Chris Fallica and Stanford Steve (along with Phil Steele) previewed the season for all of the top 25 college football teams (according to the ESPN College Football Rankings) from a betting perspective earlier this week. But of course, some of their opinions were stronger than others.
Here are their favorite over/under bets for teams in the top 25:
CFB PickCenter | Top 25 previews | Betting guide: Best title, Heisman bets
Stanford Steve
Oregon Ducks (over 7.5)
How about the lack of chatter surrounding the Ducks in Eugene? It all feels so weird, knowing how they have been the face of the conference on the national scene, from their uniforms, to title game appearance to CFB Playoff spot two years ago. The best part is their head coach, Mark Helfrich, is probably happy with the lack of love being thrown the Ducks' way.
With "Rolls" Royce Freeman (6.0 yards per carry the last two years) coupled with another grad transfer QB for the second straight year -- Dakota Prukop from Montana State (who also got interest from Michigan and Alabama) -- the Ducks feel like they have enough talent to be back atop the Pac-12 North. Their out-of-conference test comes in Week 3 with a trip to Nebraska against former rival head coach, Mike Riley, but more importantly the Ducks get their two biggest division games at home in Washington and Stanford, plus they don't have to play UCLA.
The public seems to be down on the Ducks, because ... why? They had a horrible loss to end the year versus TCU where they had a huge lead and once again lost their QB? I see the Ducks in the Pac-12 title game. Gimme the over here.
Oklahoma Sooners (under 10)
A year ago, I picked the Sooners to win the Big 12; this year, not so much. I think the road is simply too tough with games vs. Houston, vs. Ohio State, at TCU and vs. Texas all in a row and then road trips to Lubbock and Morgantown later in the year. Don't get me wrong, the Sooners have a lot of things to like, including their QB Mayfield and head coach Stoops, and those are my main factors for a team when I try and project how successful their season will be.
On the other hand, the last four times the Sooners have been ranked in the preseason top five, they haven't needed the season ranked higher than No. 15. I'm also stubborn when I watch OU play, because I don't think their best player, RB Samaje Perine, gets enough touches -- I want more than 226 rush attempts and 15 catches for him this season. I just don't see Boomer Sooner winning 10 or more games this year.
Ohio State Buckeyes (over 9.5)
I don't think there's a head coach in college football who had a more pleasant offseason than Meyer. After being in Chicago to see five of his guys drafted in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft -- and 12 of his players off the board in the first four rounds -- he had a big, proud smile on his face. That, combined with another great recruiting season, helps make a coach like Meyer a nicely focused and even-keeled guy going into this season. Most importantly, I think Meyer isn't actually all that upset to have all those players off his roster and into the NFL because to me, it looked like the Buckeyes almost held back a little, knowing they all had such bright futures ahead in the league. Now Meyer gets to work with a ton of talented young players competing for spots, each getting a chance to make his own name in the rich tradition of this program.
Meyer thrives on the ability to lean on the underdog role to inspire his players, and with the offseason Michigan has had, he has to be feeling great about where his team is. It was interesting to hear Meyer at Big Ten media day saying that Barrett didn't start the season opener last year because he didn't win the QB job in summer camp. This year, there's no question who the guy at QB is in Columbus. I like the Buckeyes to win the conference and gain a spot in the College Football Playoff, easily hitting their 9.5 win total for the over.
Michigan State Spartans (over 8)
Is there a head coach in college football whom you would trust more than Mark Dantonio to lead a program that has to replace its all-time wins leader at QB? Without his starting QB, Dantonio's Spartans traveled to Columbus and defeated the defending national champions, Ohio State. What else can you ask for?
My only issue with Michigan State is that, in addition to replacing Connor Cook, they have to find replacements for big-time players such as All-American linemen Jack Conklin and Jack Allen plus star wide receiver Aaron Burbridge. The one positive is that coach "Dino" says the guys that will fill out the offensive line have plenty of experience; the Spartans used seven combinations on the O-line last year.
We'll find out plenty about Sparty during a stretch of games early in the season, which includes a trip to South Bend along with home games against Wisconsin and BYU. I always have trust in the Spartans, plus they get conference heavyweights Michigan and Ohio State at home. I'm taking the over.
