Picks for Top 25 games in College Football [Full Week 2 Betting Guide]

welcome into CBS Sports HQ we're going to be doing some uh college football picks here's how things went last week wow Danny Canal 6 and 12 chip Patterson 11 and five I mean even the the the Expressions tell the story there right in terms of the little difference I need a sad face so uh yeah we need a sad face Danny canel welcome inside our HQ Studios Jeremy St Louis alongside Danny canel and Chip Patterson because we are going to do some top 25 picks for this week the new top 25 out hasn't really made a ton of adjustments in terms of the games but Danny you said you wanted to qualify something before we got started oh I was just saying early in the season this is where there's a lot more luck Jeremy okay well like this the expertise comes in with the film study as the season gets going so I'm just warning everybody might want to take that with a grain of salt listen to me later in the season early it's a little bit of a crap shoot those games between the big teams and the FCS teams always kind of throw you off a little bit all right let's go cuz we got a lot of picks to get through let's start right off the top 23 Georgia te at Syracuse the line here favors Tech 2 and 1/2 points so the total at 592 Danny what do you got so earlier it was over three and A2 and I like Syracuse at home but they went under that two and a half that key number I do think Georgia Tech is playing with a ton of confidence I'll go ahead and take them to win and cover in this game Kyle McCord looked pretty good the transfer in from Ohio State for Syracuse but it's not going to be the same kind of defense and we know what Georgia Tech did to Florida State a couple weeks ago they got a couple wins under their belt they're feeling pretty good I still need to see it before I believe it in Q so I'll take Georgia Tech chip uh we're going to Bowling Green we're sorry sorry I've got to move on we we're going to Bowling Green at Penn State I'm new at the Pix thing so that's fine uh eight Penn State they stay where they are uh 34 a half Point difference here uh favoring the nitty Lions the total sitting at 48 a half what do you think chip well I'm going to attack this total this is a really big number and anybody who follows the cover three podcast knows that it's be G for me in 2024 this Bowling Green Team might be one of the best teams in the Mac I think that Penn State will respect what Bowling Green can do which means we're going to lean on the defense and that defense is really the bread and butter we're excited about Penn State's offense the way that they looked under Andy codal Nikki in game one at West Virginia but especially coming off that game with a long season ahead this really feels like a spot where the defense is going to go out there and try to hold them to zero so I'm going to be going under the total in this game a game where Penn State really just wants to make sure they put Bowling Green at Arms distance and then maybe let some of those backups get some Burn yeah and maybe we're going to be talking about air here air Aller I should say over the next couple of weeks all right uh Arkansas at 6 Oklahoma State's where we're headed next a little bit of a difference here this is just a seven and a half point spread with a total just over 60 Dam yeah Arkansas looked really good in week one but they didn't play anybody with a pulse T green era got started off pretty strong Bobby patrino is back he's the hero there but Mike Gundy squad has the best running back in the country Oly Gordon picked up right where he did last year I think this is one where they control the line of scrimmage behind a veteran Laden offensive line and lean on that team from the SEC so I don't love that it's over that touchdown number that seven and a hook but I'll go ahead and lay them with the pokes playing at home they're going to be wild there it's a game they're all looking forward to probably when you circled on the calendar for the beginning of the year I say the Oklahoma State Cowboys get it done Oklahoma State up one spot in the poll now sitting at 16 you talk about olle Gordon big week last week all right Kansas State also up one spot in the AP Pole to 17 as they go to tane nine and a half Point difference here chip with this total at 48 A2 big spot here I looked at Kansas State and I was trying to figure out what I could glean from their week one performance not a lot but a lot of checking boxes and meeting expectations and not a lot of injury concerns which is generally what you would want out of your FCS game I've got the Wildcats starting to be you know Ed you know as highly as you know some of those teams in the middle of the top 25 a little bit higher than the AP pole and I think that at two lane you've got a situation where there's so much left when Willie Fritz did and that includes you know not just at the quarterback position they've had turnover at running back and wide receiver while John sumerall did a great job at Troy I do not think that the personnel there with the Green Wave is quite up to par I actually love Kansas State being able to get the wild cats here at this number I think think this is where Kansas State's able to make its announcement as a real big 12 title Contender next up let's go to Notre Dame Notre Dame's offensive line looked pretty sharp in that opening win they enter the top five in the AP po But Here Come Northern Illinois