College football parlay picks for Week 2: Best money line plays include Iowa vs. Iowa State, UNLV vs. UCLA

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season featured three matchups between ranked teams, and all three higher-ranked clubs were defeated. Overall, five ranked teams wound up in the loss column last week, four of which were No. 8 or higher.

Three of those clubs get a chance to redeem themselves during Week 2 of the FBS schedule, which begins Friday with four contests. The only game involving a pair of ranked teams takes place Saturday, when No. 15 Michigan visits 18th-ranked Oklahoma at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Sooners are 5.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 45.5.

There is an abundance of possibilities for parlays in Week 2, as more than 80 games take place this weekend. SportsLine has revealed its top three-leg parlays, with one involving favorites and another consisting of underdogs. 

SportsLine's top three-leg favorites parlay would bring a return of +178, while the parlay involving three underdogs offers a +1088 return.

Money-line favorites parlay for Week 2

Iowa vs. Iowa State pick

The Cyclones (2-0) began the season as the No. 22 team in the nation and maintained that position with a 24-21 triumph over then-No. 17 Kansas State in Ireland in their opener before moving up to No. 16 after trouncing South Dakota 55-7 last week. Redshirt junior Rocco Becht set a pair of school records in the rout, completing 95% of his pass attempts (19-of-20) while throwing a touchdown pass in his 20th consecutive game.

Becht finished with three TD tosses against South Dakota, including a pair to tight end Benjamin Brahmer. It marked the second time in as many games this season that Becht has accounted for three scores, as he threw for two touchdowns and ran for another versus Kansas State.

Iowa State also scored four times on the ground in Week 1, making it one of 10 teams in the nation with at least five rushing scores in 2025. The Hawkeyes (1-0) cruised past Albany 34-7 last week to give head coach Kirk Ferentz his 205th win with the program, tying him with Ohio State's Woody Hayes for first place on the Big Ten's all-time list.

Iowa owns a 47-24 record in the all-time series and has won six straight on the road against Iowa State but has lost its last nine contests against AP-ranked opponents. SportsLine expert Micah Roberts likes the Cyclones to extend that streak and break the one of five consecutive victories by the road team in the rivalry, as he grabbed Iowa State -142 on the money line at DraftKings Sportsbook. Roberts, who is +130 on his last four ML picks involving the Cyclones, was not impressed with last week's performance by Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski, who completed 8-of-15 pass attempts for a mere 44 yards.

Kansas vs. Missouri pick

Both teams have had easy starts to the season, as Missouri (1-0) demolished Central Arkansas 61-6 in its opener and Kansas (2-0) outscored Fresno State and Wagner 77-14 in its two victories. Now they prepare for the 121st edition of the Border Showdown, which is one of the oldest rivalries in college football, but their first meeting since 2011.

Missouri owns a slight edge in the all-time series, as it enters Saturday's meeting with a 56-55-9 record after having won each of the last three clashes. The Tigers will look to make it four in a row behind quarterback Beau Pribula, who threw for a pair of touchdowns and ran for two others against Central Arkansas in his first collegiate start. Kansas counterpart Jalon Daniels also has been impressive out of the gate, recording three TD passes in the season-opening rout of Fresno State and four last week versus Wagner.

The SportsLine Projection Model sees Missouri winning in 79% of its simulations, while expert Roberts feels they will cover the spread as 6-point favorites at Caesars Sportsbook. Roberts, who is 5-2 (+280) in his last seven against-the-spread picks involving the Tigers, believes their defense will be the reason they come up with their seventh straight cover dating back to last season.

Memphis vs. Georgia State pick

The Tigers (1-0) kicked off the 2025 season with a comfortable victory as they rolled past Chattanooga 45-10 last Saturday. It marked the 41st consecutive game in which Memphis scored at least 20 points, the longest active streak in the nation.

