College Football Bets: What You Need To Know Before Week 2, 2023

As I sit here and write this article after the first real weekend of college football, I feel like I just went on a four day bender filled with every sort of stimulant and depressant imaginable. Sure, watching football isn't exactly the same as doing drugs, but from Thursday night all the way through Monday we got wrenched around with wild results and storylines like a kite in the middle of a fucking tornado.

For me, the theme of the weekend was “pain” (insert GIF of man who’s dead inside). Not only did my beloved BC Eagles lose at home to NIU in what can only be described as the biggest embarrassment in program history (just kidding, all we do is embarrass ourselves, this is just another year), but I got absolutely WASHED on the gambling boards as every perceived angle or value I found went up in flames. So, take what I say with a grain of salt this week, both because I’m somehow jaded after just 1 week of games and because I may know absolutely nothing about this sport.

Let’s get after it with three things to know (or not know), thanks to my free sports picks friends at Dimers!

MORE: College Football Week 2 Best Bets

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1. Adapt or Die

Based on news headlines alone, devoting one of my three topics to Colorado wouldn't be an outlandish choice. Deion has not only figured something out none of us really believed in, but he’s managed to galvanize the entire fucking country in an impressive yet somewhat infuriating way. But this story isn't just about him.

Deion’s biggest knock was that he threw out the playbook on transfers and built a team from scratch in one offseason, but he proved all the naysayers wrong by going to Texas and beating last year’s national runner up as a 20.5-point dog. The Ying to his Yang was Dabo Swinney, who has refused to buy into the idea of NIL or the transfer portal, and it left him staring at a scoreboard that showed Duke (fucking DUKE!!) beating his Tigers by 21 points.

Whether you like it or not, the biggest lesson from this week was that those who embrace change have a better chance of survival than those who don't (unless you’re the Amish, then you spit in the face of Natural Selection every week as you churn butter by hand).

MORE: College Football Week 2 Props

2. Question Every Assumption

It’s easy to look at college football from 10,000 feet and distill it into some very clear patterns. A lot of the same programs win consistently, and we’re pretty much always left with the same handful of schools near the top of the heap come the end of November. And, while that could even be the case again this year, oversimplifying the big picture can lead you into trouble, particularly as a gambler.

Come a month from now it’ll be easy to forget that Michigan, OSU, UGA and others didn’t look all that good in Week 1 because they got the win they needed. But use what you saw to understand the team in front of you, which isn't the team from seasons past. Georgia is a perfect example: sure, they figured things out to beat UT Martin 48-7, but there were times in the first half where they looked almost outmatched on the O and D line. Some of these programs may win early based on the sheer talent gap, but those cracks will cause bigger problems down the road

MORE: College Football Futures: Who will be crowned National Champions?

3. Beat the Team in Front of You, Not Yourself

It’s often said by coaches that you can only beat the team in front of you. Well, that’s mostly true, but to bastardize that old adage I’d argue that you can beat one more team on any given week and that team is your own. Football is an insanely complex game and the gap from high school to college is massive, which often makes for some painful mistakes by the 19-22 year olds on the field, either in terms of performance or boneheaded decisions.

It shouldn't be a surprise that teams with experienced QBs like Notre Dame and USC look ready to play well out of the gate, while teams lacking that stability and leadership are still finding their way. Nobody will be hitting the panic button yet, but teams looking lost at sea in a few weeks may be facing bigger issues if they don't sort things out, and its inevitable that big games in CFB will be decided by mistakes that are so ridiculous they seem made up (many will remember a thrown shoe a couple of years back…).

It’s not all that insightful to say that teams who minimize mistakes will be better, but in CFB it truly can be as important as the quality of execution.

Enjoy gambling responsibly. Treat it as entertainment, not a way to make money and only gamble with funds you can afford to lose. Know when to stop and seek support if needed. Remember, gambling should be a fun and enjoyable experience. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.