Danny 282 Point under dogs total at 46 and a half so I like to have like themes to my picks and I see certain Trends okay this is a hangover game okay so the hangover game is not that Notre Dame was partying and getting hammered and they're hurting it's that it's that looming cloud over you after this massive win where everybody's telling you how good you are you went to College Station you took care of your business and you feel awesome everybody's telling you how good you are you have a tendency to not be quite as sharp the next game out it's at home and I love the fact that this is over that magical number at 28 I say take Northern Illinois all day long I think this could be a slow starting game for both teams so I also like the under Notre Dame wins but it's way too big a number in this type of game let's go Baylor at 11 Utah next two touchdown just over two touchdown difference here favoring the youths the total at 53 and a half chip what do you think here oh I was just waiting you for you to finish your sentence so I can say Utah Utah Utah Utah everyone's making the biggest deal over like oh Utah's got to navigate all these big road trips but I'll tell you what Jeremy especially after the youths passed that test I'm going to be looking to jump on the other side of all these big 12 teams when they go to Salt Lake City because across the back 12 they got used to it and by getting used to it I mean they were terrified of it go talk to any coach or any player playing at Utah in front of the mus is one of the most difficult HomeField advantages to deal with and so as all these big 12 teams start to go up to Salt Lake City and not only deal with the changes now elevation not only deal with the sheer physicality that a Kyle Whittingham team is going to impose on you at both lines of scrimmage but just the environment that is there with that huge passionate fan base the student section going nuts uh I'm I don't think that the numbers are going to be caught up quite yet for some of these big 12 teams making their first visit to Salt Lake City so at Rice Eckles I'm Utah all day in Big 12 play top 25 picks for this week's college football slate here on CBS Sports HQ no FBS team put up more points than Old Miss last week 76 unanswer they get Middle Tennessee this week blue Raiders also week one winners Buffalo and South Florida one and0 entering their games versus Missouri and Alabama Vegas picking both teams to lose big and Ohio State also 35 or more Point favorites as they welcome Western Michigan welcome back to HQ we're doing our top 25 picks with our cover three podcast guys chip Patterson and Danny canel chip let's start with Jacksonville State at number 22 Louisville who have entered the top 25 chat the Cardinals at 28 A2 Point favorites this total at 58 A2 what are you thinking I mean tricky at 28 and a half big number but you're not going to see me back at Jacksonville State team they got absolutely pasted at home by Coastal Carolina found themselves uh down 20 some odd points before halftime and and never were really even competitive Shanta clear's walk out of there with the 50 Burger Louisville on the other hand and they had a zero on the scoreboard and when the Cardinals put a zero on the scoreboard for the opponent in a shut out they get donuts it was Crispy Cream for everybody now that Sugar Rush is going to carry over into an FBS win I like Louisville to keep the good Vibes rolling I will lay all of these points I love the fact that chips bringing Donuts into the conversation the whole part of it uh next up Middle Tennessee at number six Old Miss Old Miss staying where they were in the preseason AP poll still at six 41 and a half Point favorites here this total over 60 just shy of 64 Danny yeah it's a big number you know Lane kein he has a lot in a lot in common with Oprah Winfrey because he likes to give out a lot of stuff like you get one and you get one he's going to be giving out touchdowns to everybody in his offense and even more specifically Jackson Dart Lane kein is one of those coaches who does pay attention to the stat statistical columns as far as it pertains to the Heisman race and even potentially that 41 and a half number that you see after their name there I think this is an absolute blowout I think there's a chance they defense their defense could pitch another shut out as well some of those portal additions on the defensive side of the ball really popped I'll go ahead and lay them with Old Miss this is just the second ever meeting between the two uh the first meeting Old Miss won 4117 that came 20 23 years ago next up Buffalo at number nine Missouri Missouri 34 and a half Point favorites here with this total at 51 in a hook chip yeah I'll take it the 34 and a half maybe it gets over the key number 35 I would take it at 35 and A2 I would take it all the way up to 37 the way I see this is that Missouri Tigers did what you wanted to see out of a top tier team in week one they took control of the game uh they put the opponent at Arms distance and then they were able to get everybody out just to be able to get the backups some run I think that this is another spot where Missouri is going to do the same thing and they just eliminate Buffalo's confidence in being able to go into Colombia and win this game maybe look for Luther Burton who didn't actually have a huge stat line just because the game was out of hand so quickly maybe we get Luther a few more touches as well with