NCAA Football Betting Analysis for Week 2 Matches

NCAA Football Betting Analysis for Week 2 Matches

Written by on September 7, 2020

Okay MyBookie NCAA college football betting faithful, with the 2020 season now underway and more teams taking to the gridiron in Week 2, it’s time to look at who’s in action and which teams are offering the best value against their NCAAF odds

NCAA Football Matches for Week 2: Rundown of Games of the week

Can Georgia Tech and Florida State get their once proud college football programs back on track after some pitiful play in recent seasons? Will the perennially-powerful Clemson T cover the chalk as a nearly five-touchdown favorite in their regular season opener at Wake Forest? Can playoff hopeful Oklahoma State and Texas challenge Oklahoma for a berth in the 2020 CFP? With week 2 of the quickly-approaching college football season at hand, let’s find out where some of the best college football betting value lies this coming weekend. 

UAB at Miami-Fl

  • Thursday, Sept. 10 at 8:00 PM ET

Alabama-Birmingham recorded a 45-35 season-opening win over Central Arkansas on Thursday night as quarterback Tyler Johnson passed for 143 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception. All-time rushing leader Spencer Johnson added 127 rushing yards and one score in the win. 

Miami went an uninspiring 6–6 in 2019, but will have a new starter under center as dual-threat former Houston quarterback D’Eriq King takes over. Miami will be looking for improvements along an offensive line that allowed a whopping 51 sacks last season. UAB is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog, but Miami is 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games against a team with a winning record. Still, Miami has managed to win 11 of their last 13 games against teams from Conference USA. 

Syracuse at North Carolina

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12:00 PM ET

One year after recording 10 wins, Syracuse went 5-7 in 2019. The Orange lost seven starters on defense and will have a pair of new coordinators, though starting quarterback Tommy DeVito is back under center after throwing 19 TD passes and just five picks. North Carolina went 6-6 to finish one game above Syracuse in the ACC Coastal division. Now, heading into Year 2 under Mack Brown, the Tar Heels return 10 starters on offense, including record-setting quarterback Sam Howell who threw a phenomenal 38 TD passes a year ago while tossing just seven interceptions. Syracuse has gone an encouraging 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games in September, but just 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog. North Carolina has gone a perfect 4-0 ATS in their last four games as a favorite and 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games. Still, I like the Orange to cover as a whopping three-touchdown underdog. 

UL Lafayette at Iowa State

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12:00 PM ET

Louisiana Lafayette is coming off a fine 10-3 campaign in 2019 that helped the Ragin’ Cajuns to finish first in the Sun Belt west a year ago. Quarterback Levi Lewis and starting running backs Elijah Mitchell and Trey Ragas will lead an offense that averaged a fantastic 38.8 points per game in 2019. Defensively, the Ragin’ Cajuns limited the opposition to 19.9 points per game.

Big 12 resident Iowa State went a modest 7-5 last year, but has only five returning starters on offense. The good news is that the Cyclones have starting quarterback Brock Purdy back after he threw for 2,982 yards with 27 TD passes and nine interceptions. Iowa State has nine returning starters back from a defense that gave up 25.3 points per game a year ago. The Ragin’ Cajuns are a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games in September and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conference games. Iowa State has gone a bankroll-boosting 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games in September, but the Cyclones are a winless 0-4 ATS in their last 4 home games.

Louisiana Tech at Baylor

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 12:00 PM ET

Louisiana Tech went 9-3 last season to finish first in the Conference USA West standings while putting up 34.0 points per game and allowing 23.7 points per contest. The Bulldogs will have a first-time starter at quarterback in 2020 and need to replace three departed starters along the offensive line. Baylor went a stupendous 11-2 in 2019 and came one win short of reaching the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately, the Bears lost head coach Matt Rhule, although they made a great hire by naming former LSU defensive coordinator Dave Aranda as their new leading man. More importantly, underrated starting quarterback Charlie Brewer is back under center after throwing for 3,019 yards with 19 TDs and just 9 interceptions. Baylor has just two starters returning on defense. The Bulldogs are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games overall, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog and a bankroll-boosting 26-10 ATS in their last 36 games as a road underdog. Baylor went 5-1 ATS over their final six games last season, bu the Bears are also just 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games as a home favorite.  Louisiana Tech cover the big spread in this one!

Duke at Notre Dame

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 2:30 PM ET

Duke went an uninspiring 5-7 in 2019 while allowing an overly generous  29.2 points per contest defensively. The Blue Devils will have a new starter under center as former Clemson three-star recruit Chase Brice takes over at quarterback and four starters are back on the O-line. Notre Dame went a stellar 10-2 in 2019 while finishing in the Top 20 in scoring (37.1 ppg,13th) and points allowed (18.7 ppg, 14th). Starting quarterback Ian Book is back after throwing for 3,304 yards with a stupendous 34 TD passes and just six interceptions. Duke has gone 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games in the month of September, but the Blue Devils are also just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 conference games and 105 ATS in their last six games overall. Notre Dame is 5-0 ATS in their last five games and 7-2 ATS in their last 9 home games. The Irish get the big win to cover the nearly three-touchdown spread. 

