College Football Player Props and Best Bets for Week 2: Marks Shines for Bulldogs

Deion top of it 

The Purdue Boilermakers have a new offensive coordinator in Graham Harrell. He operates the Air Raid, which means we should see a productive season from this passing attack led by Texas transfer Hudson Card at quarterback. 

Harrell has typically had an alpha featured as his WR1 — since 2017, that position has averaged 62 receptions for 907 yards and seven touchdowns. Going into this year, it wasn’t clear who would assume that mantle as Harrell’s top pass catcher. However, we gained some clarity in Week 1 as Deion Burks exploded for 152 yards and two touchdowns against a good Fresno State Bulldogs secondary. 

The read on Burks before the season was that he was an explosive player the staff wanted to see develop into a well-rounded wide receiver. He looked the part of Card’s go-to option as a vastly improved player in 2023, handling a team-leading 10 targets against the Bulldogs while being the pass-catcher Card targeted when his team most needed to move the chains. 

The Boilermakers look to have another competitive non-conference game in Week 2 as they are +3 on the road against the Virginia Tech Hokies. This game is expected to be competitive throughout and that means that Burks should see another substantial workload.

Deion Burks prop: Over 51.5 receiving yards (-115 at DraftKings)

Rocky day for Rocco

Don’t tune into the Cy-Hawk rivalry if you want to see an abundance of touchdowns. With two defensive-minded football teams at each other’s throats, the total is set at just 36.5. 

The Iowa State Cyclones were dealt a blow when returning starting quarterback Hunter Dekkers was caught up in the ongoing gambling saga, leaving the team without a signal caller. That leaves a two-way battle at quarterback in which redshirt freshman Rocco Becht and true freshman JJ Kohl both saw the field in Week 1 and may continue to do so going forward. 

While Becht saw the majority of snaps against Northern Iowa, you wouldn’t know it by looking at his final stat line — 10 of 13 passing for 113 yards and two touchdowns. This is not a high-flying offense and it would be shocking to see Becht erupt for a big day against an elite Iowa defense.

The Hawkeyes return a lot of key pieces to a secondary that was elite last year, ranking second in EPA per pass, third in passing success rate, and sixth in passing explosiveness. Good luck having an unproven redshirt freshman quarterback throw the ball on Cooper DeJean, Xavier Nwankpa, and company in a rivalry game. 

Possessions should be limited in this game with the new clock rules in effect and both teams looking to win the game via defensive execution, ball control, and limitation of mistakes. This is a tough bar for Becht to clear even if he doesn’t split time with Kohl on Saturday. 

Rocco Becht prop: Under 162.5 passing yards (-115 at DraftKings)

Jo’Quavious makes his Mark

It’s impossible for me to mention Mississippi State Bulldogs football — especially the offensive scheme — without first taking a moment to remember the departed Mike Leach. 

Alright. There’s a new scheme in Starkville — one that wants to run the ball much more and throw the ball a lot less. Kevin Barbay is the new offensive coordinator for a defensive-oriented head coach in Zach Arnett and no longer will we see quarterback Will Rogers dropping back to throw the ball 50 times a game. Rather, expect to see a healthy amount of rushes for RB1 Jo’Quavious Marks. 

Marks will be the focal point of the offense this season and that was abundantly clear in the Bulldogs’ opener when he handled 19 carries and took them for 127 yards and two touchdowns against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions. He’s a talented and experienced back with over 2,554 scrimmage yards and 23 touchdowns to his name and is the clear leader of this backfield now that Dillon Johnson hit the portal this offseason. 

I don’t think the books are properly pricing Marks’ props yet. This is a run-first team and Marks is the clear and away RB1, and it’s a favorable matchup to boot. 

He faces an Arizona Wildcats team that ranked dead last (131st) in rushing success rate a year ago and 128th in EPA per rush. The Wildcats coughed up 209.1 rushing yards per game on 5.6 yards per carry and will face a tall order on the road against a smashmouth SEC team. We need more cowbell!

Jo’Quavious Marks prop: Over 79.5 rushing yards (-115 at DraftKings)