those individual accolades but I do think Missouri is able to cover this number again anything up to 36 and a half or 37 I'll take the Tigers Alabama another team moving North in the AP poll up one spot to number four South Florida come visiting this week 30 and a half Point favorites here and a lot of points expected on the Bama side yeah they are expected and I do think you see them but I also think you see them from Byron Brown the quarterback for South Florida remember this was the game last year that was in Tampa where Alabama was on the ropes and they had to pull away late in an absolute Monsoon but Byron Brown this first game he had eight rushes for 74 yards that can frustrate any defense that's out there including Alabama's I think think Alabama wins probably closer to that four touchdown range but I could see a late score from South Florida with backd door cover to get to that number so I'll take the points all right let's go to 19 Kansas at Illinois five and a half Point favorites here are the Wildcats the over under sitting at 55 and a hook dny they say don't bet with your emotions but Tom Fornelli one of the biggest elani fans that's out there has been bullying me on cyber bullying me out there wow so I'm going to go ahead and fade his fighting Eli ey and take Kansas here and all serious Jaylen Daniels where was a lot of concern about his back injury where they shut him down last year he looked phenomenal had one of the best throws of the week out on a big 55 yard touchdown pass they also had Devon Neil going everything was clicking on all cylinders this Kansas team I do think is stronger I think they're strong enough to go in win and cover against Illinois all right next up Western Michigan at number two Ohio State another team staying static right where they are 382 points is the difference here chip the total at 53 and a hook and get really specific here I'm going to go Ohio State team total over 46 a half uh everything that you saw with your eyes early on said that the Buckeyes offense was a little bit clunky and yet you look up at the scoreboard at the end of the game and there's a 50 Burger up there I just think that's going to be the nature of some of these games that are a little lopsided where not that Chip Kelly and Ryan Day want to specifically score 50 but they do want to be able to continue to work things out on the fly in a way that's going to lead to a lot of of late touchdowns so I think that we flirt with 50 again so I will go Ohio State team total over 46 and a half top 25 college football picks here on HQ with our guys chip Patterson and Danny canel from the cover three podcast welcome back to HQ we're picking top 25 for week two Oklahoma scored 51 points last week but were one for2 on third down but they did go three for three on fourth down in their 51 to3 wi over Temple they get Houston this week clamson trying to get into the win column versus App State Mountaineers are winners in week one and both Oregon and USC look to keep the big 10's dominance going they're both multi-touchdown favorites welcome back inside our HQ Studios the cover three podcast does a lockspot every Thursday but we can't wait that long we're getting Chip Patterson and Danny giving us their top 25 picks today now things can change between now and Thursday's pod so that's why they're picks not locks at this point so let's go to Houston at Oklahoma 15 Oklahoma as it stands in the AP poll 29 1/2 Point favorites are the Sooners 50 A2 is the total here chip Houston down bad real bad 20po home loss to UNLV and while the rebels are good in a team that might be competing for a Mountain West Title that is not how Willie Fritz wanted to start his tenure as Houston's head coach uh but I don't want to take the Cougars for the full game I don't want to take Oklahoma for the full game because the Sooners were showing that big time program mindset what do I mean by that they won by more than 40 points and all their fans are Furious and and why are they Furious because as you mentioned Jeremy they could not convert a third down and when the starters came out of the game the backups did not look that good I thought Jackson Arnold was excellent in Red Zone situations he clearly has a great chemistry with Dion Burks who I think is going to have a superstar season after transferring over from Purdue but I am a little bit concerned about Oklahoma's depth so I want nothing to do with the second half of this game let's focus on the Oklahoma that we can trust that is the starters we go Oklahoma minus 17 and a half in the first half Deon Burks three touchdowns last weekend as dannyel tell you NFL quarterbacks they make their money on third down that's where it all comes through so they need to get better on third down in that game all right App State at Clemson Danny I don't want to say this is a must- wi win game for Clemson but I'm saying it's a must-win game for Clemson oh it absolutely is I mean it has a lot of undertones of sort of what you saw with Florida State after they lost to Georgia Tech it was a must-win game against Boston College they lost that's a conversation for another day though I'm getting my blood talking about that this is the game you would expect Clemson to roll right the Get Right game I tell you what though app state that little you know that little uh Engine That Could coming in from Boone they have given ACC teams fits over the years they even one of the biggest you know giant