Sam Avellone
Show Bio
Texas’s Week 2 trip to Michigan is one of, if not the biggest non-conference matchups of the year. Both of these programs are wildly popular, and both made the 4-team College Football Playoff in 2023 – adding to the lure of this contest. The Longhorns and the Wolverines had to replace key pieces on both sides of the ball from last season’s playoff runs, but this matchup still expects to be highly entertaining and influential on the postseason race this year. Given the magnitude of this matchup, we felt a Texas vs Michigan Same Game Parlay was appropriate. I’ll analyze each leg for you, hoping to find a winner like we did with our Boston College vs Florida State Same Game Parlay on Monday. Let’s get to it, while you can also see our college football picks for all of Saturday’s big matchups.
Kalel Mullings over 50.5 rushing yards (-123)
Colston Loveland over 39.5 receiving yards (-142)
Quinn Ewers over 241.5 passing yards (-117)
Texas vs Michigan Same Game Parlay odds: +540
If you want to bet on our Texas vs Michigan Same Game Parlay, then we recommend heading over to Fanatics Sportsbook. Not only will you find the best odds available, but right now new users can secure $1,000 in bonus bets! Click here to join Fanatics Sportsbook, where you’ll also find odds for EVERY NFL and CFB game this season!
Kalel Mullings over 50.5 rushing yards (-123)
Despite the popularity of the transfer portal in today’s college football landscape, Kalel Mullings is a 5th-year senior that has remained with Michigan throughout his career. He has been buried on the depth chart for almost the entirety of his Wolverine tenure, but that’s going to change this year with Blake Corum now playing for the Los Angeles Rams. Mullings still has to share time with Donovan Edwards, but he will be one of the focal points of the offense this season – in a system that relies heavily on its ground game.
At 6’2, 233 lbs, Mullings is built like a wrecking ball. Despite his limited career workload, he has showcased exceptional vision with the ball in his hands. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry on 36 carries in 2023, and he started this season right where he left off – averaging 6.1 yards per carry on 15 carries in Week 1. For what it’s worth, his 92 total rushing yards against Fresno State were the most of his career. Furthermore, he showed much more explosiveness than Edwards, accumulating consecutive runs of 15+ yards late against Fresno while Edwards had 27 yards on 11 carries – the longest being 7 yards. I like Mullings to be the battering ram in this offense against a Texas defensive front that lost its 2 best run-stoppers to the NFL in the offseason, and prefer his prop to Edwards’ at a slight discount.
Read our full Texas vs Michigan prediction
Colston Loveland over 39.5 receiving yards (-142)
If you watched Michigan’s game against Fresno State, you noticed that Colston Loveland was the focal point of the Wolverines’ passing attack. He led the team in targets (9), receptions (8) and yards (87), and no one else was particularly close. In fact, Tyler Morris’ 5 targets, 3 receptions and 15 receiving yards were the 2nd-most in each category for the Wolverines. As such, we can probably expect a heavy dose of Loveland – who is widely considered one of the best collegiate tight ends in the country.
Standing at 6’5, 245 lbs, Loveland’s matchup against Texas’ linebackers and safeties is juicy. He has a dramatic size advantage against the Longhorn safeties, and Texas’ starting linebackers struggled in coverage when they saw the field last season – allowing a reception on over 80% of passes thrown their way and more than 250 yards after catch on 38 combined receptions. Loveland lines up everywhere in Michigan’s formations and excels in pretty much every spot. He tallied 3.78 yards per route run last week and had close to 2.4 yards per route run last season, so expect him to be the focal point of Michigan’s passing attack yet again this week. Given his abundance of targets against Fresno, I can’t help but think this number is way too low – especially when you consider Loveland has surpassed 40 receiving yards every time he’s caught at least 4 passes since the start of his sophomore season.
Find out our college football parlay picks for Saturday at +939 odds
Quinn Ewers over 241.5 passing yards (-117)
Texas’ running back depth took a massive hit when CJ Baxter was injured in camp. Not only are the Longhorns thin at the position, but they don’t have much experience there either – which is not a good problem to have against a defensive front like Michigan’s. The Wolverines are excellent against the run thanks to their 2 stud interior defensive linemen Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, leading me to believe that Quinn Ewers will be called upon often to move the ball down the field on the road at the Big House in Ann Arbor.
Ewers surpassed this total in all but 1 game away from home last season, and started this season with 260 yards in Week 1 despite playing less than a full game and leading 38-0 when he was relieved by Arch Manning. The Longhorns have an abundance of speed all over the field with a loaded wide receiver group, providing Ewers with plenty of options through the air in what seems to be a plus matchup for the Longhorns. Outside of Will Johnson, Michigan’s starting cornerbacks are freshmen and sophomores with little playing experience, so expect coach Steve Sarkisian to target them early to prove they can stop Texas’ aerial attack.
