Saturday features a full slate of wall-to-wall college football action, which means there are plenty of player props available across the board.
Our staff hand-picked six bets from this Week 2 slate. Whether you're looking to bet on bona fide stars like Alabama's Bryce Young or Illinois' Chase Brown, or you want to take a chance on a lesser-known Group of Five quarterback like Georgia State's Darren Grainger, we have you covered.
Read on for all six of our favorite player props for Week 2 below, and be sure to check out the rest of Action Network's college football betting coverage for this week.
College Football Player Props for Week 2
In the table below, you'll find each of our college football staff's top player prop picks from Saturday's slate of games. Click on any pick or team logo to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Specific bet recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Alabama vs. Texas
 12 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 FOX  |
QB Bryce Young Touchdowns
Bryce Young started off the season as his usual electric self, making quick work of the Utah State Aggies. In just a little over two quarters of play, the defending Heisman winner accounted for 295 all-purpose yards and six total touchdowns.
In the zero interception effort, Young threw for five touchdowns and completed 64.3% of his passes.
The questionable Texas Longhorns will be pushed to their limit trying to contain Young. Last season, Texas had defensive issues, finishing the season as the 99th-ranked unit in terms of scoring defense, surrendering more than 31 points per game.
Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is back but on a very short leash and couldn’t be facing a more difficult matchup.
Last season, Young accounted for 50 touchdowns over 15 games, averaging 3.33 touchdowns per game. Young only had less than three touchdowns in four games last season and all four of those opponents were SEC members, including Georgia in the National Championship.
If you eliminate the four games against SEC foes that Young had two touchdowns or less, Young’s per game touchdown average increases to 3.9 per game.
As Young enters this game against a notoriously porous Texas Longhorns defense, look for Young to have a huge afternoon. Last season, the Big 12 based Longhorns gave up an average of 3.66 touchdowns per game.
Young’s touchdown total is far too low for one of the best players in the nation on a national title contender. The over for Young should be the anchor for your PrizePicks wagers this weekend.
I expect Young to easily account for four-plus touchdowns this weekend.
Pick: Bryce Young Over 3 Touchdowns (-110) · Play to 3.5
Missouri vs. Kansas State
 12 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 ESPN2  |
QB Adrian Martinez Rushing Yards
By Cody Goggin
Adrian Martinez’s best attribute as a quarterback is his legs. He has become known for being a dynamic rusher more so than being a good passer.
Last week, I think Chris Klieman showed his hand of how Kansas State wants to use Martinez on offense.
Against South Dakota, Martinez had 13 carries for 39 yards. Out of his 39 yards, he lost 13 on sacks, which is important to note for college football props, as in this sport, sacks count against your rushing yard total.
Martinez also didn’t play in the fourth quarter, so there’s a high likelihood that his number of rushing attempts could have been even higher.
South Dakota has one of the better defenses in FCS, so I’m not worried about Kansas State only scoring 34 points against it.
Missouri’s defense ranked 105th in Success Rate last year, including a ranking of 107th against the run. This was one of the worst run defenses in the country in 2021, particularly early in the year.
The Tigers do return eight starters and the same defensive coordinator, so there may be some improvements. But in all likelihood, this defense will likely still not be able to stop a Kansas State rushing attack that ranked 14th last season in Success Rate and may have gotten even better with the addition of Martinez.
As 7.5-point favorites, there is a strong chance that Kansas State is leading for much of this game and will have a favorable game script for doing exactly what it wants to do.
If the Wildcats are able to execute this game plan and Martinez can avoid sacks, he’ll go well over this number.
Pick: Adrian Martinez Over 31.5 Rushing Yards (-114) · Play to 35.5
North Carolina vs. Georgia State
 12 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 ESPNU  |
QB Darren Grainger Rushing Yards
By Dan Keegan
After a loss in Columbia, South Carolina, Darren Grainger leads his team back home to take on one of the most preposterously porous Power Five defenses I can remember.
Grainger is a solid Group of Five quarterback who turned around Georgia State’s season last year after taking over the starting gig.
He is a dual-threat quarterback who is far more dynamic as a playmaker with his legs than with his passing ability.
Grainger has played 11 games as the main signal-caller for the Panthers. He has gone over the number of 44.5 in seven of those 11 games (one of his four misses was last week at South Carolina, likely the toughest defense he has ever faced in college — and he finished with 43 rush yards).
On principle, betting against the Tar Heels’ defense right now in any capacity is a smart play. The Tar Heels have been generous and accommodating to offenses so far this year.
Appalachian State’s offense ran for 6.7 yards per carry last week against the Heels, and even a pocket passer such as Chase Brice was able to wiggle free for 36 rushing yards.
