With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season-win-total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Aug. 14.
Louisville Cardinals
National title odds: 30-1 (opened 10-1)
Season win total: 9.5
FPI win total projection: 8.6
Phil Steele
Strengths: The Cardinals return Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson, so that is a pretty good place to start. The defense improved, allowing just 322 yards per game and 23.8 points per game. The Cardinals have seven starters back on defense and look even stronger with each unit ranking in my top 30 units in the country.
Weaknesses: Jackson has only
Over/under (9.5): The Cardinals have a very manageable schedule, which I rate only the 62nd-toughest in the country. I only have them as a underdog in three games -- Clemson, at North Carolina State and at Florida State. The road trip to Kentucky is a question mark, as well, so I will lean with the under.
National title odds (30-1): Last year, the Cardinals averaged 49.6 points per game in the first 10 games, but just 19 points per game in their past three. Teams seemed to catch up to their offense. They have to get past both Florida State and Clemson to get to the ACC title game, and while the odds are high, I do not see them making the playoffs.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
Over/under (9.5): After accounting for 51 touchdowns last year, it's amazing how the conversation is so different about Lamar Jackson. I am of the thinking that we will see an improved Jackson, with a jump just like what we saw from Year 1 to Year 2. The issue is how many new faces he will be throwing to on the offense. He lost his top three pass catchers, who combined to haul in 131 balls. The top returning receiver, Jaylen Smith, caught 27 passes. Another issue with the Cardinals was how they stumbled into the end of the season, losing three straight games, including games where they scored 10 points at Houston and nine points against LSU. At North Carolina, Clemson, at North Carolina State, at Florida State and at Kentucky all look to me like losable games. Factor in the roster turnover, and there might even be another slip up along the way. Under, please.
Chris Fallica
Over/under (9.5): I was the conductor of the Louisville bandwagon last year, but I have some doubts this year. In retrospect, it's pretty amazing the Cards had the season that they did and that Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy behind that offensive line. Is that line any better? We'll find out early, as Louisville hosts Clemson, which has the best defensive line in the country, in Week 3. Then, there are more tests at Florida State and at NC State. FPI has Louisville at 9-3. The road games at UNC and NC State are the keys to whether 9-3 or 10-2 is the Cards' final record. Lose one, and 9-3 would probably be the best-case scenario. I'm on the under here. I just can't get the vision of how poorly Louisville finished off the 2016 slate out of my head, and there are too many tests for this team in 2017.
National title odds (30-1): It's hard to reach the ACC title game which sharing the ACC Atlantic with Clemson and Florida State. Last year, I was interested. At 30-1 this year, I will pass.