Spread Options: Dr. Saturday’s Week 2 picks against the spread

Did you fade our picks in Week 1? If you did, you lost money. We went 7-2-1, losing only Alabama and Boise State. Let’s see what Week 2 has in store.

Utah State at Utah (-12), 9 p.m. ET FRIDAY: A second-straight big home game for the Utes. Utah’s defense looked good against Michigan and the offense, namely running back Devontae Booker, should have a better game. Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton struggled in the team’s opener against Southern Utah. We like Utah by two touchdowns.

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Kansas State at UTSA (+16.5), Noon ET: Kansas State is starting backup quarterback Joe Hubener after starting QB Jesse Ertz was injured against South Dakota. UTSA played Arizona well on the road in Week 1 and lost by 10. While the wizard Bill Snyder will have his Wildcats prepared and gets his team to 2-0, Larry Coker’s Roadrunners keep this one within a couple scores.

Bowling Green (+7.5) at Maryland, Noon ET: The Falcons piled up the yardage against Tennessee, who also racked up the offensive statistics. Maryland pulled away from Richmond in the second half in Week 1. The over/under in this game is high — 71.5 — so expect the winner of this one to break into the 40s. And the last team to score wins the game.

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Washington State at Rutgers (-3.5), 3:30 p.m. ET: Rutgers looked very good in the second half against Norfolk State. Yes, Norfolk State is an FCS school. But Washington State lost to Portland State, an FCS school, at home in Week 1. This is a line that Mike Leach’s presence is keeping close. Rutgers looks almost too good to be true.

Georgia at Vanderbilt (+21), 3:30 p.m. ET: Georgia lost the last time it played at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs were a disaster because of injuries in 2013, however. We like Georgia to win this easily, but the Commodores played Western Kentucky very well to start the season. Vanderbilt’s defense keeps it relatively in the game. The offense just doesn’t give it enough of a shot for an outright win.

Iowa (-3) at Iowa State, 4:45 p.m. ET: Oh, to see the emails to Iowa athletic director Gary Barta if the Hawkeyes lose this one. It’s not going to happen, however. Iowa State opened the season with a convincing win against Northern Iowa, but so did Iowa. We like the Hawkeyes and quarterback C.J. Beathard by a touchdown.

Oklahoma (-2) at Tennessee, 6 p.m. ET: This game started as a pick’em and has moved towards the Sooners. Oklahoma is the better team and may be favored by as much as a touchdown if this game was in Norman. As we mentioned earlier in the post, Tennessee’s defense let Bowling Green pile up the yards and Oklahoma not only plays the same style, but has better players.

Kentucky (+8.5) at South Carolina, 7:30 p.m. ET: While both of these teams got wins in Week 1, they weren’t the most convincing ones. South Carolina needed three red-zone interceptions to beat North Carolina and Kentucky needed a fourth quarter touchdown to beat Louisiana-Lafayette. South Carolina may be the better team, but we’re not sure it’s that big of a gap. Take the points.

Rice (+14) at Texas, 8 p.m. ET: Are we really taking Rice and only two touchdowns in Austin? Yes, yes we are. We want the Texas offense to prove to us that it can blow an opponent out, even if it’s just Rice. There’s always the possibility of the offensive coordinator switch boost for the Longhorns Saturday night, but we’re not optimistic based off what we saw against Notre Dame.

Boise State (-2.5) at BYU, 10:15 p.m. ET: This is the game that may decide which non-Power 5 team gets into a New Year’s Six bowl game. If BYU pulls this off without Taysom Hill, the Cougars could be much better than everyone thinks. That said, we think this line is depressed because of Boise’s performance against Washington. It may be closer to a TD if the Broncos would have covered against Washington.

LOCKS OF THE WEEK

We didn’t do well last week at all.

Nick Bromberg (0-1): LSU (-4) at Mississippi State: Two weeks in a row of road favorites. I like this pick a lot too, which means LSU will probably lose. Mississippi State has the edge at the QB position but that’s about it. It could be a low-scoring game, and LSU RB Leonard Fournette is the difference.

Sam Cooper (0-1): Notre Dame (-11.5) at Virginia: Notre Dame’s defense was completely dominant in a Week 1 blowout over Texas. The Irish travel to Charlottesville Saturday where Virginia should prove to be a bit more competent offensively than the Longhorns. Nonetheless, I don’t see the Cavs getting a whole lot done against the athletes the Irish have on both sides of the ball. Though Notre Dame hasn’t done too well on the road in the past couple seasons, I’m rolling with the Irish in this one.

Graham Watson (0-0-1): Washington State at Rutgers (-3.5): There were a lot of big lines this week, but a line that stood out to me was one that appeared way too small. This is a no-brainer to me. Ignore Rutgers’ first half against Norfolk State, starting quarterback Chris Laviano and receiver Leonte Caroo, who were suspended for the first half, combined for three touchdowns in the second half. Washington State isn’t exactly known for its defense and Rutgers should be able to run away with this one.