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College Football Week 2 Odds, Picks & Prediction: Kansas vs. West Virginia (2022)

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Let’s take a look at the College Football Week 2 odds, picks, and predictions for this week’s game: Kansas vs. West Virginia.

And check out our other game previews for Week 2:

Check out Thor Nystrom’s Week 2 College Football Power Rankings >>

College Football Week 2 Odds, Picks & Prediction: Kansas vs. West Virginia

This feels like a good opportunity to invest in Kansas before the market catches up to the advancements the program has made under HC Lance Leipold. KU finished 2-10 last year, their 12th-consecutive season with three wins or less. But there’s a deeper story to be told.

The Jayhawks were their typical selves during a 1-5 start. But after that, a breakthrough of sorts. KU led Oklahoma after three quarters before succumbing late to Caleb Williams in a close loss. Rock Chalk upset Texas, and came up just-short in two more upset bids to close the season, a pair of losses by a combined nine points against TCU and West Virginia. With better luck, KU could have been 5-7.

We knew this version of the Jayhawks was going to be better than last year’s. Kansas returned 17 starters from what was an exceedingly young team to rank No. 21 in Phil Steele’s returning experience metris.

The young backfield is exciting with sophomore standouts, QB Jalon Daniels and RB Devin Neal, and four starting offensive linemen returned. The defense was bad last year, but it returned eight starters, and Leipold added several instant-impact transfers to the group.

The Jayhawks blasted Tennessee Tech 56-10 last week. It was an FCS opponent, sure. But consider that KU only beat its FCS opponent by three in 2021. And that it went 0-9 in 2020. And that the two years prior to that, KU lost to an FCS team, and beat the other by only seven. Progress is progress.

On the other side, I’m not sold on West Virginia. The Mountaineers looked decent in last week’s 38-31 loss to Pitt. But QB JT Daniels barely completed 50% of his passes, RB1 Tony Mathis didn’t look like a difference-maker, and the defensive regression we expected was apparent.

I think KU gives West Virginia a scare and keeps it within this number.

Bet: Kansas (+13.5)

What is Betting Against the Spread?

Betting “against the spread” refers to the act of choosing the winning team based on a numeric handicap placed on the team that oddsmakers believe is superior, rather than picking the outright winner. For example, if the Rams face the Bengals, and oddsmakers set the spread at Rams -3.5, you would need Los Angeles to win by 4 or more points in order to cash your Rams bet.

What is an Over/Under Bet?

Over/Under is a wager based on how many points you think will be scored in a specific game. Oddsmakers set the total, and bettors decide whether the final score will be higher or lower than that number. If an Over/Under is set at 44.5 points and you bet Over, you will need the combined score of both teams to be 45 points or higher to win your bet.

What is a Moneyline Bet?

A moneyline bet involves choosing which team you believe will win a specific matchup. The moneyline favorite carries a minus designation, like -130. This means that you need to wager $130 to earn a $100 profit. Conversely, the underdog carries a plus designation, like +110. This means that you win $110 in profit on a $100 bet.

Prop Bet Analyzer: View top rated props and historical prop performance by player >>

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