​IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect. Pictured: Steve Angeli (Syracuse)
Welcome to Week 2 of the NCAAF season. Ohio State vs. Texas is arguably the biggest game of the entire season, but first, I have four Week 2 college football picks and predictions for the afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET) 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: 0-0Overall: 223-178-3 (55.6%)Week 2 College Football Picks for Afternoon SlateGameTime (ET)Pick3:30 p.m.Kentucky +10.53:30 p.m.Arizona +7.53:30 p.m.Syracuse -2.53:45 p.m.North Texas +6.5I’ve had this spot circled since the summer, with the Will Stein era officially kicking off.No, I’m not counting last week’s rout of Youngstown State, but I at least came away impressed with the ‘Cats in that victory over a top-10 FCS program, especially since they sat several starters who have a good shot of returning on Saturday:RT Malachi Wood (should play)CB Hasaan Sykes (should play)CB Terhyon Nichols (not on injury report)Plus, linebacker Alex Afari Jr., who came back to Lexington following a brief stop with the Green Bay Packers, should get a more normal workload in the second level where his presence could really provide a boost.New quarterback Kenny Minchey looked fine, but the game plan was very vanilla, with most of the damage coming after the catch on short passes. He misfired on a few of the rare deep balls he attempted, but it was overall a positive debut.More importantly, Kentucky didn’t have to show much, and I expect Stein to unleash his bag for such an important game for the program. I assume he worked all summer on this specific game plan against a staff he’s very familiar with on the other side from his time at Oregon.As a result, he should have a prime opportunity to catch Alabama off guard early in this game with plenty of new packages and wrinkles.It also helps to have a very stout offensive line that this staff clearly prioritized when building the roster. It’s the strongest position unit on the team, which is always a nice place to start.Alabama did look great in its home opener against East Carolina, but that came at home against a very down Pirates squad that not only lost a ton from last year’s roster (in addition to both coordinators), but also had some key injuries.It’s an ECU team that the market hated this summer and is betting against once again this week at home vs. App State, so I’d tap the brakes a bit on the Bama love.This is still a first-year starter making his first road start against an SEC opponent with a much-maligned offensive line that will actually get a real test this week and will likely have to do so without its best player up front in Michael Carroll (doubtful).You can al