odds | Bet now ⬇️ |
| Texas -7 | -122 | Add to betslip |
| Raiola over 249.5 pass yards | -104 | Add to betslip |
| Iowa -3 | -125 | Add to betslip |
Go to full college football betting markets.
Best Bet: Texas -7 (-122)
The last time Quinn Ewers was at the Big House, he held a clipboard and watched his Ohio State Buckeyes get trounced by the Wolverines.
Now he’s back — in burnt orange — as a legit Heisman Trophy candidate at the helm of a dangerous Longhorns squad.
This is a battle of two reigning College Football Playoff teams, but Michigan is merely a shell of itself. The Wolverines lost their starting quarterback and running back, the entire offensive line and half of their starting defence to the NFL.
Texas lost all three of its wide receivers, to be fair, but it replenished that group in the transfer portal. And having Ewers under centre makes a world of difference.
Michigan has two quarterbacks … which means it has none. Davis Warren, a preferred walk-on, averaged 4.7 yards per attempt against lowly Fresno State in Week 1. And Alex Orji is an explosive runner that the Wolverines don’t seem to trust to throw forward passes.
Texas cruised to a 52-0 win over Colorado State in its season opener, while Michigan needed a late pick-six to topple Fresno State, 30-10. Frankly, I don’t think the Wolverines’ murky offence will be able to keep up with the Longhorns on the scoreboard.
Key stat: Ewers and the Longhorns are 5-2-1 ATS over their past eight games (dating back to last season).
Quick picks
Raiola over 249.5 pass yards (-104): Raiola’s collegiate debut was a smooth ride to a 40-7 victory over UTEP. He finished with 238 pass yards and two scores with a 70.4% completion rate.
If you didn’t watch the game, you missed this gorgeous teardrop throw:
The No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 class (per 247 Sports) almost certainly would’ve cleared this yardage total if he hadn’t been pulled in Nebraska’s blowout win. Assuming it’s a closer matchup between the Cornhuskers and the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, Raiola will have his chances to hit the over.
Last week, Colorado allowed North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller to throw for 277 yards on just 22 attempts.
Iowa -3 (-125): Iowa had a bottom-five scoring offence last year, but maybe things will be different this time around.
The Hawkeyes put up 40 points in their season opener against FCS Illinois State. They only hit the 40-point milestone once in 14 games last year.
With a little more life from the offence and more of the typical dominance from the defence (No. 4 last year in points allowed), Iowa could be a feisty team this year.
Even with last season’s offensive ineptitude, Iowa pulled out a 20-13 road win over Iowa State.
The Cyclones got off to an unsatisfactory start this year with a 21-3 win over FCS North Dakota — as a 30-point favourite.
NCAA made at 2:50 p.m. on 09/05/2024.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.