Oh boy was last week fun. Fireworks were lit, Heisman campaigns were kicked off, and Clemson Clemsoned as hard has Clemson has ever Clemsoned. College football is back and in full swing. Week 2 game spreads give us an opportunity to improve upon an immaculate record last week.
Week 2 College Football Game Spreads
After a weak start, Week 1 came and went without a blemish. A perfect 5-0 record thanks to Coach Prime and Colorado handling TCU as an underdog and Toledo narrowly falling to Illinois as a two-score road dog. West Virginia must have hurt Penn State’s feelings with that onside kick and James Franklin went for the cover, much to our joy. Believing in the WKU offense has not hurt us yet and Florida State made a statement on national television. All in all, not a bad showing.
Overall: 7-3 (5-0 last week)
Cincinnati (+7.5) at Pitt
Despite the fact that these two cities hate each other thanks to the NFL, the Bearcats and Panthers have only faced off 12 times. Pitt leads the series 8-4 but Cincinnati’s four wins have come in the last five contests.
Cincinnati is coming off of one of is most dominant victories in Week 1. They dispatched Eastern Kentucky (FCS) 66-13 behind Emory Jones‘ 371 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns. Third time must be the charm for the new quarterback after bouncing around Florida and Arizona State. Even in a blowout, hometown kid Corey Kiner ran the ball 13 times for 105 yards.
Meanwhile, Pitt also comes in at 1-0 after defeating their FCS opponent, Wofford, 45-7. They’re led by Boston College (and Notre Dame before that) transfer, Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec accounted for 214 yards and a touchdown through the air and added 41 yards and a score on the ground. The incredible thing about the Panthers win over Wofford was that the 22 completed passes went to 13 different receivers. Only one receiver ended up with more than two receptions.
The Scott Satterfield era in Cincinnati has started off strong and will keep on going. They looked good and could be a legit threat in the Big 12. Giving a team that scored 66 last week a 7.5 spread seems rude but maybe Vegas knows something we don’t. Roll with the Bearcats this week.
Marshall (-3.0) at East Carolina
For just the 17th time in history, the Pirates of ECU face off against the Thundering Herd from Marshall. To date, ECU owns an 11-5 advantage and won the most recent matchup in 2021. It’s a classic Sun Belt vs AAC matchup and both teams are confident in their respective teams.
Marshall comes to town sporting a 1-0 record after taking down Albany (FCS), 21-17. It was not the most inspiring or decisive victory in program history but it was a taste of what’s to come. All quarterback Cam Fancher does is win and he led the team to its seventh win in eight starts dating back to last year. Meanwhile, monster running back Rasheen Ali is back and ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns. The last time he was fully healthy, he broke out for 1,403 yards and an obnoxious 23 touchdowns.
ECU, on the other hand, comes into this game after being routinely shut down by Michigan in Week 1. Only 18 FBS teams averaged fewer yards per play on offense. Mason Garcia leads the way at quarterback with just 80 yards. He also leads the team with 36 yards on the ground.
These are two programs heading in opposite directions. Even if Marshall ends up a middle-of-the-road Sun Belt team, it’ll be more than enough to cover the three-point spread in this one. The Herd thunders on.
Iowa (-3.5) at Iowa State
A rivalry game in September? It’s commonplace for the Cy-Hawk Trophy as Iowa and Iowa State have faced off in early September every year since the rivalry renewed in 1977 (except for 2001 when it was in November and 2020 when there was no game). The two have faced off for a very nice 69 games where the Hawkeyes own a 46-23 lead. However, the Cyclones won last year.
This Iowa offense still isn’t better than the local JV High School team but it seems like they are getting better. Jokes about Brian Ferentz’s 25-point goal aside, Iowa has a few playmakers. They’re led by Michigan transfer Cade McNamara (191 yards, two touchdowns) and the latest in a long, long line of stud tight ends, Luke Lachey.
On the other side, the Cyclones are coming off of a victory of their own. Quarterback Rocco Becht led the offense in the win and has a pair of solid running backs to hand the ball off to. All in all, ISU managed just 250 yards on offense against an FCS foe.
The O/U for this game is set at a pathetic 36.5 points. It’s very possible Iowa covers the 3.5-point spread and the over doesn’t hit. This will be prime Sickos Committee stuff.
[12] Utah (-8.0) at Baylor
If you’re looking for two programs that feel completely differently following their respective Week 1 games, look no further than Utah and Baylor. Both programs have had some recent success and peaking with NY6 bids. Their Week 2 matchup will mark the first time in history the pair face off.
Utah is coming off of a big win at Florida and they are feeling quite good. Despite not having its starting quarterback in Cam Rising, best offensive weapon in Brant Kuithe, and best defender in Karene Reid for most of the game, they still dominated Florida. Offensively, it wasn’t the prettiest but they were stout at defending the run.
While their win did not vault them into respectable territory, Texas State took it to Baylor last week. Baylor will be in good hands but they’ll certainly miss starting quarterback Blake Shapen due to injury. The Utah secondary will need to try and contain receiver Drake Dabney. Last week, Dabney went off for 101 yards and two touchdowns off of just six receptions.
This game could very well be close heading into the fourth quarter. Baylor can sling it and Utah gave up a lot of yardage through the air against Florida. However, Utah is on another level. Even without Rising, this offense can do what it wants. The Utes are looking for a Pac-12 threepeat to send the conference into the sunset. They win at Baylor by two scores.
[11] Texas (+7.0) at [3] Alabama
The biggest matchup of the weekend pits Texas against Alabama yet again. Is Texas back? That Sam Ehlinger moment is the gift that keeps giving. Regardless, the Longhorns own a 7-2-1 mark over the Tide, although Alabama has won each of the last two meetings. Those two meetings were last year (20-19) and the 2010 BCS National Championship (37-21). Last year, Quinn Ewers was knocked out of the game and it seemed like that was the difference. What happens this year?
The nation is going to get to know one of the best wide receiver rooms on Saturday night. Led by guys like Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington, Ewers has plenty of options. The unfortunately mulletless quarterback threw for 260 yards and two scores last week and 90 of those went to Worthy. Defensively, the Longhorns allowed just over one yard per rush. Given, Rice’s rushing attack is not quite Alabama.
The Tide have continually had to reload after each and every loaded NFL Draft class. This year, they replaced their star quarterback with Jalen Milroe. The new signal-caller was efficient in Week 1 as he completed 13 of 18 for 194 yards and three touchdowns. The Alabama defense is still the Alabama defense.
This game feels like a battle of narratives. Nobody believes in Texas. Every gives Alabama the benefit of the doubt. Both of these teams are looking to take care of business in their respective conferences and both very well can. With how close last year was, it only makes sense that this year’s matchup will be similar. Bama may take this one again but it’ll be close and Texas covers.
Main Image: Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
