Week 2 NCAAF Picks, Predictions: Stuckey’s 5 College Football Evening Spots — 9/12

Ohio State vs. Texas is the game on everyone's mind for the Week 2 evening slate. But that doesn't mean there isn't more betting value on the college football odds board. I have five spots you should be circling in the same window.

My primary goal of this piece is to simply share a few key angles, notable matchups and injury situations for each particular game that hopefully will make you a better bettor.

For full reference of all my spots for Week 2, here's the full piece. This is the first spots piece that I've completed this season.

• 2022-25: 223-178-3 (55.6%)
• 2026: 0-0
• Overall: 223-178-3 (55.6%)

Week 2 College Football Evening Picks

	6 p.m.	Boise State -7.5
	7 p.m.	Georgia State +9.5
	7 p.m.	Georgia Tech +13
	7:30 p.m.	Oregon State +27.5
	7:45 p.m.	Charlotte +47.5

Boise State -7.5 vs. Memphis

6 p.m. ET ⋅ USA

Memphis is off to a hot start at 2-0, but I haven't been as impressed as others seem to be.

The Tigers beat a UNLV team I'm down on in large part due to a key offensive line injury and the Rebels failing on three fourth-down attempts.

Mistakes by both teams allowed Memphis to play with the lead, where its tremendous pass rush could tee off on subpar G6 offensive lines.

The rest of the defense is very vulnerable on the back end, and this will prove a much more difficult test against a Boise team that just went toe-to-toe with one of the national champion favorites on the road.

More importantly, quarterback Maddux Madsen played the best game of his career. He had previously really struggled against top-tier competition, so last week's performance has me bullish on his outlook for his fourth season as a starter.

New Memphis quarterback Marcus Stokes has looked OK, but he's mainly just hit the easy button for explosives in Kevin Decker's scheme against shaky defenses.

The offensive line still has holes that Boise's front can exploit, forcing Stokes into some critical mistakes.

I project this at 10 from a pure numbers perspective and think Boise should get a slight bump for the spot with Memphis coming off back-to-back games in Vegas and then at home in the heat vs. Arkansas State before traveling back out west.

That's a tricky start to the season.

Ultimately, I expect Boise to play from ahead, where it can lean on the Memphis front with its potent backfield in order to neutralize the pass rush and set up shots downfield off play-action where Madsen has always excelled.

Pick: Boise State -7.5 (Play to -8)

Georgia State +9.5 at Kennesaw State

7 p.m. ET ⋅ ESPN+

I've been waiting for my first real opportunity to fade Syracuse transfer quarterback Rickie Collins, and this is my chance following a blowout victory over a bad FCS team in West Georgia, which recently transitioned from D-II.

You can't really take much from either team's opener, with Georgia State also annihilating a poor FCS program in NC A&T by a score of 59-10.

Both teams still have many roster concerns, especially on the offensive side of the ball after offseason roster turnover.

However, I do believe Georgia State has the much better quarterback in Cameran Brown, who for some reason had to split time under center last season despite finishing with a 13:1 touchdown-interception ratio, while the other two QBs on the roster finished with a combined nine touchdowns to 10 interceptions.

The Panthers also significantly upgraded their offensive staff, so I expect a much more serious operation after last year's debacle.

I project this spread under a touchdown, so I had no issues locking in +9.5, looking to get in early in the season on a Georgia State team that I have slightly better than market (with the opposite holding true for the Owls).

Give me the Panthers to keep this close with a real shot at pulling off the outright upset against their close neighbors right up the road in a bit of a rivalry.

Pick: Georgia State +9.5 (Play to +8)

Georgia Tech +13 vs. Tennessee

7 p.m. ET ⋅ ESPN

I absolutely hated this Georgia Tech team coming into the season. Not only did I fade the Yellow Jackets Week 1, but I also loved their win total under.

I just thought the market wasn't properly accounting for the offseason losses, primarily offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and quarterback Haynes King.

Yet, even after downgrading the Yellow Jackets following their Week 1 loss to Colorado, I'm still at just +10 after adjusting for a very good situational spot.

Not only is this a primo buy-low opportunity on Tech (which thrives in the underdog role under Brent Key), but it also has a few extra days of rest/prep after opening up the season on a Thursday.

