No team has made a bigger impact on the 2025 college football season than the South Florida Bulls.
Projected as the fifth or sixth best team in the AAC before the season, USF stormed out of the gate with a 35-7 win over Boise State in Week 1, completely altering the landscape of the Group of 5 in the process.
Things were only expected to get harder for USF with a trip to Gainesville to take on Florida in Week 2, but the Bulls pulled off a stunning upset in the Swamp, derailing the Gators’ bandwagon, which had been filling up all summer.
But wait, there’s more.
South Florida now heads across the Sunshine State to take on another hype train: No. 5 Miami (2-0).
Carson Beck and the Hurricanes put themselves on the radar with a 27-24 win over Notre Dame in Week 1, and then they made quick work of Bethune-Cookman last time out.
Those results are enough for the betting market to tag Miami as a three-score favorite, with the line sitting right around where it was for USF vs. Florida in Week 2.
That seems a little disrespectful towards the Bulls, who have allowed just 23 points in their first two games.
South Florida’s offense was expected to be its strength coming into the season, but the defense has proven to be up to snuff against two terrific opponents.
With an explosive offense, an improved defense, and Miami in a lookahead spot with Florida on tap next week, USF ticks all the boxes for a team getting plenty points.
The Pick: South Florida +17.5 (-115, FanDuel) vs. MIAMI
Memphis -3.5 (-120) over TROY
Troy looked well on its way to pulling a monumental upset over Clemson in Week 2, but the Trojans blew a 16-3 lead at halftime to squander a program-defining win.
That result has seemingly caused the college football world to forget that Troy were trailing to Nicholls State in Week 1, and needed a 28-point outburst in the fourth quarter to avoid getting upset themselves.
Betting on College Football?
Memphis hasn’t really been tested out of the gates, but it hung 45 on Chattanooga in Week 1 and then followed that up with 38 points against Georgia State last weekend.
After boasting one of the most underrated offenses in 2024, the Tigers look like they could be a force again in 2025.
They’ve got the firepower to cover this number on the road.
Western Michigan +27.5 (-110) over ILLINOIS
Bret Bielema has done a fabulous job resurrecting the football program at Illinois.
Coming off a 10-3 campaign in 2024, Illinois has romped to a 2-0 start, outscoring Duke and Western Illinois by a combined score of 97-22.
Not too shabby.
But with a massive game against Indiana on deck, this is a classic lookahead spot for the Illini, and one where I’m happy to take the points with Western Michigan.
The Broncos were silenced, 23-6, by Michigan State in Week 1, but they were much better in a 33-30 OT loss to North Texas in Week 2.
We’ll hope for another step forward in Champaign on Saturday.
Week 2 Record: 3-0 | 2025 Record: 6-0
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.