Football has officially arrived!
I know, college football’s Weeks 0-1 have already been played, as well as the NFL’s Thursday night opener, but this marks the start of the new season in all of its glory.
To start, we have today’s absolutely loaded college football Week 2 Saturday slate, followed by the first full Sunday of NFL action tomorrow.
Yes, please.
There has never been a better time to take advantage of the Action Network’s PRO betting tools, which aggregate five key betting value indicators like sharp action, big money, historically-profitable betting systems, top betting model predictions and expert picks, to identify the smartest available bets at any given moment.
With more than 100 college football games on Saturday alone, and an all-day NFL affair on tap for tomorrow, being able to examine all of these crucial value signals in real-time can provide a significant edge for any sports bettor.
To get us started, I leveraged our PRO betting tools to pinpoint today’s smartest college football bets, which are detailed below.
However, there are plenty more savvy bets available as our PRO tools provide spread, over/under and moneyline signals on EVERY game for EVERY sport, including college football and the NFL.
So if you’re interested in giving our PRO tools a spin for free this weekend, click this Free PRO Trial link here and you’ll be off and running, including accessing how I’m using these betting value indicators to find five of Saturday’s smartest college football bets, including:
- North Carolina vs. Georgia State (12 p.m. ET)
- No. 24 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Pittsburgh (3:30 p.m. ET)
- No. 20 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Florida (7 p.m. ET)
- Northern Illinois vs. Tulsa (7 p.m. ET)
- No. 9 Baylor vs. No. 21 BYU (10:15 p.m. ET)
College Football Odds, Picks Week 2
*College football odds as of Saturday morning
North Carolina vs. Georgia State Pick
12 p.m. ET | ESPNU
I highlighted North Carolina vs. Georgia State already this week in my sharpest early Week 2 bets piece, and this game has seen more of the same over the past few days.
To summarize, Georgia State was a very popular target of sharp bettors after college football Week 2 odds opened, pounding the Panthers from +9.5 to +7.5.
The flow of smart money has continued as a handful of shops, like DraftKings and PointsBet have dipped down to +7, one of the most important numbers in all of football betting.
However, there are +7.5s available, so check in at the Action Network’s College Football Live Odds Page to find the best line available, like the +7.5 (-115) at FanDuel.
PRO Report Pick: Georgia State +7.5 (-115)
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Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh Pick
3:30 p.m. ET | ABC
In this matchup of two top-25 teams, the latest Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh spread is simply too large to ignore.
The Action Network’s College Football PRO Projections set this line at Panthers +3.2, which results in a nice 6.7% edge compared to the consensus number of +6.
This edge has not gone unnoticed either as two of our top college football betting experts are on Pittsburgh and the points as well.
PRO Report Pick: Pittsburgh +6
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Kentucky vs. Florida Pick
7 p.m. ET | ESPN
Similar to Tennessee vs. Pittsburgh above, experts are pouncing on a Kentucky vs. Florida edge.
While not huge, our betting model projects this spread at Kentucky +4.4, a 2.5% difference considering the widely-available Wildcats +6s.
And perhaps more important is the fact that two of our experts are finding enough value to get down on Kentucky as well.
PRO Report Pick: Kentucky +6
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Northern Illinois vs. Tulsa Pick
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Northern Illinois vs. Tulsa certainly doesn’t bring the prestige of the higher-profile college football programs in this article, but in terms of value, this is among the smartest bets of Saturday’s Week 2 slate.
To start, professional bettors have already taken a crack at Northern Illinois, steaming the spread down from +7 to +6.5, and even to +6 at some shops.
Getting the Huskies at a full touchdown would have certainly been nice, but our PRO Projections suggest there is still plenty of value with the underdogs.
Our model projects this spread much closer to a field goal — Northern Illinois +3.1 to be exact — meaning there’s reason to think hard about Huskies +6.5 in this smaller Saturday night matchup.
PRO Report Pick: Northern Illinois +6.5
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Baylor vs. BYU Pick
10:15 p.m. ET | ESPN
Baylor vs. BYU will be a much bigger game, in terms of public interest, than Northern Illinois vs. Tulsa, and our college football betting model is all over the Cougars here.
Our projection of BYU -8.1 is clearly an aggressive one considering the latest 2.5-point spread, but it’s also enough to convince one college football betting expert to lay the short price with the Cougars on Saturday night as well.
PRO Report Pick: BYU -2.5
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