College football Week 2 bowls parlay: Let's make some money

We're heading into the 2nd full week of bowl season. We begin with the Boca Raton Bowl Thursday in South Florida, followed by the Gasparilla Bowl Friday in Tampa and 7 games Saturday, starting with the Birmingham Bowl and Camellia Bowl both at noon ET and concluding with the Hawaii Bowl, which kicks off at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Unlike the 1st weekend where weather played a huge factor in some games, whether it be precipitation or wind, we won't see much weather affecting the contests this weekend.

However, the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth is worth keeping an eye on. The forecast calls for a 60% chance of thunderstorms with winds 10 to 13 MPH. So, it wouldn't be shocking to see a lightning delay and/or soggy conditions with heavy downpours at times.

The Famous Idaho Potato Bowl -- in Boise -- will be rather frigid with temperatures in the mid-30's and winds at 10 to 13 MPH, but the snow showers are expected to end by mid-morning.

After looking at FanDuel Sportsbook's NCAA football Week 2 Bowl odds, here is our "Let's make some money" college football parlay bet to cash in on among SportbookWire's college football picks and predictions.

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Week 2 bowls: Let's make some money parlay

Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 7:26 a.m. ET.

Leg 1: USF +3 (-106) vs. Syracuse – Thursday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Boca Raton Bowl -- Boca Raton, Fla.

The South Florida Bulls (6-6) blasted visiting Charlotte 48-14 last time out on Nov. 25, qualifying for a bowl with an extra bonus for the Bulls as they get to play in their home state.

USF has alternated wins and losses in the past 6 games, while covering the spread in 3 of the past 5. The Over cashed in their final 2 games and was 7-2 in their past 9 outings, too.

The Bulls weren't immune to the transfer portal as S Will Jones II left the program, but he is the only player of note to depart. However, OLs Zane Herring and Andrew Kilfoyl are carrying "questionable" tags due to injuries.

The big dog for South Florida is QB Byrum Brown. He completed 64.3% of his passes for 3,078 yards and 23 TDs with 11 INTs, while running for 745 yards and 11 TDs. Brown was one of a handful of QBs to lead his team in passing and rushing for most of the season, but RB Nay'Quan Wright overtook him late in the season for the team rushing lead with 775 yards and 7 TDs. Those 2 will be a handful for the Orange rush defense, which allowed 147.1 rushing yards per game.

While USF didn't have a lot of losses, that's not the same for the Syracuse Orange (6-6). QB Garrett Shrader is out due to injury. S Aman Greenwood, EDGE Leon Lowery Jr. and CB Jeremiah Wilson all left via the transfer portal, while DE Terry Lockett is dealing with an injury and is questionable to go. Lowery is the biggest loss, as he had 26 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks. Plus, Syracuse fired coach Dino Babers with 1 game remaining in the regular season and named Nunzio Campanile interim coach.

I don't love the fact Shrader is out, and the primary backup Carlos Del Rio-Wilson was knocked out with an injury late in the season, so 3rd-string QB Braden Davis is expected to start Thursday with QB Luke MacPhail also likely seeing time. With a depth chart like that, no wonder the Orange went out and grabbed former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord in the portal.

BACK THE BULLS +3 (-106) to kick off our parlay. It wouldn't be a bad idea to take them on the moneyline (+120) in a separate wager or as part of a different parlay, too.

Leg 2: GEORGIA TECH +4.5 (-105) vs. UCF – Friday, 6:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl -- Tampa, Fla.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-6) ended up closing on a high note, winning 3 of the final 5 games, including a 46-42 home victory over then-No. 17 North Carolina, and a near-miss at home against then-No. 1 Georgia Nov. 25. The Yellow Jackets played the rival Bulldogs to a one-score game, easily covering as 24-point underdogs in a 31-23 defeat. -- Rankings courtesy of the US LBM Coaches Poll powered by Paste BN Sports.

