While Week 1 had a clear impact on college football title odds, Week 2 was kind of … boring. No team inside of 40-1 lost, meaning this week's futures look, for the most part, the same as last week's.
There are, of course, a few exceptions, which brings us Week 2's biggest winners and losers.
Winners
Alabama: +175 to +140 (36.36% to 41.67% implied probability)
Week 2 vs. Arkansas State: Won 57-7
Beating Arkansas State isn't exactly a statement win for Alabama, but according to oddsmakers, no other teams have done enough to offer a true threat to the Tide.
West Virginia: +6000 to +4000 (1.64% to 2.44% implied probability)
Week 2 vs. Youngstown State: Won 52-17
Like Bama, West Virginia isn't exactly coming off an impressive Week 2 victory. It does, however, have a legitimate Heisman contender under center and a win over an SEC opponent already under its belt, so this move may be a result of betting action, or a delayed reaction after its odds did not change following Week 1.
Arizona State: +100000 to +10000 (0.10% to 0.99% implied probability)
Week 2 vs. Michigan State: Won 16-13
The Sun Devils knocked off 15th-ranked Michigan State on Saturday to pull into this week's Top 25, and give themselves a whopping 1% chance of winning the national title.
Losers
Notre Dame: +1500 to +2000 (6.25% to 4.76% implied probability)
Week 2 vs. Ball State: Won 24-16
Oddsmakers tend to overreact when adjusting odds after a big win, and that looks to be what happened with Notre Dame last week after it beat Michigan.
Knowing that bettors will flock to a team after a high-profile win, oddsmakers will shade lines a bit to account for that, and ease back the following week (In a nearly identical situation, Auburn also went from +800 to +1000 this week).
It doesn't help, either, that the Irish beat Ball State by only eight points on Saturday.
Michigan State: +4000 to +8000 (2.44% to 1.23% implied probability)
Week 2 at Arizona State: Lost 16-13
The biggest loser of the week was Michigan State. The Spartans saw their title hopes cut in half following a 16-13 upset loss at Arizona State.
USC: +5000 to +10000 (1.96% to 0.99% implied probability)
Week 2 at Stanford: Lost Stanford 17-3
USC was a five-point underdog this weekend, so you'd think oddsmakers would've already accounted for the likely loss when setting futures. But the Trojans fell from +5000 to +10000 anyway, and are now looking at a 1% implied probability to win this year's playoff.
