College Football Best Bets (Week 2): Oklahoma vs. Michigan, Ohio State vs. Texas Odds & Predictions

One of the many great things about the college football season is that it only gets better as the season rolls on. We’ve got quite a few intriguing matchups this week, which will make it challenging to settle on two games for this week’s College Football Best Bets list.

Challenging? Yes, but impossible? Heck, no.

(Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)

It doesn’t get any bigger than No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Texas. After a lackluster performance against Western Michigan, we could learn a lot about Michigan with No. 11 Oklahoma visiting Ann Arbor. Before we talk about each game, let’s take a look at the betting lines.

College Football Odds (Week 2)

Here are the betting lines for No. 11 Oklahoma vs. Michigan and No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Texas with odds via FanDuel:

No. 11 Oklahoma vs. Michigan

• Spread: Oklahoma -4.5 (-110) | Michigan +4.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Oklahoma -205 | Michigan +172
• Total: O/U 43.5 (-110/-110)

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Texas

•  Spread: Ohio State +1.5 (-110) | Texas -1.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Ohio State +100 | Texas -118
• Total: O/U 49.5 -115/-105

College Football Week 2: Picks

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No. 11 Oklahoma vs. Michigan

Oklahoma walloped UTEP last weekend, as it should have. But can the Sooners beat Michigan in Ann Arbor? Michigan has gone 34-3 SU and 17-18-2 against the spread (ATS) at home since the 2021 season. Against ranked teams, the Wolverines have done well, winning six of nine games outright.

So, not only will the Sooners be facing a team that knows how to win at home, but they’ll be facing one that knows how to beat quality opponents (ranked teams) at home. But most of all, they’ll be facing a squad with a chip on its shoulder after a dreadful performance against Western Michigan in Week 1.

To be fair, Michigan's defense played well. It held the Broncos to 221 total yards (89 passing, 132 rushing) and kept them out of the end zone despite being on the field for two-thirds of the game. That’s impressive under any circumstances, but even more so with five new starters.

But the Wolverines offense was a totally different story. It gained just 276 yards on the night (170 passing and 106 rushing), scored a single touchdown on a last-second Hail Mary, and committed three turnovers.

It would be easy to point at an inexperienced offensive line as the problem. But four of the five linemen were the highest-graded players by PFF for the game. As a unit, it earned an 84.1 pass protection grade. Of the many problems the Wolverines had that night, quarterback Bryce Underwood was one of (if not the) worst.

PFF gave him a 35.8 overall grade for the game and just a 31.4 passing grade, which is interesting since he had such good pass protection all night.

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My Pick: UNDER 43.5 (-110, FanDuel)

Part of me really wants to go with Oklahoma at -5.5 because the Sooners are working with a largely veteran group on that side of the ball. The unit had eight starters return, including the offensive line and QB John Mateer. Michigan’s defense will give them more of a challenge than UTEP did last week, but the Sooners offense is on a different level than Western Michigan’s.

Stopping Oklahoma will be a much tougher task than stopping the Broncos. But the Wolverines' defense will make it challenging for the Sooners. However, the Oklahoma offense will still play well enough to win by at least a touchdown, thanks largely to its defense.  Had Bryce Underwood and the Michigan offense played a soft opponent before facing the Sooners and had a chance to work out some of their issues, I'd have more hope for the Wolverines offense.

Instead, they get to play one of the better defenses in the country. Michigan's offense will struggle once again.

But I am recommending the Under rather than the spread just in case the Wolverines have a better day than I think they will. If they do, I'd still expect Oklahoma to win, but it is hard to say if they'll cover. However, regardless of how well Michigan plays, this will be a low-scoring contest.

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Texas

With soft opponents last week, both teams had a chance to work the kinks out ahead of this pivotal matchup, a benefit they did not have last season in what ended up being a defensive battle. Overall, both can say mission accomplished. Ohio State wasn’t perfect against Ball State but won 56-3. The same is true for Texas, which beat Texas State 59-7.

But what does that mean for this week?

It means that Ohio State’s veteran offense with eight returning starters (including four offensive linemen) is already in sync. It will be a lot tougher to move the ball against Texas, of course. But with a connection already established with Jeremiah Smith and Devin McCuin, the Buckeyes could see some early success in the passing game against a Texas secondary that struggled at times last season and ranked No. 96 in the country in passing yards allowed.

However, the Texas defensive line will give the Ohio State line a lot of trouble. The Buckeyes averaged 7+ yards per carry against Ball State. But the Cardinals made more plays in the backfield than they should have. A Longhorn defensive front that ranked No. 14 in the country against the run last season and had three starters return will make even more.

Ohio State had the No. 1 pass defense in the country last season. But with only three starters back, the Buckeye defense is going to be a work in progress. With a quarterback (Maning) many project to go No. 1 in the next draft and a talented wide receiver group that includes a potential top-10 pick in Cam Coleman, the Ohio State secondary could be in for a long night.

My Pick: Ohio State ML (+100, FanDuel)

This is a game between two very talented, well-coached teams. Both have good defenses that will make it hard on the opposing offense to move the ball. But both also have elite quarterbacks and talented receivers led by future top-10 picks (Smith and Coleman). I don’t think either team will establish the run. But it is hard to give one QB-WR duo the nod over the other.

No, this game will come down to which coach does a better job in the moment.

Steve Sarkisian went 0-5 against Ohio State and Georgia the last three seasons and has a poor record against top-5 teams as head coach (2-9). Ryan Day, on the other hand, has gone 8-7 against top-5 teams as a head coach. It will be a great game, but Day will do a better job coaching the Buckeyes and making adjustments. Those adjustments will lead to an Ohio State win.