Killers going all the way back to that you know historic upset against Michigan and the thing is I don't think AB State wins the game but I do think they keep it close this is a Monumental game for them because it also could factor into the playoff selection they're a team from the Sun Belt I do think could be in that conversation how does it look at the end of the game the final score how close did you keep it I think they're going to keep it inside that 17 and a half I'd seen Clemson win and by two touchdowns but not more than that all right Boise State at number seven Oregon Oregon one of the Tumblers this week as they go to seven but stay inside the top 10 18 and a half Point favorites are the Ducks the total 61 and a half chip yeah I'm going to attack that total and I'm going to go over one of the great statistical anomalies of week one was how Oregon's yards and points did not line up up Dylan Gabriel's stat line looks great but the Ducks only have 24 points on the scoreboard I think that when we look at what Boise State did in a bananas shootout game at Georgia Southern that shows me that Boise State can go out there and score a bunch but that their defense is also very very susceptible and so as the Ducks want to be able to do a better job of punching it in the end zone and as Boise state has its own ability to score thanks to star running back Ashton Jey I don't think Jey is going to have six tou Downs like he did against Georgia Southern but I think he has enough and Dylan Gabriel scores enough that we're able to take this thing over 61 a half by the way Boise State have never lost to Oregon wow 0 and three or three and0 pardon me all time all right uh Utah State next at 13 USC this is a 28 and 1 Half Point difference at this point in time with this total 63 and a hook chip I'm going to go under I the USC under Trin might be one of those positions that you take take until uh you know things start to catch up and everyone starts to realize that this is a Trojan's defense now under defensive coordinator Danton Lyn that isn't just doing arm tackles out there and so any position where you've got one of these skyh high totals but especially in a little bit of a hangover spot on short rest after you know Sunday night being in Las Vegas with that big time win maybe the offense isn't coming out and lighting up Utah State like you'd expect but I do expect the Trojans Edge that they showed on defense that is something that can withstand hangover game so I'm going to attack the total especially at the key number of 63 and a half and I'll go under and here's a stat from the research pack quarterback Miller Moss has recorded 370 or more passing yards versus two ranked opponents both wins in his first two starts Caleb Williams did that once just so you know time out for some best bats in a big battle in Iowa this week The Clash for the shawk trophy and it is on CBS and Paramount Plus the total for the Iowa Iowa State game this week is 352 but of note here the under 17-2 in the past 19 meetings including five straight unders with those 19 meetings averaging 38.7 total points per game scored all right so let's talk about it with our guys from the cover three podcast chip Patterson and Danny Canal the battle for the S Hawk is where we start the 21 Hawk guys favored by two and a half chip what are you thinking here I'm thinking that's disrespectful all right because this is a new era A New Day Has dawned for Iowa football okay we're going to just take it all we're going to go Iowa team total over we're going to go full game over but my very best bet for the Skyhawk is to take Iowa especially at this number of under than a field goal because I looked at Iowa State and the way that they played against North Dakota and there's not a lot to hang on to I thought Roco Beck a quarterback who I like was just okay I thought that the running back Abu Sama who is a very gifted skill player had an awesome some hurdle but not a lot else and most importantly for both Iowa team total and Iowa to cover the spread Iowa State lost a starting linebacker to an injury and I don't think he's going to be back for this game and so as I take Iowa and all of the great energy and Vibes you have coming out of this game where you had as many passing touchdowns to a wide receiver as you did all last season Iowa State who is like H GL glad that's over I'm going to stick with the Vibes and I'm going to go Hawkeyes all day baby you know I checked the DK model before the show and it shot out a score at me that was 2117 which is right around that around the points per game that this has been throughout the past 19 meetings and so I'm going to say it goes over the odds makers are finally tired of losing they're saying no it's too easy to take those unders so that's why the number has been set so low 35 a half plus you mentioned it Iowa new offense they got the Good Vibes going now Tim Lester showing some new looks and more importantly ree vandery finally shows the Freshman wide receiver Kade M Kade mcar finally has a threat on the outside that he likes I think that's the difference in this game so I'm going over 35 a half points is the DK Model college football 25 there might be some influence in there that okay uh next up let's go number three Texas at number 10 Michigan oh boy this is going to be a Humdinger here Texas 7 and a half Point favorites this total a little bit higher than the siaw game 43 and a half Danny what are you thinking