Caleb Wilfinger
Show Bio
It was so great to have college football back in full, and Week 1 certainly delivered plenty of excitement, upsets and games that came down to the wire. How will Week 2 deliver an encore? We’re just a few hours away from finding out.
With the chaos of Week 1 in the rearview mirror and the second week of the college football season just around the corner, it’s time to get into the Week 2 slate with the return of my weekly best bets column. While I didn’t get off to a great start in Week 0, I got back on track with a 4-1 weekend in Week 1, so let’s keep the momentum going! With a massive card on tap, there are a couple of games that I absolutely love on Saturday’s slate, so let’s take a look at my college football best bets for Week 2.
Lock in our college football parlay picks for Saturday’s action
NC State Wolfpack +10 vs Tennessee Volunteers (-110)
Odds taken from game preview at time of publishing. Playable to +8.
I had an optimistic outlook on both of these teams heading into the season, in large part due to the upward trajectory of their offenses after each program suffered from poor quarterback play in 2023. To its credit, Tennessee was extremely impressive in its drubbing of Chattanooga last weekend, but the same couldn’t be said of NC State, as the Wolfpack struggled to get things going offensively in a 38-21 victory over Western Carolina. While the Vols were listed as just 4-point favorites over the summer, we’re now seeing Tennessee as high as -10 in the market, which is clearly an overreaction to those Week 1 results. Even after I downgraded NC State and upgraded Tennessee a bit following last week’s respective efforts, I certainly can’t get there with this inflated number.
Situationally, I have to give some grace to NC State for some of its Week 1 struggles, especially since the Wolfpack were breaking in a number of new pieces, including Grayson McCall at quarterback, and it was never going to be smooth sailing against a hungry in-state FCS playoff team. It doesn’t help matters that NC State were on the wrong side of some 4th down variance on offense, and also gifted their opponent 7 points with a rare McCall interception early in the 1st quarter. Even with the struggles and inconsistency on offense, the Wolfpack still tallied 521 yards and over 7 yards per play in the victory. More importantly, the offense seemed to find its groove in the second half, as chemistry between McCall and this newly revamped wide receiver room appeared to grow stronger as the game went on. I’m looking for that momentum to carry over into this matchup against a Tennessee secondary that has some major questions after losing a ton of production from a season ago.
Over on defense, there’s no doubt that NC State is going to have a massive challenge on its hands with Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and an offense that is as good as any unit in the country (top 20 in success rate & EPA margin). However, it’s important to note that the Wolfpack are getting back a couple of key starters that missed the season opener, which would explain some defensive lapses in that game. As for Tennessee, there’s no doubt that all-world defensive end James Pearce and this Vols defensive front has the ability to get to the quarterback, but if McCall gets the ball out quickly and targets this brand new Tennessee secondary, the Wolfpack should be able to apply some early scoreboard pressure and put Iamaleava in an unfamiliar game script situation. At the end of the day, there’s so much potential variance in a matchup like this, so I’ll gladly take the points with the underdog, especially since we’re getting double digits.
Read our full Tennessee Volunteers vs NC State Wolfpack prediction
Boise State Broncos vs Oregon Ducks Over 60.5 (-110)
Odds widely available at time of publishing. Playable to 62.
One of my favorite bets on the board in Week 2 is the over in this matchup, as both teams are in good positions to take advantage of their opponents weaknesses and get plenty of points on the board. While the Week 1 box score reads like a 4-touchdown victory for Oregon, the Ducks were unable to translate their consistent down-to-down success into points against Idaho. Fortunately for Oregon, the Ducks will now go to work against a Boise State defense that might be the cure for any ailing offense this season.
The Broncos are undoubtedly a good team, one that I think is going to win the Mountain West this season and be in contention for a College Football Playoff berth. With that said, Boise State has some real holes defensively, and that was apparent against a Georgia Southern team that put up 461 yards of offense and was 12-of-19 on 3rd down in Week 1. Struggling to contain an offense from a mediocre Sun Belt team is not exactly what you want to put on film the week before playing a an Oregon side that has talent at all positions and can score in bunches. I’m expecting Dillion Gabriel and the Oregon offense to easily get to 40 points against a Broncos defensive unit that hasn’t shown the ability to slow down opposing passing attacks at this early juncture in the season.
Despite my concerns regarding the Broncos defense, this Boise State offense is going to be elite all season long. Even beyond his school record 6 touchdowns a week ago, Ashton Jeanty’s mere presence in the backfield puts a ton of pressure on opposing defenses. Obviously the Ducks know how great Jeanty is, and I’d expect them to focus on bottling up his production. However, Boise State didn’t just put up 651 yards in Week 1 because of Jeanty’s greatness. With multiple capable wide receivers and tight ends, plus a pair of running backs that are excellent at catching the ball out of the backfield, I’m expecting enough points from the Broncos offense to contribute to this game going over the posted total. Let’s back the over and hope for a shootout under the lights in Eugene.
Read our full Boise State Broncos vs Oregon Ducks predictions
Northern Illinois +28.5 vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to 28.
This is one of the best situational spots of the weekend, as I love getting the opportunity to fade Notre Dame as heavy favorites in an obvious flat spot following a massive victory over Texas A&M in Week 1. Now, head coach Marcus Freeman’s team has to take the field against one of the better teams in the MAC in Northern Illinois, who impressed me as well by tallying over 700 yards of offense in a 54-15 drubbing of Western Illinois last Saturday. The Huskies are an experienced side that have proven to be a consistent nuisance for Power 4 conference opposition in recent years, so I don’t expect that they’ll play with any fear in a difficult environment on the road.
Even without factoring in the spot, this seems like an obvious place where Freeman and his staff would make it a point to take things easy on Riley Leonard given his injury history and the goals that the program has this season. Health is paramount in the expanded playoff era, so don’t expect to see Leonard running the ball much and I’d expect a fairly conservative offensive game plan from the hosts. Overall, it wouldn’t be a surprise me if an experienced Northern Illinois team kept things close for at least a half in this contest. Three years ago, Notre Dame nearly lost to Toledo in Week 2 as heavy favorites. One year later, the Fighting Irish were upset at home by Marshall as favorites of over 3 touchdowns. I’m not calling for an outright upset on Saturday, but it’s entirely possible that Notre Dame could be headed for another close encounter against a solid Group of 5 program in South Bend.
Read our full Northern Illinois Huskies vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish predictions
