SEC Week 2 Betting Lines: Not Good Enough

Tuscaloosa, we have a problem. No, we don’t think ULM will have history repeat itself, and the War Hawks will knock off the Tide for the 2nd time in 18 years. 4-2. We’ll get to the SEC Week 2 Betting lines in a moment. We need to talk about 4-2. That’s the SEC’s record against the other P4 conferences. It was the best record amongst the four.

• SEC: 4-2
• B1G 2-1
• ACC: 2-4
• B12: 2-3

The ACC and Big 12 had losing records. Heck, we could even poke fun at the B1G for losing to a G6 team. But then again, Tulane looks pretty good this year. Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin, we are sure, were watching closely. It is the two losses, though, that should draw the SEC’s ire.

Two is Greater than Four

Before we start popping champagne bottles, we need to look at the two. Those stunk and meant a lot more than the four. Texas and Alabama both lost their opening road contests. Sure, Texas competed and held Ohio State to just over 200 yards. Two drives stalling inside the Buckeyes’ 10-yard line and Arch Manning looking less than Heisman-worthy were the problems. Ohio State is the defending national champion, but these are the games that the SEC and Texas have to win. That is the difference between Indiana and Alabama getting into the playoffs. Speaking of Alabama…

So, save the banner waving for wins against Baylor (Auburn), Syracuse (Tennessee), Clemson (LSU), and Virginia Tech (South Carolina. To be fair, Clemson was big and finally got the monkey and 0-5 record off of LSU’s back. But it’s just not enough. If the SEC is going to reclaim its position at the top of college football, it will need more signature wins.

The showdown in Norman will be a perfect opportunity to do so on Saturday night, highlighting our Week 2 SEC Betting lines.

Week 2 SEC Betting Lines:

FanDuel Week 2 SEC Betting Lines

Picks last week: 

• Week 1: 1-4
• YTD: 1-4

No. 20 Ole Miss @ Kentucky

Kiffin has brought the party from The Grove into The Vaught. Ole Miss has won three double-digit wins in the last four years. Kiffin has leveraged the NIL and Transfer Portal to transform the Rebels from a middle-of-the-pack team to one of the strongest in the SEC. If there is one knock against Kiffin and the Rebels, it is complacency. Sometimes they tend to lose or give away games that they have no business losing. That was true last year against Kentucky in Oxford.

A late Barion Brown reception on fourth down extended a drive late in the fourth quarter that the Wildcats would eventually score on. The loss to Kentucky, combined with losses at Florida and LSU, cost Ole Miss a playoff spot. Ole Miss came out firing on Saturday and scored 63 points against lowly Georgia State. Kentucky put everything into making sure Toledo didn’t knock off an SEC team for the second year in a row on the road. Look for Kiffin and the Rebels to make a big statement at Kroger Field on Saturday.

Pick: Ole Miss

Kansas @ Missouri

The Border War is a thing again! This is a close series. Mizzou leads the all-time series 57-54-9. But this is also a series that was killed by conference realignment. The Tigers and Jayhawks last met in 2011. Beau Pribula is now QB1 in Columbia, as Sam Horn is now out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The Penn State transfer looked good in Week 1 action, completing 19 of 23 passes for 204 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed for another touchdown. The Jayhawks come in 2-0 against less-than-stellar competition. This one should be a lot of fun and have some eyeballs glued to the outcome.

Pick: Missouri

South Florida @ No. 13 Florida

Billy Napier’s month just got a lot harder. They face a four-game stretch starting next week against LSU, Miami (FL), Texas, and Texas A&M. This week’s game against the Bulls was intended to be another warm-up to ensure that DJ Lagway was healthy and the Gators were ready to build on a strong finish to the 2024 season.

This week’s game got a lot more interesting when South Florida took it to Boise State last week in Tampa and knocked off the G6 at-large favorite. Alex Golesh has had a slow build in Tampa and finally seems to have all of the pieces together to challenge their big brothers in Gainesville. If Florida has turned the corner from its first two years under Napier, a convincing win Saturday evening will be just what the doctor ordered.

Pick: Florida

No. 12 Arizona State @ Mississippi State

Jeff Lebby and the Cowbells were clanging last week as the Bulldogs took care of business in Hattiesburg. It’s not often an SEC team should feel good about winning on the road against a Sun Belt team, but there hasn’t been much to cheer about in Stark Vegas as of late. Lebby and the Bulldogs will have their hands full this weekend against the defending Big 12 Champions. This game will serve as a crucial measuring stick to gauge just how far Lebby has closed the gap and what competitiveness will look like for Hail State in 2025. Expect lots of points and a high-scoring affair in this one.

Pick: Arizona State

No. 15 Michigan @ No. 18 Oklahoma

It is the offense that will need to show up. Venables brought in a new offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, and quarterback John Mateer to fix the lackluster Sooner offense. A win could be a shot of adrenaline for this program, and nine or ten wins and a CFB Playoff appearance enter the conversation. A loss brings more questions and a hotter seat. Norman is a tough place to play at night, ask Alabama. It probably won’t be fun for a true-freshman quarterback either.

Pick: Oklahoma

Main Photo: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images