Big Ten Week 2 Props: Ride Heisman Hopeful Corum to Bust Loose
If you take away the Nebraska-Minnesota, Ohio State-Indiana, and Northwestern-Rutgers matchups where one of the teams had to lose, the only other Big Ten team to fall in Week 1 was Purdue.
It could be a different story in Week 2 with Illinois, Nebraska, Purdue, and Northwestern all listed by the college football predictions as underdogs.
According to the sportsbook, six of the games have point spreads under seven points so there could be some surprises beginning with Friday’s Illinois-Kansas matchup
The biggest line move came in the Purdue-Virginia Tech matchup. That game went from being a Pick’em to Purdue coming in as a three-point underdog according to the college football picks.
Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State are all ranked in the Top 10 in the national polls and are also among the top candidates in the odds to win the national title.
Here’s a look at some prop bets that those who bet online might want to consider.
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Corum Ready for Another 100-Yard Effort
Blake Corum‘s late-season injury in 2022 likely played a role in his decision to return to Michigan. Certainly, it wasn’t for games like Saturday’s showdown against an overmatched UNLV team. However, that contest will allow the Heisman Trophy candidate to shake off some of the rust.
Corum had 73 yards on just 10 carries in a season-opening win over East Carolina. It seems likely that he will get a larger workload against UNLV.
Corum had eight straight 100-yard rushing games in 2022 before his season-ending injury early in the Ohio State game.
The odds for him to hit triple digits are worth rolling with.
Pick: Michigan’s Blake Corum To Go Over 99 Rushing Yards +127
Hitting the Ground Running
A year ago, it wasn’t too hard to figure out which Illinois running back would be carrying the ball. Chase Brown had 60% of the carries for the Fighting Illini on his way to being one of the top rushers in college football.
The pecking order in the Illinois backfield in 2023 is still being sorted out as running backs Reggie Love III and Josh McCray combined for 23 rushing attempts while quarterback Luke Altmyer added nine carries for a team-high 69 yards in a 30-28 win over Toledo.
Kansas finished last in the Big 12 in rushing defense a season ago, allowing 209.2 yards per game and 4.8 yards per attempt, so there will be opportunities for the Fighting Illini to churn out yards on the ground.
We’re going with the quarterback to do more than just throw the ball on Saturday.
Pick: Luke Altmyer to go over 27 rushing yards -126
Take A Look At These Other 2 NCAAF Special Articles
SEC Week 2 Props: ’Bama’s Milroe Good Bet to Pile Up Yards
Pac-12 Week 2 Props: Colorado’s Two-Way Star Hunting More Yards
Some Room to Operate
Lost in the hoopla around Colorado upsetting 2022 College Football Playoff participant Texas Christian in Deion Sanders’ first game as the head coach is that the Buffaloes allowed 6.9 yards per play to TCU and struggled to stop the Horned Frogs on the ground and through the air.
Nebraska doesn’t appear to have the same quality of players at the skill positions as TCU, but still, the Cornhuskers could have some room to run on Saturday.
Alex Bullock led Nebraska with 56 receiving yards in a season-opening loss to Minnesota and he figures to be a popular target once again.
Pick: Nebraska’s Alex Bullock to go over 30 receiving yards -115
Iowa-Iowa State to Go Over?
The last four games between Iowa and Iowa State could probably make some people’s eyes bleed with 16, 35, 44, and 17 points scored.
Seven of the last eight games between the teams went under the total and, of course, that is the way we are proceeding, right?
Not exactly.
Don’t expect a repeat of the 44-41 thriller between the teams in 2017, but after Iowa State had 250 yards in Week 1 and Iowa finished with 284, this is a chance to take a jump.
Pick Iowa-Iowa State game to go over 36½ points -110.
Three-and-Out for Purdue vs. Va. Tech
The Purdue-Virginia Tech matchup might be one of the hardest ones to predict among those featuring Big Ten teams.
Purdue had a humbling 39-35 loss to Fresno State in Week 1 while Virginia Tech did enough to win comfortably against Old Dominion, but it was hardly a breathtaking performance.
That makes the matchup between the Boilermakers and Hokies one that could come down to the final minutes.
In their glory years, it was not unusual for points to come at a fast and furious pace for both teams. That might not happen in this matchup.
Pick: Neither Purdue nor Virginia Tech to score three times in a row +154
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