Georgia Tech at Florida State

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 3:30 PM ET

Georgia Tech went an awful 3-9 in 2019 in their first yea under head coach Geoff Collins era. The Yellow Jackets could only muster up 16.7 points per game while giving up 32.7 points per game defensively. Sophomore quarterback James Graham is back as the starter, but he’s going to need to play well right away after completing just 45.1 percent of his passes last season. Florida State finished 6-6 last season, but will be heading in a new direction as former Memphis head coach Mike Norvell. The Seminoles averaged 29.1 points per game in 2019, but gave up almost as many defensively (28.5 ppg). Redshirt junior quarterback James Blackman is back as the starter, but the Noles need to fix a defense that allowed six of their opponents to put 30 points or more on the board and two of those to top the 40-point plateau. 

Georgia Tech has gone a discouraging 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as an underdog and 3-12 ATS in their last 15 games overall. Florida State has gone 3-7-2 ATS in their last 12 games in the month of September and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall. I like the Yellow Jackets to narrowly cover the chalk!

Clemson at Wake Forest

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 PM ET

Clemson went an unblemished 13-0 last season before losing to LSU 42-25 in the national championship game. Nevertheless, the Tigers have superstar quarterback Trevor Lawrence and star running back Travis Etienne back from a unit that averaged a stunning 46.5 points per game (fourth) a year ago. Wake Forest is coming off a solid 8-4 season in 2019, but the Demon Deacons lost their starting quarterback, leading rusher, three starters on the line, their starting tight end and two starting cornerbacks. Clemson has gone a bankroll-boosting 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a road favorite and an equally impressive 11-2 ATS in their last 13 road games. Wake Forest is 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 games in he month of September and 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games. Clemson wins their opener, but Wake covers the spread as a nearly five-touchdown home dog. 

Tulsa at Oklahoma State

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7:30 PM ET

Tulsa struggled in finishing 4-8 in 2019 while allowing a generous 31.3 points per contest defensively. Starting quarterback Zach Smith is back under center after throwing for 3,279 yards with 19 TD passes and nine picks. Unfortunately, the Golden Hurricane lost their top three tacklers from last season and returns just one starter in the secondary. 

Oklahoma State will be looking to build on their positive 8-4 mark in 2019 after winning four of their final five games last season. The Cowboys have a superstar in running back Chuba Hubbard (2,094 yards, 21 TDs) and another star in wide receiver Tylan Wallace. The Cowboys put up 33.4 points a game last season and returns a whopping combined 18 starters, including redshirt sophomore signal-caller Spencer Sanders. Tulsa is 5-1 ATS in their last six road games and an impressive 18-8 ATS in their last 26 games as a road underdog. Oklahoma State has gone a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five games in September, 4-1-1 ATS in their last six games and 7-2 ATS in their last nine home games. The Cowboys are 4-0 ATS in their last four meetings against Tulsa and I like the CFP playoff hopeful to narrowly cover the chalk in this one. 

Western Kentucky at Louisville

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:00 PM ET

Western Kentucky finished third in the Conference USA East last season while going 8-4 overall. The Hilltoppers were downright stingy in limiting the opposition to just 20.1 points per contest (22nd). Unfortunately, Western Kentucky will be breaking in a new starting quarterback in 2020, though four starters return on the offensive line. The defense will be anchored by superstar defensive end and reigning Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year, DeAngelo Malone who recorded a stupendous 11.5 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss. Louisville will be looking to build on their modest 7-5 mark a year ago and the good news is that the Cardinals have a whopping 15 combined returning starters back, including starting quarterback Micale Cunningham (20 TDs, 5 INTs). Louisville will have their hands full in trying to fix a defense that got routinely beat in allowing 33.8 points per game a year ago.

Western Kentucky has gone an unblemished 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a road underdog, 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 road games and 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games in the month of September. Louisville has gone 18-7-1 ATS in their last 26 games against teams from Conference USA but are also just 4-9 ATS in their last 13 games as a home favorite. I’m going with the Hilltoppers to cover the double-digit spread. 

UTEP at Texas

  • Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8:00 PM ET

UTEP looked completely inept in going 1-11 in 2019 while averaging just 19.6 points per game and allowing an overly generous 35.9 points per game defensively. Now, as they get set for their regular season opener, the Miners have question marks at quarterback and at all three levels of the defense. Texas was supposed to be legitimate CFP contenders a year ago, but the Longhorns struggled mightily in going 7-5 a year ago. Now, head coach Tom Herman returns 16 combined starters, including dual-threat senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who passed for 3,663 yards with 32TD tosses and just 10 interceptions while adding 663 rushing yards and an additional seven scores. Texas wins, but the 43-point spread will be too much for the Longhorns to cover.