here so this one has been back and forth this probably one of my least confident plays but I'm going to go ahead and say this is one of those overreaction plays that everyone loved what we saw from Texas and what they did against Colorado State and quin's out there throwing no look passes and showing off and Michigan looked awful right their offense they don't have a quarterback donov Edwards didn't run their uh offensive line didn't look great but I think Michigan's defense keeps him in this game wink Martell is going to throw the kitchen sink at sark's offense confuse Quin somewhat keep it within that 7 and A2 points anything over a touchdown I love the Wolverines as the home Underdog yeah you've got to be concerned about Quinn ERS somebody who's just never gone into a hostile territory and what what what's that oh oh they beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year oh they led a huge comeback and nearly took down Washington after being down by double digits in the college football playoff Quinn ERS is made for this moment and Michigan's quarterback situation I mean we haven't even made a decision in terms of who's going to be able to step in there I do like the under in general I don't think Quinn ERS is going to go in there and throw for 350 yards or anything like that but in these games between heavyweights what ultimately ends up happening is that one of your offenses has got to go make a play and I just have so much more trust in Quinn ERS to be able to deliver that even against a Michigan defense that has um you know elite players on the defensive line and Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant Josiah Stewart once again showing up as a great Edge rusher and look will Johnson almost had as many touchdowns as the offense did so I understand and respect the Wolverine's defense it's why I would lean under but I do think this is a spot where you might be factoring in the home field advantage too much because you've got a quarterback in Quinn ERS that has dealt with this kind of stage before I think one of the stats I was reading earlier today was the fact if Texas can win this game it would be two years in a row they'd be the only team I think in the modern era to go to two non-conference teams that are AP ranked and win out on the road in both of those games they are just over touchdown favorites against Michigan let's go to Tennessee at NC State one of two ranked on rank games this week it's 14 versus 24 uh chip what do you thinking here in terms of what you're seeing from this line which is 7 and a half the total sitting just over 60 I think that Dave Doran needs to find a way to get his team better prepared than they were for the Western Carolina opener on Thursday I mean the distraught face that I saw from NC State's head coach was a the coach that had realized that they didn't quite bring enough to be able to match the level of compete of what Western Carolina brought now NC state has a spe special talent in Casey concepion and Grayson McCall settled in so they were able to get there but man Tennessee is the opposite of what NC State did in terms of how the balls handled their business against FCS opponents nicoo iamal Eva comes in there and lights it up but talking to people around the Wolfpack program the thing that they're concerned about is the Tennessee defensive line I think that all the Nico hype is warranted I think they're going to have he's going to have a tremendous year but the reason why Tennesse is a player for the college football playoff is because if they can complement Nico with a nasty defensive line that's exactly what they have I think it's the defensive line that is the big Difference Maker uh in a Tennessee win and cover chip that sounds like a massive overreaction to what we saw last week against these two opponents like there's panic and Raleigh I'm going to go ahead and jump on that overreaction to though I'm going to say Nico has a field day Jam James Pierce Jr one of the top NFL draft picks on that defensive line for Tennessee and what would concerns me is that the transfer portal guys that have come in and tried to cram and learn a system quickly they've all kind of struggled early out of the gate I think NC State will be fine over the long run we saw them have to really dig deep in the bag to get three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to pull out a win against Western Carolina I think they'll be fine in the long run but in this game I think it's too much Tennessee I'll take the BS as well your college football Best Bets with our guys Danny canel and Chip Patterson here on CBS Sports HQ their Best Bets presented by FanDuel America's best sports book make every moment more in terms of a recap here the three big games their Best Bets Iowa State at number 21 Iowa Two and a Half Point difference there the battle for the shawk trophy on CBS and Paramount plus Danny says take the over chip likes Iowa he likes Iowa all over the place in that all over the board in that game in terms of Michigan Texas Danny likes Michigan here to cover that spread chip likes Texas they're both on Tennessee uh as they take on NC State one of the two ranked on rank games and the cover three podcast you want to be sure you're checking that out latest episode is upon further review a second look at the results of the weekend and the biggest takeaways as they get you set for week two download and follow wherever you get your calls