Stanford Steve and The Bear: Week 2 college football picks, bets and nuggets
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris "The Bear" Fallica preview Week 2 of the 2022 college football season as only they can, offering their top bets, nuggets and totals worth wagering on.
Odds and lines are from Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise noted.
Records:
The Bear (Last week: 3-1-1. Season: 4-1-1)
Stanford Steve (Last week: 2-3. Season: 2-3)
The plays
Appalachian State Mountaineers at No. 6 Texas A&M Aggies (-19, 54)
The Bear: The Aggies weren't great last week, and this typically is a spot where I would fade a team with a big home game the following week, like A&M does with Miami. But Appalachian State's near upset of
North Carolina after appearing completely beaten likely has the Aggies' attention. The Mountaineers probably won't find the A&M defense as soft as UNC's, and that could mean we get the blowout we were on the way to getting last week.
Pick: Texas A&M -18.5
No. 10 USC Trojans (-8.5, 67.5) at Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Steve: Both teams did the job last week, each scoring over 40 points versus inferior competition in nonconference games. This matchup, I feel, sways toward the Trojans when you look at the film. The number of toys
Caleb Williams has to play with in Lincoln Riley's offense is plentiful, and the team speed for Stanford's defense doesn't look great. The other problem is Stanford's D-line lacks what you need to disrupt the Trojans. Can Stanford keep up with the USC offense? The Cardinal sure have a capable offense, led by QB
Tanner McKee, but I think the Trojans have too much. I'll lay the points with the road team.
Pick: USC -8.5 (USC 41, Stanford 24)
Akron Zips at No. 14 Michigan State Spartans (-34.5, 56)
The Bear: Akron's opener was ugly; there's no way around it. But catching roughly five TDs versus a Michigan State team that led
Western Michigan 21-13 entering the fourth quarter last week and has a road test at
Washington next week has me on Joe Moorhead's bunch for an ugly hold-your-nose cover.
Pick: Akron +34.5
Kent State Golden Flashes at No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners (-33.5, 72.5)
Stanford Steve: Taking the over in Oklahoma games might turn into a weekly occurrence. Oklahoma scored 45 last week, while Kent State gave up 45. I'll take the over.
Pick: Over 72.5 (Oklahoma 55, Kent State 20)
Mississippi State Bulldogs (-10.5, 60) at Arizona Wildcats
The Bear: I think last week's result might prove to be more in line with
San Diego State being bad, as opposed to Arizona being that good. This number has come down some, and Arizona has the look of public underdog. I like that. I don't think the Arizona passing game will have the type of success it did last week, and the Wildcats will face a far better offense this week, as well.
Pick: Mississippi State -10.5
Stanford Steve: How can you not be excited for Mike Leach and his Bulldogs heading out to Tucson for a late kickoff versus the Wildcats.
Will Rogers was fantastic last week in a weather-delayed win over
Memphis, throwing for 450 yards and five scores, while Arizona pulled off the upset versus the Aztecs thanks to their QB,
Washington State transfer
Jayden de Laura, who threw for 299 yards and four TDs. You know things will get weird late at night in Tucson. We'll take the over.
Pick: Over 60 (Mississippi State 45, Arizona 28)
Boston College Eagles at Virginia Tech Hokies (-2.5, 46)
Stanford Steve: Both teams are coming off tough losses; BC blew a fourth-quarter lead at home versus
Rutgers, and Virginia Tech lost at
Old Dominion. And both look to get right in a conference game. But it feels as if each might not be strong on the offensive side of the ball, as the Eagles only ran for 29 yards, and VaTech turned the ball over five times. So, the expectation is that it will be a low-scoring affair and tightly contested. I do believe Eagles wideout
Zay Flowers will be the best player on the field and he will be the difference. I'll take the road team getting the points.
Pick: Boston College +2.5 (Boston College 21, Virginia Tech 20)