Sam Panayotovich
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
It’s never too early to talk college football.
Spring games are already underway, we’ve seen practice footage of a surprisingly smiley Bill Belichick in Carolina Blue and star quarterback Nico Iamaleava is leaving Tennessee high and dry for “greener pastures.”
Oh, and season win totals are posted at several sportsbooks.
Rejoice!
I’m not exactly the biggest fan of tying up my money for eight months, but some of these numbers are very interesting. Plus, buzz will inevitably build for certain programs while air will come out of the balloon at others.
Here are five early college football win totals I like.
Alabama Under 9.5 (-134 at FanDuel)
It’s already put up or shut up for head coach Kalen DeBoer. That might seem harsh after only one season in Tuscaloosa, but it doesn’t take long for pitchforks to come out. And Alabama boosters won’t settle for fourth-place SEC finishes for long. The growing concern is that even though DeBoer can coach, he’s not built for recruiting and sustaining at this level. It’s going to take 10 victories to beat me, and I’m happy to lay a little juice.
Clemson Over 9.5 (+100 at BetMGM)
Don’t look now, but Clemson likely has its most talented roster since Trevor Lawrence was playing quarterback. Remember, that Tigers team went 39-3 in three seasons with the eventual No. 1 overall pick. Clemson is a perennial problem on the defensive side of the ball and Dabo Swinney seems confident about the speed and skill he’s accrued on the offensive side. The Tigers have all the tools to ascend back to the cream of the crop in the ACC.
Colorado Under 6.5 (+110 at BetMGM)
Now we get to see what Coach Prime does without two top-five picks. Plenty of people incorrectly analyzed that Shedeur Sanders wasn’t a legit collegiate quarterback. Wrong. He covered up a horrendous offensive line and threw to mostly undersized receivers. Sanders and Travis Hunter aren’t walking through that door and I envision six losses in Boulder. The Buffs face a pretty tough schedule, and I’m willing to mess around and find out.
Notre Dame Over 10.5 (+160 at FanDuel)
How will the Irish bounce back from a run to the national title game? That’s the million-dollar question around South Bend, as Marcus Freeman breaks in another new starting quarterback after the Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard experiments. I believe CJ Carr eventually wins the job and gives Notre Dame the best chance to go far. We’ll see. Either way, the Irish should split the first two games before facing an extremely soft schedule. Give me the “Over” at +160.
Oregon Over 10.5 (-105 at DraftKings)
I don’t think betting against Dan Lanning is fun. The Ducks lost three regular-season games in his first year on the sidelines, one in his second and zero last year. Talk about trending in the right direction. Oregon never needs for talent and Lanning has proved to be a beast on the recruiting trail. I’ve got the Quack favored in all 12 games and the only road affair that makes me nervous is the Sep. 27 battle against Penn State. Here comes 11-1.
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and the BetMGM Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.
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