Saturday's Week 2 college football slate features plenty of Group of 6 and FBS vs. FCS matchups that may not get the coverage they deserve.
With that said, I decided to dive into three of those matchups on Saturday: Nicholls vs. Kansas State, Utah Tech vs. BYU and Portland State vs. San Diego State.
Let's take a look at my Week 1 college football picks and FBS vs. FCS predictions for Saturday, September 5.
Georgia State vs Kennesaw State Pick
| Georgia State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+8.5 -115 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | +250 |
| Kennesaw State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-8.5 -105 | 54.5 -110o / -110u | -320 |
Kennesaw State put together an impressive performance last week, but the competition needs to be considered. West Georgia has been dealing with internal suspensions of its head coach, and the offense is a complete mess.
The Owls played inspiring football from the opening kickoff and raced out to a 40-0 lead behind a trio of early touchdown runs in the first quarter.
The defense confused UWG quarterback Collin Hurst, who wasn't ready to line up against an FBS-level stop unit.
Now, they'll be facing off against a much stronger quarterback in Georgia State’s Cameran Brown, who dazzled in limited time against North Carolina A&T.
Brown makes all of the hard throws, can scramble out of trouble and takes care of the ball. Had he been the quarterback all of last season, Georgia State would have won more football games.
The Panthers' ground game is strong, allowing them to register explosive plays against the Owls here. I'd look at taking the +8.5 here.
Pick: Georgia State +8.5
Southern Utah vs Colorado State Pick
| Southern Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+20.5 -108 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | +920 |
| Colorado State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-20.5 -112 | 57.5 -110o / -110u | -1800 |
Colorado State has a much improved offense with Hauss Hejny at quarterback, and the Rams showed it by picking up plenty of explosive plays in their Week 1 defeat of Wyoming.
Head coach Jim Mora has upgraded the talent level of this team, and several receivers stepped up and made plays. It was a complete 180-degree turnaround from what we saw last season.
The Rams are going to have plenty of fireworks on display Saturday afternoon.
Southern Utah has played two higher-scoring games against Montana and Weber State, and the first game saw four touchdowns left out on the field.
The Thunderbirds have had great QB play from Will Burns, who has thrown for 397 yards with four touchdowns. The ground attack has also been explosive, registering multiple long chunk plays each week.
This offense is going to score some points on Colorado State’s defense, but there's a very high chance they give up 45 or more on the defensive end. I want to bet the over in this matchup.
Pick: Over 57.5
Western Illinois vs Wisconsin Pick
| Western Illinois Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+40.5 -110 | 50.5 -108o / -112u | +8000 |
| Wisconsin Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-40.5 -110 | 50.5 -108o / -112u | |
This is a complete mismatch, and a game Wisconsin needs to put up a big offensive showing.
The Leathernecks are a middling team in a weak OVC conference and were just blasted by last year’s FCS runner-up, Illinois State.
A WIU victory in the opener against an NAIA team doesn’t move the needle for me, and Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell has to empty the clip here to figure out what he has.
The Badgers did some good work in their opener against Notre Dame and certainly deserved to cover the number.
I'd expect a strong rushing attack against a Leathernecks defense that allowed over five yards per carry last season.
The Badgers have offensive talent, and quarterback Colton Joseph will connect on the vertical passes in this one, with Wisconsin threatening to score 50 or more points.
I'd seek to play the over in this game, which should hit based on Wisconsin’s offensive output alone.
Pick: Over 50
