The extended Week 1 of college football was exiting with more than a few upsets and wild rides for those betting the NCAA odds. Week 2 of the schedule should have more of the same, including some massive matchups that will undoubtedly have CFP Championship implications for the teams involves.
If you’re betting on college football this week, here are the biggest and best sports bet picks on the board:
LSU Tigers at Texas Longhorns (+6.5, 55)
This line has seen some significant movement, with LSU opening as a 4-point favorite and jumping up to -6.5 as we hit Wednesday.
The Tigers looked solid in their tune-up game versus Georgia Southern, rolling to a 55-3 victory. Quarterback Joe Burrow picked up where he left off, ending strong in 2018 and opening 2019 with 278 yards passing and five touchdowns before taking a break in the second half. The Louisiana State defense was happy to see all those points, as the stop unit has had to shoulder the load for this program in recent years.
The Tigers defense will sink its teeth into a short-handed Texas attack Saturday. The Longhorns are thin in the rushing corps, with only sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram left among scholarship players in the backfield. That puts the pressure on Horns QB Sam Ehlinger to move the chains against a defense that ranked 38th versus the pass in the country last season and recorded 34 sacks in 2018.
The total for Saturday’s game has crept from 52.5 to 55 points.
Texas A&M Aggies at Clemson Tigers (-17.5, 64.5)
The Aggies nearly stung the Tigers at home last season, losing 28-26 as 12-point pups in College Station. This time around, oddsmakers don’t see as tight a game, setting the defending national champs as 16.5-point home chalk and moving that number as high as -17.5.
The Tigers did just what everyone thought they would in Week 1, blowing up Georgie Tech 52-14 as 37-point chalk. Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence had a rough outing, throwing for 168 yards on 13-for-23 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions before taking a seat in the second half.
Clemson’s ground attack was the real star of the show, amassing 411 yards and five touchdowns, including 205 yards and three rushing scores from running back Travis Etienne. The Aggies defense, which gave up seven points and eight total yards rushing in a one-sided win over Texas State, was second in the SEC last year, giving up just 95.23 yards per game on the ground.
Texas A&M’s offense is led by quarterback Kellen Mond, who had 430 yards passing and three touchdowns versus Clemson last season. Should he find that same success, and get some run-stuffing support form the Aggies defense, the pressure could be put on Lawrence to make the difference for the Tigers.
Lawrence started the second half of last year’s Texas A&M matchup but struggled to move the ball downfield, finishing the game with 93 yards passing and one touchdown. He was replaced with then-starter Kelly Bryant, who led the Tigers to victory down the stretch.
Saturday’s total opened at 61 and is now at 64.5 points.
