With Week 2 of the college football season here, it’s time to check in on where the public money is landing. Bettors are locking in their picks, and the betting lines are reacting accordingly. In this article, we'll highlight three of the most interesting games where public money is shaping the odds: Texas vs. Michigan, Tennessee vs. N.C. State, and Colorado vs. Nebraska. Let’s dive into the key betting trends and what they might mean for these marquee matchups.
#3 Texas -7.5 at #10 Michigan
The Longhorns went into Week 1 expecting to blow out Colorado State as 35-point favorites, and they kept to that, with an absolutely massive 52-0 victory. It wasn’t close at any point in the game, and honestly, it was the outcome that pretty much everyone could have guessed. Nothing much to say here but Arch Manning looked good in his time out there after starters were pulled.
Michigan lost a ton of talent over the offseason from its national championship team, including their head coach Jim Harbaugh, and their starting QB J.J. McCarthy. The Wolverines managed to beat Fresno State 30-10, however, it took a very late defensive pick-six to separate themselves from the Bulldogs. They fell short by a point of covering as 21-point favorites.
Texas opened as a 6.5-point favorite, and has been bet up to 7.5 as of right now. The early money is all over the Longhorns. 62% of spread tickets and a whopping 70% of the money are on that side, according to BetMGM’s Drew O’Dell. Typically, more bets come in on the favorite closer to kickoff, so I expect that the books will likely need the Wolverines to cover here.
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#14 Tennessee -10 at #24 N.C. State
The Vols opened their season last week by taking on FCS Chattanooga, and that went just about how you would expect, a complete and utter dismantling as they rolled to a 69-3 victory over the inferior team. They easily covered as 39.5-point home favorites and had no trouble whatsoever here. QB Nico Lamaleava showed out and increased his Heisman chances, but outside of that, nothing newsworthy about that game.
North Carolina State also played an FCS team, but they had a far more difficult time getting a win against Western Carolina. The Wolfpack actually trailed in the game14-7 in the first quarter, and again 21-17 late in the third. They finally came to their senses in the fourth quarter and scored three touchdowns to pull away and win 38-21, but they were 32-point favorites, so they didn’t sniff a cover.
The public is absolutely hammering Tennessee in this game. The spread has moved from 5.5 to 10 in favor of the Vols, with 74% of the spread tickets and 80% of the handle on that side at BetMGM. There is a very good chance the books are going to need N.C. State to cover in this game.
Colorado ML at Nebraska
No article highlighting the biggest public sides of the week would be complete without the Colorado Buffaloes showing up in it. They nearly lost to perennial FCS champion North Dakota State at home last week, trailing in the game multiple times in the first half and down 20-17 at halftime. They did a better job defensively in the second half and ended up winning 31-26, but failed to cover as an 11-point favorite. Their stars showed out at least, with QB Shedeur Sanders passing for 445 yards and 4 TDs, and WR Travis Hunter with three of those TDs.
Nebraska completely whipped UTEP 40-7 in their opening game as a 27.5-point home favorite. QB Dylan Raiola, who is a true freshman, threw for 238 yards and two TDs before being pulled from the game in the second half up 37-7. They covered and won in a blow out, so again, nothing really of note here.
The public is once again betting on Colorado, this time mostly on the moneyline at +225 over at BetMGM. A huge 84% of the ML tickets and 81% of the money are backing the Buffs. In contrast, the Cornhuskers are getting love at -7.5 on the spread line, with 51% of tickets and 55% of the handle. Early betting suggests that the book will need Nebraska to win, but Colorado to cover.
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