College football betting: Alabama, Notre Dame among popular Week 2 bets
Week 2 of the college football season gets underway on Friday night as Louisville and Boise State look to bounce back from Week 1 disappointments. The Saturday slate has some intriguing matchups, but a lot of the top teams in the country are massive favorites. Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Miami and Ohio State are all favored to win their games by at least 20 points. Are bettors laying the big numbers or are they taking the points?
Bettors expect Alabama to roll
For the first time since the 2010 BCS National Championship game, Alabama and Texas will meet. After opening as a 17.5-point favorite early in the week, Alabama is now up to a 20.5-point favorite at BetMGM. Currently, 88% of bets and 92% of the betting handle is backing Alabama to cover as nearly three touchdown favorites.
Alabama was dominant in their season opener, beating Utah State by a score of 55-0. Bryce Young threw five touchdown passes and then added 100 yards and another score on the ground. The defense held the Aggies to 136 total yards. Texas also cruised in their opener, beating UL-Monroe by a score of 52-10.
Bettors are also expecting some points in this one. Currently at BetMGM, 68% of bets are backing the game to go over 65 points. The total opened at 62.5-points earlier in the week.
Can Notre Dame build on last week?
Notre Dame couldn't pull out the outright victory over Ohio State last week, but they kept the game much closer than many (including the oddsmakers) expected. Notre Dame held a lead until the final minute of the third quarter and held Ohio State's vaunted offense to just 21 points.
Despite the loss, it's a performance the Fighting Irish could build off. They get that opportunity this week, as Notre Dame is a 20.5-point favorite against Marshall. Bettors expect the Irish to roll, as 88% of bets and 89% of the money is backing Notre Dame. Marshall beat Norfolk State by a score of 55-3 in their opener, but obviously, this is a much different level of opponent.
It seems like bettors expect Marshall to struggle to score in this one. After opening with a total of 51.5 points earlier in the week, the total is down to just 49.5-points. Over at BetMGM, 67% of the money is on the under.
What else do bettors like?
Here are some other bets receiving a majority of the action at BetMGM ahead of Saturday:
Ohio State is a massive 44.5-point favorite against Arkansas State, but that's not scaring off bettors. Currently, 72% of bets and 78% of the money is on the Buckeyes to cover.
After destroying Bethune Cookman in their opener, bettors are expecting Miami to have another laugher on Saturday. Eighty percent of bets and 86 percent of the money is backing the U to cover 25.5-points against Southern Mississippi.
Bettors are taking the points with South Carolina, as 76% of bets are on the Gamecocks to cover as 8.5-point underdogs against Arkansas.
Seventy-five percent of the money is backing Texas A&M to cover as 19.5-point favorites against Appalachian St.
Bettors like Tennessee this weekend, as 73% of the money is backing the Vols to cover as 6-point road favorites against Pittsburgh.
The action for Oklahoma-Kent State is rather one-sided, as 93% of the bets are on the Sooners to cover as 33.5-point favorites.