The Yellow Jackets will be without EDGE Kyle Kennard, as he opted to transfer. Kennard led Tech with 6 sacks while totaling solo 32 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and an interception. CB Kenan Johnson, who finished with 20 solo tackles, a fumble recovery and 3 passes defensed, is also transferring.

The UCF Knights (6-6) also qualified for a bowl with a strong finish, winning 3 of their final 4 games, including wins at Cincinnati, home to a then-No. 17 Oklahoma State team, and the all-important 6th win -- bowl qualifying -- over Houston in their regular-season final. UCF went 2-0-1 ATS in the final 3 games, while cashing the Under in 4 in a row.

UCF should win here, but I could see a 3- or 4-point game. The Knights rush defense struggled, yielding 187.0 yards per game.  RB Jamal Haynes led the Yellow Jackets with 931 yards and 7 TDs, including 6.0 yards per carry. Dual-threat QB Haynes King completed 61.9% of his passes for 2,755 yards, 26 TDs and 15 INTs, with 648 rushing yards and a team-best 9 TDs on the ground.

GEORGIA TECH +4.5 (-105) has plenty of weapons to keep it close.

Leg 3: UTAH STATE -2.5 (-112) vs. Georgia State – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl -- Boise

It's going to be awfully chilly, with temperatures in the mid-30's and a 10% chance of snow. However, the white stuff is expected to taper off hours before kickoff. We'll also get a 10 to 13 MPH wind, so the Utah State Aggies (6-6) might be acclimated more to the weather than their Sun Belt opponent.

The Georgia State Panthers (6-6) were also hit hard by the transfer portal, as RBs KZ Adams and Marcus Carroll and WR Robert Lewis on the offensive side. Carroll is the biggest loss after leading the Panthers with 1,350 rushing yards and 13 TDs, while Lewis was the top receiver (877 receiving yards and 7 TDs). Georgia State also lost 3 defensive backs, but the departing trio had 1 interception between them, so not a huge setback.

Utah State didn't lose anyone to the portal, but CB Avante Dickerson is "questionable" to play due to injury. He tied for the team lead with 6 passes defensed.

With the portal losses, and the weather, UTAH STATE -2.5 (-112) makes for a solid addition to our parlay. Plus, the Aggies should have a lot more fans as Logan is within 300 miles of Boise, opposed to the long trip for Panthers fans from Atlanta.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $61.82 (payout = $71.82).

Try out the Paste BN Parlay Calculator.

Leg 4-*: TROY -7.5 (-115) vs. Duke – Saturday, noon ET (ABC/ESPN+)

76 Birmingham Bowl -- Birmingham, Ala.

*-If you want to add a 4th play to this parlay.

The Troy Trojans (11-2) square off with the Duke Blue Devils (7-5), and the Trojans will play at home in the Yellowhammer State.

Troy had a tremendous season. Tulane was so impressed that it hired away coach Jon Sumrall to serve as its new coach. Duke also lost its coach as Mike Elko left for the Texas A&M job.

The Trojans also lost their defensive leader in LB Jayden McDonald (team-high 75 solos) to the transfer portal. However, the Blue Devils also had a ton of defections, too, with the exodus being led by QB Riley Leonard, who is headed for Notre Dame.

Duke's top 2 RBs Jordan Waters (team-high 753 rushing yards and 12 TDs) and Jaquez Moore (601, 6) and also hit the portal, and Leonard was 3rd on the team in rushing with 352 yards. That leaves RB Jaylen Coleman as the active leader with 152 rushing yards and 0 TDs. QB Grayson Loftis (823 passing yards, 8 TDs), who saw time with Leonard out, will get the starting nod.

If Duke were whole, I would have loved the Blue Devils in this one, but in addition to the offensive losses, EDGE RJ Oben and his team-high 5 sacks are in the portal. Duke had a sturdy defense, but the portal has made shambles of that.

The Trojans will have nearly all of the personnel which finished with 11 wins, while the Blue Devils are a little bit of a skeleton crew. Oh, and this game is in Alabama, so look for the Trojans to have the overwhelming crowd support.

Parlay payout: Bet $10 to profit $124.27 (payout = $134.27).

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