That's important for a roster that had to deal with so much turnover and brought in a new starting quarterback from the portal in Alberto Mendoza, who now at least has a start under his belt.

I'd expect the Ramblin' Wreck to run him more in this spot to open up the run game for Malachi Hosley and Justice Haynes, who simply could not get going against the Buffs.

While the trench play was worrisome for Tech and Julian Lewis left some points on the board with some bad quarterback play, it was still a coin-flip game if you look at post-game win expectancy, which also doesn't include a defensive touchdown that got erroneously taken off the board for the Yellow Jackets.

It's reasonable to expect a better effort in the second game with many new pieces and brand new coordinators.

Tennessee basically played to expectations in the opener against an FCS school, but I'm not sure how much we can take from a home game against a severely overmatched opponent in Furman.

This will still mark the first career road start (and first against real competition) for freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon. While super talented, he's still extremely inexperienced.

Ultimately, I just believe this is too much of an overreaction based on the results last week.

Plus, I'd expect Georgia Tech to grind this game to a halt, which it tends to do as an underdog in order to limit the number of possessions, which makes the points a bit more intriguing.

Pick: Georgia Tech +13 (Play to +11.5)

Oregon State +27.5 vs. Texas Tech

7:30 p.m. ET ⋅ CBS

For starters, this is a tough spot for Tech, having to travel to the West Coast for a nonconference game with Houston on deck (on a short week) in one of its most important games of the entire regular season.

I doubt it'll be too concerned with running it up here and likely will just want to get out of dodge with a healthy Will Hammond, who I don't think is even 100% ready to fully utilize his legs, which hampers this offense a bit.

As of right now, the Red Raiders' passing attack is pretty underwhelming with an abundance of short passes and potential major issues in the red zone once again.

Additionally, the defense appears to have taken a major step back up front following the losses of three defensive linemen to the NFL, which, in turn, should expose the secondary a bit more after basically not having to get tested at all last season.

Meanwhile, I was really impressed with Oregon State play-calling under new offensive coordinator Mitch Dahlen and especially quarterback Braden Atkinson.

The Mercer transfer threw for nearly 400 yards in his FBS debut on the road at Houston in an easy cover.

Give me the Beavs to keep this within four touchdowns at home with revenge on their minds following a 31-point blowout loss against a much tougher Tech team in Lubbock last season.

Pick: Oregon State +27.5 (Play to +25)

Charlotte +47.5 at Ole Miss

7:45 p.m. ET ⋅ ESPN2

Get ready to hold your nose here, backing a Charlotte team that just lost its home opener as a massive favorite vs. The Citadel.

While I believe Tim Albin is a decent head coach, the roster is just void of talent. I'd expect a focused effort from the 49ers here after such an embarrassing result, but they will undoubtedly be completely overmatched from a talent standpoint.

This is simply a play on a number I show value in, plus a fade of Ole Miss in a brutal situational spot.

Following its thrilling win over Louisville in a true 60-minute all-out effort, it has to host lowly Charlotte on a short week before hosting LSU in one of the most highly anticipated games of the year.

So, what does that mean? Well, for starters, I doubt the Rebs want to run Trinidad Chambliss much in this one. Additionally, they will probably sit some guys who dealt with injuries last week, including stud running back Kewan Lacy and some offensive linemen.

It's also worth mentioning that I downgraded Ole Miss following last week's victory (and non-cover).

Chambliss looked awesome, but the defense had major communication issues, and that could've easily ended in a loss if not for some enormous Louisville special teams blunders that directly led to 14 Ole Miss points.

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The Rebels will most likely build a big lead and eventually take the air out of the ball. They'll also at some point get their third-stringers on the field.

While the gap between the haves and have-nots in today's new college football landscape continues to widen, the gap between the deep bench of the premier teams and the lower-level ones continues to shrink, as there just aren't as many high-quality players who want to stick around on the third-string when they can go get paid somewhere else to play.

Lastly, I doubt Ole Miss wants to show anything to Lane Kiffin, so I'd expect it to be extra vanilla, prioritizing health. And I doubt they spent much time prepping for Charlotte, instead opting to focus on next week's plan of attack vs. the Tigers.

Pick: Charlotte +47.5 (Play to +45)