In Week 0, Jeremy Moussa finished with -9 rushing yards because of sack yardage behind a famously makeshift offensive line. But in his three rushes, he ran for 6.3 yards per carry.
Grainger has far more experience and a better offensive line, and while the Heels might get him to the ground once or twice, I’m not worried that they will offset what he can do with his legs.
Grainger ran for 122 yards in a bowl win against Ball State. He ran for 61 against Auburn last season. Auburn! He ran for 56 on these same Tar Heels in last season’s matchup.
If the Heels have a lead, the Panthers will have to call more dropbacks, meaning scramble yardage. If the Panthers have the lead, they’ll want to protect the ball and move the chains with one of their most dynamic rushers.
Make sure to put this over in your PrizePicks parlays this weekend.
Pick: Darren Grainger Over 44.5 Rushing Yards (-110) · Play to 49.5
Tennessee vs. Pitt
 3:30 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 ABC  |
QB Hendon Hooker Total Yards
In Hendon Hooker’s last six starts in which he’s taken every snap, he’s exceeded this total each and every time.
As a true dual-threat quarterback, he’s capable of 75-to-100 yards on the ground if defenses stubbornly refuse to spy him. And when they do, he’s capable of burning secondaries through the air.
In short, all we need for this game to hit is Pitt to carry its weight offensively.
If Hooker goes the distance, this total is off by 20 to 30 yards
.
Last week against WVU in the Backyard Brawl, Pitt held JT Daniels to just 214 yards through the air, while sacking him three times. That performance is helping keep this total below my projection of 308 total yards.
I don’t believe Pitt’s secondary – a unit that was 114th against the pass in 2021 – has actually improved that much.
Tennessee, meanwhile, appears to be stronger along the offensive line than it was last year. Four returning starters protected Hooker in the opener far better than they did in 2021 (124th in sacks allowed).
Ball State registered just one sack for negative one yard.
The Vols’ improved line play is just one final advantage to help push this total over on Saturday afternoon.
Pick: Hendon Hooker Over 290.5 Total Yards (-110) · Play to 299.5
Virginia vs. Illinois
 4 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 ESPNU  |
RB Chase Brown Rushing Yards
By Alex Hinton
One thing has been consistent about Bret Bielema in his coaching career: he loves running the football. That has been the case at Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois.
With a lead back like Chase Brown, pounding the rock a ton makes sense.
Brown is currently leading the FBS with 350 yards rushing. Granted Illinois is one of only a handful of teams to play two games thus far, but that does not make what Brown has been doing any less impressive.
In Week 0 against Wyoming, Brown had 151 rushing yards on 19 attempts. Last week at Indiana, he had 199 yards on 36 attempts.
Brown saw a spike in his carries last week because his running mate Josh McCray was out with a knee injury. McCray’s injury is not considered season-ending, but he is out again this week.
That means Brown will be the workhouse against a Virginia team that ranked 123rd in rushing yards allowed per game last season.
Brown is currently averaging 6.4 per carry, so if he gets 20 carries he will have a great chance to clear this line. He is currently averaging 27.5 carries per game this season.
Brown will have the volume and opportunity to clear this line. He will look to help Illinois salvage a split in this home-and-home after Virginia routed the Fighting Illini 42-14 in Charlottesville last season.
Pick: Chase Brown Over 119 Rushing Yards (-110) · Play to 125
Kentucky vs. Florida
 7 p.m. ET ET Saturday, Sept. 10 ESPN  |
WR Tayvion Robinson Receiving Yards
Wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was one of the biggest ball hogs in the entire nation last year.
His 3.37 reception yards per team pass attempt was the second highest for a Power Five receiver, behind only Treylon Burks. For what it’s worthy, anything above three in RYPTPA is considered above average.
Kentucky quarterback Will Levis watched 104 catches and 1,334 yards depart from last year’s stat column just from Robinson himself.
Tayvion Robinson, meanwhile, looks poised to be the next man up.
He headlined the Kentucky skill corps with six grabs and 136 yards in the opener against Miami (OH), earning a solid grade from PFF in the process.
Florida’s defense came up with a timely stop last weekend, but Utah had tight ends and receivers running free all night.
Utes QB Cameron Rising completed close to 70% of his 32 pass attempts and finished with a top-10 QBR in Week 1 despite taking the loss.
I don’t trust Kentucky to get a spotty running game down Chris Rodriguez Jr. going, leaving Levis to use his arm.
Expect an uptick in pass attempts, and bet Robinson up to 67.5 here.
Pick: Tayvion Robinson Over 59.5 Receiving Yards (-110) · Play to 67.5
