NCAA Football Week 2 Straight Up Picks

We learned some things from the first week of the 2018 college football season. Texas, for example, is a team that does not appear to be as strong as we thought coming in. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger struggled mightily against a Maryland team missing its head coach, and the Longhorns lost to Maryland for the second year in a row. Arkansas won emphatically in the first game of the Chad Morris era, and Alabama found out that Jalen Hurts just might be expendable in their opening win. We have picked two games here for the coming week that represent solid NCAA Football Week 2 betting opportunities as straight up wagers. Both of these are non-conference games in which the teams are looking to make a statement this season. As always, home teams are in all caps.

NCAA Football Week 2 Straight Up Picks

Week 2 AP Top 25 poll released https://t.co/E27VSxk6XV

— Saturday Down South (@SDS) September 4, 2018

Saturday, September 8

Arizona (+4) over HOUSTON, 12:00pm ET, ABC/ESPN2

Arizona took a tough loss against BYU in their opener, falling by five, and they come in on a three-game losing streak. Khalil Tate only completed half of his passes for the Wildcats in the loss, picking up just 197 yards to go with his touchdown. He is not the focus of the offense, though, as he has not thrown for more than one touchdown in four out of the last five contests. The Arizona offense also ran for just 129 yards, though, so they need some work on both phases of offense. On defense, Colin Schooler led the way against BYU with 16 tackles. Hopefully, Schooler will get more help this week as the Wildcats visit a Houston team that has quite a bit of speed. They face a Houston team that walloped crosstown rival Rice by a 45-27 score and has won 10 of 12 at home. Quarterback D’Eriq King threw for 320 yards on the day with three touchdowns and no picks. Wideouts Marquez Stevenson and Keith Corbin are his favorite targets, and the running game picked up 257 yards against the Owls as well. However, Arizona is capable of playing much better ball, and Houston has only covered the spread four times in their last 16 games as a favorite by at least three points. Arizona has the better quarterback and is coming off a game against a much tougher opponent. They should ride that momentum to a win down in the Lone Star State. NCAA Football Week 2 Pick: Arizona 23, Houston 20

NORTHWESTERN (-2) over Duke, 12:00pm ET, ESPNU

Duke went to upstate New York last week and delivered a road win over an Army team that is formidable because of its option offense — and it was their first road win in their last four tries. Quarterback Daniel Jones completed almost 77 percent of his passes, picking up 197 yards and throwing a touchdown pass without an interception. Tailback Brittain Brown led the Blue Devils with 75 yards and a score, and Duke rolled up 184 yards on the ground overall. Northwestern went to Purdue last week and picked up a crucial Big Ten win to start the season. The Wildcats have won four in a row at home and look to make that five against Duke. Quarterback Clayton Thorson threw for 172 yards in the win, but the scoring game on the ground, as Jeremy Larkin rumbled for 143 yards and a pair of scores. It is true that Northwestern has only covered the spread three times in their last 10 non-conference games, but they have covered in four of their last five at home and eight of their last nine overall. Duke does have a history of covering spreads as an underdog, covering in 10 of those last 14 situations, and winning in seven of those. However, Northwestern is a dark horse contender to get to the Big Ten Championship and showed it against a resurgent Purdue team. NCAA Football Week 2 Pick: Northwestern 24, Duke 20