Five 2019 College Football Win Totals to Bet on and 5 to Avoid

Five 2019 College Football Win Totals to Bet on and 5 to Avoid

For the first time ever, the Clemson Tigers lead the college football coaches’ poll going into a regular season. As the defending champions (and with Trevor Lawrence returning at quarterback), one can see the logic of this, although it is hard to imagine Alabama not coming out for 2019 with all sorts of motivation thanks to the beating that Clemson gave them in the national championship game back in January. One way for sports betting enthusiasts to make money on the college football season involves win totals, choosing the over or under. We have five ripe win totals — and five that could end up costing you money for your 2019 College Football betting picks.

Five 2019 College Football Win Totals to Bet on and 5 to Avoid

Bet On: Arkansas

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 6
Take the under here. Yes, the Razorbacks are bringing in Ben Hicks and Nick Starkel at quarterback, but Hicks struggled at AAC program SMU, sometimes looking brilliant but all too often throwing that crucial interception (such as in that overtime loss to Cincinnati in 2018). Head coach Chad Morris doesn’t really believe in defense, and you need defense in the SEC. So while Arkansas might win all four non-conference games, they will not win two in the SEC.

Avoid: Clemson

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 11.5
If you go over here, that means Clemson runs the table in the regular season, just like they did in 2018. However, in 2016 and 2017, despite winning the ACC (and the national championship after the 2016 season), they had one regular-season loss in each campaign, losing to Pitt at home in 2016 and then losing at Syracuse in 2017. All it takes is one loss for the Tigers to cost you some money, but any loss would either result from simple distraction (as in the case of the Pitt loss) or an unfortunate injury (as happened at Syracuse).

Bet On: Army

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 8.5
Army has won 21 victories in the last two seasons — and at least eight games in each of their last three seasons. Quarterback Kelvin Hopkins returns to lead a solid option offense, and the Black Knights have a stout defense. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Army favored in 11 games this season, so this seems like an easy “over.”

Avoid: Alabama

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 11.5
See my reasoning for Clemson. It just takes one freak play against a team like Auburn or LSU for an “over” bet to turn into a loss. It’s just not worth it, with the juicier totals that are available.

Bet On: Cincinnati

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 6
The Bearcast did lose a lot of starters, but the defense has seven starters returning, and the team led the AAC in fewest points permitted a year ago. Yes, Ohio State is on the non-conference schedule, but so are UCLA (who is still soft) and Marshall. Even so, an 11-win team should finish over six this year.

Avoid: Arizona State

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 6.5
The Pac-12 (particularly the South) is a mess, with no clear favorites, with the possible exception of Utah. Arizona State does not have to play Washington, but they do have to head to Michigan State, who will be ready to avenge their loss in the desert last year.

Bet On: Mississippi State

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 8.5
Did you know that the Bulldogs only permitted 13.2 points per game last year? The problems came on offense, and an inability to score left Mississippi State 8-5. The defense will remain solid, and the team does have Tommy Stevens transferring in from Penn State to run the offense. However, I don’t see them beating Auburn, Alabama, LSU or Texas A&M — which puts them at eight wins, and under the total.

Avoid: TCU

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 7.5
The Horned Frogs are appealing the denial of transfer quarterback Matthew Baldwin’s waiver, and if he can’t play, the Frogs could go way under. Even with him, though, TCU is rebuilding. They play a scary Purdue team on the road, and they find themselves looking up at Texas, Oklahoma, possibly Oklahoma State and maybe even Baylor and Texas Tech in the Big 12.

Bet On: Oklahoma State

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 6.5
Oklahoma State has won seven or more games each year since 2005. That includes an inconsistent 2018 campaign. Quarterback Spencer Sanders brings a ton of talent to the offense. The question in Stillwater, as always, is on defense. But the Cowboys have the offense to run the table in non-conference and get enough wins in Big 12 play to get to at least seven wins again, so go “over” here.

Avoid: Iowa

  • 2019 College Football Win Total Odds: 7.5
The Big Ten West should be wide open, but there’s a tough non-conference test at Fresno State. Also, do you really expect Iowa to dominate Wisconsin? How about Nebraska? How about those cross-divisional games? There are better picks.