Quarterback Brendon Lewis was the offensive star for the Tigers as he completed 22-of-28 pass attempts for 199 yards and a touchdown while also running for 81 yards and a score. The redshirt senior hopes to be a force again versus Georgia State (0-1), which was blasted 63-7 by then-No. 21 Ole Miss in its season opener. Wideout Javon Robinson was one of the few bright spots for the Panthers, making three catches for 52 yards and a TD.

Memphis won the only previous meeting between the teams, posting a 59-22 victory in 2018. The SportsLine Projection Model sees the Tigers dominating this time as well, as it is predicting a 45-22 triumph. Football expert Emory Hunt (+164 in his last 11 ATS picks involving Memphis) also likes the club to win big, as he has the Tigers covering as 13.5-point favorites at DraftKings. Hunt feels Lewis and the rest of Memphis' offense weren't playing at their highest level last week and will be even better against the Panthers.

Money-line underdog parlay for Week 2

Illinois vs. Duke pick

Illinois (1-0) climbed one spot in the rankings to No. 11 after steamrolling Western Illinois 52-3 in its season opener. This is the highest the Fighting Illini have been ranked by AP since 2001, when they were No. 7 in the final poll. Hank Beatty ran back a punt 69 yards for a touchdown and finished with 133 yards on punt returns, breaking the program's single-game record of 125 set by the legendary Red Grange in 1923 against Nebraska.

The Fighting Illini will be in a difficult spot for them Saturday, however, as they have nine of their last 10 road games against non-conference opponents. Meanwhile, Duke (1-0) has been superb of late on its own field, where it trounced Elon 45-17 last week. The Blue Devils have won nine of their last 10 at home and are 17-3 there since 2022. 

Illinois and Duke split their previous two all-time meetings but haven't squared off since 1965. Even though the Fighting Illini are in the midst of a five-game winning streak and the Blue Devils have lost seven consecutive matchups against ranked teams, the SportsLine Projection Model is leaning toward Duke pulling off the upset. It has the Blue Devils winning in 54% of its simulations and is calling for a 26-24 victory behind redshirt sophomore quarterback Darian Mensah, who threw for 389 yards and three TDs in his team debut last week.

West Virginia vs. Ohio pick

West Virginia (1-0) had no trouble in its season opener as it routed Robert Morris 45-3. The Mountaineers' ground attack was on full display, racking up 393 yards and registering five touchdowns, including a pair by Jahiem White.

Ohio (0-1) was not as fortunate in its first game, as it dropped a 34-31 decision to Rutgers on the road. Quarterback Parker Navarro did his part for the Bobcats, however, throwing for 239 yards and three TDs while rushing for 93 yards and a score.

The Mountaineers are 13-4 all-time against the Bobcats, but the teams haven't met since West Virginia posted a 20-3 home victory in 2001. Ohio won the only two previous matchups in Athens, however, and SportsLine expert Eric Cohen likes the team to remain perfect at home in the series. Cohen feels that since West Virginia had a problem with turnovers last week (four lost fumbles) and the Bobcats pulled off an upset the last time they hosted a Big 12 team (10-7 win against Iowa State in 2023), Ohio will even its record.

The model also is leaning toward the Bobcats, who win 51% of the time in its simulations. It is predicting a 28-27 triumph by Ohio.

UCLA vs. UNLV pick

Things did not go as planned in Week 1 for UCLA (0-1), which was dominated by Utah 43-10. It was the largest margin of defeat in a season opener for the Bruins since they lost 38-3 to Oklahoma in 1986.

The year couldn't have started much better for UNLV, however, as the club has begun the campaign with victories against Idaho State and Sam Houston. The Rebels scored 38 points in each triumph, while junior running back Jai'Den Thomas has rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns thus far in 2025.

UCLA won its only two previous meetings with UNLV, but the SportsLine Projection Model thinks the Rebels have a strong chance to come out on top this time around, as it sees them winning in 71% of its simulations. The model is calling for a 31-21 victory for UNLV, which is looking to get off to a 3-0 start for the second straight season.