The first weekend of the 2017 college football season is in the books. There was plenty of excitement and heartache in the opening week of the season, but there weren’t very many upsets. For the most part, the chalk held serve, although the Tom Herman era did not get off to a good start at Texas after his Longhorns lost 51-41 as a 19-point favorite in Week 1. Some of the biggest line movements for the premier games this week have been on the favorite too.
College Football Week 2 Odds at BookMaker.eu
Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
Opening: Ohio State -5.5
Current: Ohio State -7.5
Bettors quickly hopped on the Buckeyes laying less than a touchdown against the Sooners in one of the highlight games of Week 2. Last season, the Buckeyes dominated the Sooners on the road despite having one of the youngest teams in the nation with just six returning starters.
Ohio State has a lot more experience back this season. The Buckeyes struggled against Indiana through the first half of their season opener, but were able to easily pull away in the second half and outclassed the Hoosiers.
The Sooners still have sensational quarterback Baker Mayfield, but not much else. This team lost its best receiver and two top running backs from last season and Bob Stoops’ retirement in the offseason puts Lincoln Riley in an unenviable situation here. Riley is a great young mind, but facing the second-best coach in college football in your first real test is not a spot you envy being in.
There should be plenty of points in this game. Oklahoma doesn’t really have the defense to stop Ohio State and Mayfield will have to pass to keep the game close. This game could get up to 10 by kickoff with all the questions surrounding Oklahoma.
Stanford at USC
Opening: USC -5.5
Current: USC -6.5
Sam Darnold’s performance against Western Michigan in the season opener was concerning. Darnold didn’t eclipse 300 yards, didn’t throw a touchdown, and threw two interceptions to help keep the Broncos close for far too long. USC and Western Michigan were tied at 28 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and the Trojans didn’t come close to covering the number.
Stanford took last week off after playing its season opener in Australia and has had two full weeks to readjust and prepare for USC. The Cardinal were dominant against the Owls and easily covered the 31 points with a well-balance offense.
These two teams have played some close games over the past few years. Although the game is in USC, getting almost a touchdown with Stanford feels too large. The Cardinal have had more time to watch film and looked much better in their opener than the Trojans. Expect this line to come back down a bit by kickoff.
San Jose State at Texas
Opening: Texas -24
Current: Texas -28
If the oddsmakers thought that the Longhorns performance in Week 1 would get people off the Herman bandwagon, they thought wrong. Early money has come in strong in favor of the Longhorns in this game as those bettors expect the defense to turn things around quickly against the Spartans.
San Jose State is one of a handful of teams in the country to have already played two games. The Spartans looked impressive against South Florida, racing out to a 16-0 lead over the Bulls before USF responded with a strong second quarter performance. Things were worse against Cal Poly last week as the Spartans were only up by one at half against the Mustangs and needed to turn it on in the second half to pull away.
Texas can score points, we know that. Can this team play defense though? That’s what led to Charlie Strong’s firing in the first place and if Herman’s team can’t figure it out, the optimism surrounding his hire will evaporate quickly.
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