College Football Lines: Vegas Bets Week 2

Miami Hurricanes running back Duke Johnson will need a big day to beat the Gators. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Underdogs will rule the day. Hopefully.

Florida at Miami (FL) +3
This reminds me of last week’s Clemson-Georgia game, and I once again like the underdog. I’m still not sold on the Gators’ offense. Who knows when these schools will play again. I like super sophomore Duke Johnson to carry the Canes to victory.

Western Kentucky +13.5 at Tennessee
I’m banking on Bobby Petrino starting his career at Western Kentucky with two wins against the SEC. The Hilltoppers toppled Mark Stoops’s Kentucky squad last week; Saturday is yet another matchup of head coaches in their first year at their school. Butch Jones’s Vols looked good in a 45-0 rout of Austin Peay last week, but Tennessee fans surely remember that Derek Dooley’s debut was a 50-0 win. Kickoff is scheduled for a very precise 12:21.

Syracuse and Northwestern played a thrilling game last season. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse +17 at Northwestern
Northwestern is the better team, no doubt, but the ’Cats have injury concerns in their backfield. Quarterback Kain Colter and running back Venric Mark are both questionable for the game. Trevor Siemian has plenty of experience—he led Northwestern to a win at Cal last week when Colter went down on the second play—and is a better passer than Colter, but 17 is a big number. Northwestern won this matchup last season 42-41.