There will be one or two college football games each week that alter the 12-team playoff picture.

Week 2’s showdown between Texas and Michigan will help set the hierarchies in the SEC and Big Ten before conference play.

Texas is a touchdown favorite at every major sportsbook, and while that may be the big game of the week, there are plenty of other PA sports betting angles to look at in Week 2.

 

The Big Game: No. 3 Texas (-7) at No. 10 Michigan

Texas has one big home, neutral site, and road game on its schedule this season.


With the way the new College Football Playoff is formatted, a Longhorns win over Michigan almost guarantees their spot in the field.

No one is expecting the Longhorns to lose more than two games in the SEC (Oklahoma and Georgia are the only Top 25 foes in conference play), and if you are a two-loss SEC team, you have a 90-95 percent chance of getting into the CFB Playoff, especially after a majority of the ACC took itself out of the running in Week 1.

Michigan has all sorts of questions to answer about quarterback play and no one will learn anything from a double-digit home win over Fresno State to open the season.

What we do know is Texas went 5-0 in true road games last year and Quinn Ewers led the Longhorns to a 10-point win in Tuscaloosa.

Michigan’s only path to victory is if they keep Texas under 20 points, but it’s hard to see that happening against one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the college game who has a ton of big-game and road experience as well.

 

Favorite to Trust: Georgia Tech (-2.5) at Syracuse

The ACC established in Week 1 that it might just be a cesspool of suck.

Florida State, Clemson, and preseason dark horse Virginia Tech all lost and NC State struggled with Western Carolina.

There’s a chance Georgia Tech might be the second-best team in the ACC behind Miami. The Yellow Jackets quietly beat Georgia State 35-12 last week to avoid any let down from beating FSU in Dublin in Week Zero.

Syracuse beat Ohio 38-22, but was only up 17-9 at halftime, and well, Ohio is not Ohio State, which, speaking of, Kyle McCord transferred to Cuse after he was basically cut by the Buckeyes.

Georgia Tech already has a solid win on its resume and quarterback Haynes King is better in the air than McCord and can hurt Syracuse on the ground as well.

 

Underdog to Back: South Florida (+31) at Alabama

I know what you’re about to say.

No way you should trust South Florida in Tuscaloosa, especially after Alabama walloped Western Kentucky 63-0.

Well, the Tide have a trip to Wisconsin planned for Week 3 and then two weeks after that host Georgia in one of the biggest games of the season.

There’s a strong chance Alabama packs it in at halftime and doesn’t run up the score.

USF has one of the best quarterbacks you’ve never heard of in Byrum Brown. He’s a dual-threat QB who can lead the Bulls to 14-17 points, which may be enough to cover if Bama is more concerned about its next two games.

 

Points! Points! Points!: Texas Tech at Washington State (Over 66)

It’s late Saturday night.

You’re either at the end of a marathon college football day, or have finally put football on after the kids go to bed.

You just want to see a shit ton of points out of one of the 10 p.m. ET kickoffs and you want a game on a major network so you don’t have to sift through streaming services.

Well, the Mike Leach memorial game is for you.

Texas Tech and Washington State are synonymous for putting up high scores from when Leach (RIP) coached both teams.

Washington State just put up 70 on Portland State from the FCS, while Texas Tech won a 52-51 overtime game against Abilene Christian.

The two teams combined for more than 1,100 total yards in Week 1 and I don’t see that changing much in Week 2.