TCU Horned Frogs (over 9)
How a team plays in the previous season's bowl game is the most over-analyzed thing we do in college football. I do take something away from how TCU came back to beat Oregon in the Alamo Bowl, but it really didn't have to do with the scoreboard. It had to do with how a coach gets a message through to a team, and how the team actually responds to that head coach. Without one-time Heisman hopeful QB Trevone Boykin (suspension), TCU came back from a 31-0 deficit to rally and win in OT. To see how hard the Horned Frogs competed that night, amidst all the speculation around their suspended QB tells me all I need to know about this team.
They have plenty of talent and experience returning on defense, which will allow transfer QB Kenny Hill to get his feet wet. I never worry about recruiting or players stepping up in Fort Worth, because head coach Gary Patterson, has as good a track record of developing players as anyone in the country. I'll take the over.
Chris Fallica
LSU Tigers (under 9.5)
I can see a lot of people coming in on the over here. I would advise against that, though. The last time LSU won 10 games in the regular season was 2012; the past three years, LSU has won nine, eight and eight regular-season games, including the final regular-season game each time. As such, the under was already in the bag headed into the final contest, including last year, even if the canceled game against McNeese State had taken place and gone in the Tigers' favor.
We know what we're going to get from Fournette, but we don't know what we are going to get from Harris at QB. It certainly makes me think three losses are quite possible from the following seven games: Wisconsin, at Auburn, at Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, at Arkansas, at Texas A&M. I'm on the under here.
UCLA Bruins (over 8.5)
Only once in Jim Mora's four years have the Bruins won fewer than nine regular-season games, and that was last year when the team was decimated by injuries. Well, Eddie Vanderdoes and Fabian Moreau are back, and along with Kenny Young, should make the Bruins' defense one of the better units in the Pac-12. Expect Josh Rosen to take a big step forward in his sophomore year and lead the Bruins to the Pac-12 South title. UCLA's schedule is about as good as it could be in the Pac-12. The Bruins host USC, Utah and Stanford, and avoid Washington and Oregon from the North. There are two tough nonconference games at Texas A&M and BYU to navigate, but I will say 9-3 worst case.
Washington Huskies (under 9)
Washington hasn't won nine games in the regular season since its Rose Bowl campaign in 2000. That's a long time ago. In fact, that's the only time in the past 19 seasons that the Huskies won nine games in the regular season. Another thing to keep in mind: Of Washington's past 16 Pac-12 wins, 14 were against teams with losing conference records. The two exceptions were last year's Apple Cup, in which Luke Falk was injured and didn't play, and the USC game, which turned out to be Steve Sarkisian's final contest. In other words, the Huskies are going to have to start beating some good teams in order to hit -- or surpass -- that number. After a nearly guaranteed 3-0 start, UW will have to go 7-2 in Pac-12 play to surpass nine wins. UW also has to go to Eugene, and the Huskies have lost 12 straight to the Ducks. Ten wins seems like a stretch. Take the under.
Baylor Bears (over 8.5)
This much is certain: Baylor has three automatic nonconference wins and a guaranteed win over Kansas. It's also a stretch to think the Bears would lose at Iowa State; so, that's five wins. I also can't see Kansas State winning in Waco, so that's six. Are there three more wins among home games with Oklahoma State and TCU, road games with Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia and a neutral-site game with Texas Tech? I say yes. A 9-3 record looks about right for Baylor this year, as nearly all of the offensive skill is back. I'll take the over.
Louisville Cardinals (over 8.5)
I was all over Louisville last year and, by the looks of things, I might have been a year early with the Cardinals. By the end of the season, Lamar Jackson had clearly established himself as a dynamic playmaker at QB, something the Cardinals were missing in narrow, early-season losses to Auburn, Houston and Clemson. With 17 returning starters, including all the offensive skill players, as well as all but one of what should be a great LB-DB group, it appears all the pieces are in place for Louisville to make a run toward a 10-plus win season. Yes, the Cardinals have to play Clemson and Houston on the road and host Florida State, but they will be favored in every other game. I see 9-3 as a worst-case scenario, and who knows, an upset away from 10-2, or better. Give me the over here.