A marathon Saturday of action is on tap for Week 2 of the college football season.
Rivalry games, battles of ranked teams, and matchups with blowout potential are sprinkled across the all-day slate. Betting lines continue to evolve at college football betting sites, with several underdogs attracting wagering interest.
Trying to find the upsets in such a massive selection of games can be a daunting task. Public betting trends, the movement of the odds, and current lines can provide bettors with some clues about which options to examine further.
BetMGM data on Week 2 underdogs
An entertaining opening week is in the books, and betting attention is now squarely focused on Saturday. According to data from BetMGM Sportsbook, a few spread and moneyline underdogs are capturing interest for this week’s games.
Popular underdogs on the spread
For the Week 2 slate, there are a number of double-digit underdogs. Two of them are attracting attention from bettors over at BetMGM.
Northern Illinois (+28.5) at Notre Dame
Northern Illinois kicked off its season with a 54-15 win over Western Illinois. The competition level steps up dramatically this week, with the Huskies as massive road underdogs versus Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are ranked fifth in the AP Top 25 poll and are one of the top favorites to reach the postseason in College Football Playoff odds.
Notre Dame opened its campaign with a 23-13 win over Texas A&M, pulling out an upset as a 2.5-point underdog. Jeremiyah Love rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown. This will be the first-ever meeting between these two programs. At BetMGM, 78% of the bets and 75% of the total handle on the point spread have come in on Northern Illinois.
Appalachian State (+17) at Clemson
Appalachian State had a relatively easy time in a 38-10 victory over visiting East Tennessee last week but missed the cover as a 35.5-point favorite. The Mountaineers are in the underdog role this time around as they travel to take on No. 25 Clemson. Spread bettors are leaning toward Appalachian State at BetMGM.
A whopping 91% of bets and 69% of total wagers have landed in that direction. That could be due to the Tigers’ disappointing performance in their opening loss to Georgia — a 34-3 defeat in a game in which they were 10.5-point underdogs.
Popular moneyline underdog bets
Beyond the popular spread bets for college football Week 2 matchups, a couple of underdogs are attracting bets on the moneyline to win the game outright over at BetMGM.
Tennessee at NC State (+300)
It’s an ACC vs. SEC battle of ranked teams in primetime. No. 14 Tennessee hits the road following an impressive 69-3 destruction of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Nico Iamaleava rose further up the Heisman Trophy odds board after throwing for 314 yards and three touchdowns. The Volunteers’ opponent will be No. 24 NC State.
The Wolfpack have also opened at 1-0, taking down Western Carolina by a score of 38-21 behind three passing TDs from Grayson McCall. At BetMGM, 60% of bets have come in on NC State to pull off the outright upset. It’s more evenly split on the betting handle for the game, with the Wolfpack holding a 52%-48% edge.
Colorado (+225) at Nebraska
Colorado received a scare in its home opener but managed to exit with a 31-26 victory over North Dakota State. Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four TDs, three of which were hauled in by Travis Hunter. The Buffaloes are in the underdog role this week as they travel to take on Nebraska, which is 1-0 after a convincing win over UTEP.
This is a long-running rivalry that has been impacted by conference realignment. It resumed last season, with Colorado picking up a 36-14 home win. On an all-time basis, Nebraska leads the series 49-21-2. Over at BetMGM, Colorado has been a popular moneyline underdog wager, attracting 84% of bets and 81% of betting handle for that bet.
Potential upsets based on the odds
The point spreads for a couple of this week’s top matchups are incredibly tight. That could translate into upset potential for what are expected to be closely contested games.
Georgia Tech at Syracuse (+2.5)
Georgia Tech is ranked for the first time since 2015, checking in at No. 23 in the latest AP poll. The Yellow Jackets are off to a 2-0 start, upsetting Florida State in the opener and following with a 35-12 win over Georgia State. They’re slight favorites for a trip to take on Syracuse, which is 1-0 after a 38-22 victory over Ohio.
These two ACC programs have met five times in total. Georgia Tech holds a 4-1 advantage and took last season’s meeting, 31-22. The spread is pointing to a tightly contested affair and also one that could be high-scoring. Sportsbooks have set the over/under at 60.5 points, which is one of the higher totals this week.
Iowa State (+3) at Iowa
Iowa has held a distinct edge over Iowa State in recent times. The Hawkeyes have won the last seven of eight over their rivals. They took last season’s meeting by a score of 20-13 and hold a 47-23 lead in the series. Both programs are 1-0 in the early going. Iowa hammered Illinois State 40-0, and the Cyclones took down North Dakota 21-3.
This game has one of the lowest totals of the week at 35.5 points, pointing to the potential for another tight and low-scoring affair. The last two meetings of the two clubs have been decided by one score in games where points came at a premium. Iowa won 20-13 last year, and Iowa State came out on top 10-7 in 2022.
Were there any big college football upsets last week?
The opening week of the regular season was an extended one, and it wasn’t kind to Florida State. The Seminoles dropped a stunner to Georgia Tech in the season-opener over in Dublin and followed with a home upset loss to Boston College on Monday night. Since entering the season ranked 10th, FSU has seen its odds to win the ACC take a dive.
Last Saturday, Vanderbilt pulled out a 34-27 overtime upset over Virginia Tech as 13.5-point home underdogs. On the spread, one of the most notable covers came courtesy of Idaho, an FCS program. Oregon had to battle to exit with a 24-14 victory after entering the game as a 49.5-point home favorite.
