NCAA College Football Week 2: Best Underdog Picks

TheSportsGeek has you covered for every week of college football in 2021. Along with our college football picks, we are going to highlight the top-10 matchups on the college gridiron throughout the regular season. Not only that, but if you like playing the underdogs, then we’re going to go over 3-5 underdogs a week that you might want to consider on your betting card.

If there is anything you have to be aware of going into Week 2 of the college football schedule is that overreacting to what happened last week can be a killer. It’s important to look at what happened, but not taking the results as the end all be all. There was some sloppy play from good teams in the first week that will likely be cleaned up.

Even from tems that came out victorious in blowouts, there were clearly miscues from not playing any football since the winter. I was on Kentucky, and they could have easily won 52-3 in that game with a stress free cover. Silly mistakes kept UL Monroe hanging around the 31-point spread, though. It was all money in the end on the Wildcats.

Some 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 made last night 👊 pic.twitter.com/HGjPkN7hJB

— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) September 4, 2021

The biggest and most notable upset of Week 1 was the North Carolina Tar Heels losing to the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg. I wouldn’t say it was shocking in the least, but an up nonetheless against a ranked North Carolina team with a Heisman prospect at quarterback.

The Tulane Green Wave were not that far off from winning straight up as more than 30-point underdogs. Tulane was able to pick through what was an overrated looking Oklahoma defense for 35 points in a 40-35 loss.

The Montana Grizzlies beating the Washington Huskies as 22.5-point underdogs was the upset of the week. Iowa State nearly lost as 29-point favorites against another FCS team, but held on for a 16-10 win. Utah State won as 17-point underdogs at Washington State, 26-23.

Let’s look for some doggies in Week 2. Head below for our best college football underdog picks for Week 2. Also check out our page on the best betting sites for the 2021 college football season.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Virginia Tech Hokies

Middle Tennessee

• 6-2 ATS in their previous eight games
• 4-2 overall in their previous six games
• 13-5 ATS in their previous 18 games
• OVER is 5-1 in their previous six games

Virginia Tech

• 2-4 ATS in their previous six games
• 2-4 overall in their previous six games
• 5-1 overall in their previous six games in September
• 2-4 ATS in their previous six games as a favorite
• UNDER is 4-1 in their previous five games

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs. Virginia Tech Hokies Betting Trends:

Letdown special in Week 2? Virginia Tech is coming off an emotional 17-10 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina was going into Blacksburg with all of the hype in the world. Sam Howell is a Heisman Trophy hopeful regarded as a top selection in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Hokies forced Howell into multiple mistakes, as he passed for 208 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.

The Virginia Tech offense didn’t have to do much to open the season with a 17-10 win. Braxton Burmeister threw for 169 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Leading-rusher, Jalen Holsten, was boggled up for 49 yards on 3.8 yards per carry. They are going to need more offense if the Hokies are going to compete with Clemson in the ACC.

Middle Tennessee are coming off a 50-15 drubbing of Monmouth. I know Monmouth, but they aren’t as bad of a team as the score indicates. The Blue Raiders were incredibly efficient in their winning effort. Bailey Hockman has starting ACC experience at NC State. Hockman passed for 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions on 64.3% completions last year.

Hockman transferred to Middle Tennessee after losing the starting job. He got off to a nice start as a Blue Raider with 215 yards and 3 touchdowns on 77.3% completions. The defense was able to do a good job on Tony Muskett, as he passed for 177 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception.

The public is going to overwhelmingly favor Virginia Tech in this spot. Expect money to pour in on the Hokies following their win over North Carolina. The oddsmakers could probably set this at 28 points and Virginia Tech would still get money. To answer the letdown question, yes, I could see Virginia Tech going through the motions and getting into a bigger battle than anticipated.

UAB Blazers vs. Georgia Bulldogs

UAB Blazers vs. Georgia Bulldogs Betting Trends:

UAB

• 6-2 overall in their previous eight games
• 7-2 overall in their previous nine games in September
• 2-4 ATS in their previous six games
• UNDER is 4-1 in their previous five games

Georgia

• 5-0 overall in their previous five games
• 2-4 ATS in their previous six games as a favorite
• 2-5 ATS in their previous seven games in September at home
• 5-1 overall in their previous six games versus Conference USA schools

Are you looking for another big letdown spot in Week 2? I’m not saying that Georgia is going to lose this week. I have Georgia to go OVER their season win total, and have them winning the National Championship, so an upset is highly improbable in my view.

Having said that, Georgia is coming off a monster win over the Clemson Tigers on Saturday night. They were perfect defensively with a 10-3 win. Highly touted Trevor Lawrence replacement, DJ Uiagalelei, was frustrated with 178 yards and a pick-6. He gained -22 yards on the ground, as Georgia provided no running lanes.

Don’t overlook the UAB defense on Saturday afternoon. Uh, no, this isn’t Georgia’s defense by any means, but they are going to give teams problems at times in 2021. The Blazers are coming off a 31-0 win over Jacksonville State. Jacksonville State did nothing, with Zerrick Cooper passing for 91 yards.

Georgia’s game plan is not going to be exotic in this one. They are not going to be showing anything too deep out of their playbook. Kirby Smart isn’t that dumb, and the locker room is dealing with COVID. This is likely going to be a ugly game with everything staying on the ground. UAB has a defense that should be able to offer enough resistance to stay within the points.

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Iowa State Cyclones Betting Trends:

Iowa

• 7-0 overall in their previous seven games
• 5-0 overall in their previous five games versus Iowa State
• 6-1 ATS in their previous seven games
• 5-1 overall in their previous six games on the road
• 5-1 overall in their previous six games versus Iowa State in Ames
• 4-0-1 ATS in their previous five Week 2 games

Iowa State

• 7-1 overall in their previous eight games
• 4-2 ATS in their previous six games
• 1-4 ATS in their previous five games in September
• 4-1 ATS in their previous five games as a favorite
• UNDER is 5-1 in their previous six games versus Iowa

The Iowa State Cyclones were caught in a lookahead spot last week against Northern Iowa. Despite going into last week as a 29-point favorite, the FCS school almost pulled off the upset versus the Cyclones. They didn’t want to show anything on tape for Iowa.

Expect Iowa State to open things up this week against their Big Ten and inter-state rival. Iowa State’s Brock Purdy passed for 199 yards with no touchdowns and interceptions. He completed 21 of 26 passing for an acceptable day at the office. Breece Hall ran for 69 yards and a touchdown on 3 yards per carry.

There is no reason to be concerned if you’re a Cyclone’s fan. They should be fine, but Iowa State doesn’t get a simple assignment in Week 2. I doubt that Iowa is going to show up to Jack Trice Stadium in Ames ill prepared. The Hawkeyes are coming off an impressive effort in Week 1.

Indiana were pounded by a score of 34-6 on the road in Iowa. There were three Iowa running backs that averaged over 5 yards a pop, with Tyler Goodson carrying the ball for 99 yards and a touchdown on 5.2 yards per carry. Quarterback Spencer Petras passed for 145 yards in a steady performance.

With the defense flying around the ball Petras didn’t have to do much. Iowa forced Indiana’s Michael Penix Jr. into 3 interceptions with no touchdowns. They also stopped Stephen Carr for 57 yards on just 3 yards per carry. This is likely a slug fest between Iowa and Iowa State in Ames. The road dog is where you probably have to look.