2014 South Carolina Gamecocks Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

For all the talk about the SEC powers the past few years it is easy to overlook South Carolina as one of the best programs in the nation. They have gone 33-6 in the last three years and have finished in the Top 10 each of those seasons. In fact, only two of USC’s last 12 losses since 2009 have come against teams outside the Top 25 and this team is a machine.

2014 LSU Tigers Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

The Tigers have gone 104-27 over the last 10 years, winning nearly 80 percent of all games and posting an obscene 44-3 mark against teams outside the SEC. Les Miles is an idiot coach savant and continues to crank out uber-athletic and highly decorated recruiting classes alongside 10-win seasons.

2014 Texas A&M Aggies Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

If I didn’t have so much respect for Kevin Sumlin, a brilliant offensive mind and NFL-caliber headman, I would think that A&M was in trouble this year. I don’t care about the loss of Johnny Manziel as much as I do the losses of Jake Matthews and Mike Evans. But altogether those three departures will at least dent one of the Top 5 offenses in the country.

2014 Ole Miss Rebels Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

Ole Miss is just 6-10 in the SEC over the past two years. But they have scored a host of recruiting victories over the last two offseasons and they are on the verge of seeing those signees pay major dividends. And after an 8-5 effort last year the Rebels are also on the verge of being a team that no one wants to play come October.

2014 Missouri Tigers Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

The Tigers were one of the most underrated teams in the country last season, as indicated by their outstanding 11-3 record against the spread. Missouri went 12-2 straight up and their losses were in tight games against South Carolina and Auburn in the SEC Title Game (that game was closer than the final suggests).

2014 Tennessee Volunteers Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

The Volunteers went 5-7 last season – the third straight year they posted that mark – and that means that they are oh so close to bowl eligibility, right? Wrong. Tennessee sucks. And even though I have a load of respect for coach Butch Jones he won’t be able to turn around this train wreck that quickly.

2014 Arkansas Razorbacks Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

Arkansas did show signs of progress late in the season. The Razorbacks lost at Ole Miss by 10 (covering a 17-point spread), fell in a tough OT game with Mississippi State, and then gave LSU everything it could handle as a 26-point underdog, losing by just four. Arkansas has seven starters back on both sides of the ball and will be much more familiar with Bielema’s program heading into this fall.

2014 Kentucky Wildcats Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

Kentucky won two games last year in the first season under Mark Stoops. Bumps and bruises with a new coach can be expected. And they are hoping to improve with some time in his system. Kentucky still doesn’t have a quarterback and the defense is a mess. But they do have four of their five starting linemen back and five of their top six receivers back.

2014 Mississippi State Bulldogs Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

I don’t know that Dan Mullen gets enough credit for what a great job he’s done with Mississippi State. This team was on par with Kentucky and Vanderbilt before Mullen came along. Now they are at least respectable fodder, capable of covering a spread or two, for the top teams in the SEC.

2014 Vanderbilt Commodores Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/21/2014

Vandy only has 10 starters back and they don’t have a quarterback or returning starter at receiver. They only have four starters back on defense and the entire secondary is retooled. They are switching to a 3-4 defense and I expect things to be a bloody mess on both sides of the ball early in the season despite new coach Derek Mason’s familiarity with the roster.

2014 Oklahoma Sooners Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

The Sooners are still dining out on their demolition of Alabama in last year’s Sugar Bowl. And the feeling around Norman is that the win over the SEC power could be just the thing to revitalize a program that has been good, but just not good enough, over the past few seasons.

2014 Oklahoma State Cowboys Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

It is tough to count out a Mike Gundy team. Especially since he has gone 41-11 over the past four seasons. But this looks like a rebuilding season in Stillwater. The Cowboys have just four returning starters on both sides of the ball and they have lost a ton of NFL talent over the past two years.

2014 Iowa State Cyclones Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

Paul Rhoads is one of the most underappreciated coaches in the country. He’s kept Iowa State competitive during his five years at the helm despite being completely outmanned in one of the best, deepest conferences in college football. Rhoades has carried the Cyclones to three bowl games in five years but will be hard-pressed to accomplish that again this year.

2014 Kansas Jayhawks Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

Oh Kansas, you try so hard. Charlie Weis finally realized – only about eight years too late – that the spread offense is The Thing in college football. He has started to adapt, but this proven loser is just 4-20 in his two years at the helm and his team hasn’t shown many signs of progress.

2014 Kansas State Wildcats Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

Bill Snyder remains one of the best coaches in the country and has been masterful in his second stint with the Wildcats. Kansas State has gone 29-10 the last three years and they are always a player in the Big 12 despite holding firm as a bit of a throwback, physical, run-first attack.

2014 TCU Horned Frogs Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

Much like Utah out in the Pac-12, TCU has found the sledding outside of the Mountain West much tougher since stepping up in conference competition. They’ve gone just 11-14 combined the past two years and have been a non-factor in the Big 12 since joining prior to the 2012 season. Things are looking up for the Horned Frogs but I still question how good this program can really be.

2014 Texas Tech Red Raiders Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

Second-year coach Kliff Kingsbury has completely rejuvenated the Texas Tech program, bringing back the high-scoring, freewheeling point machine that the Red Raiders were used to in the Mike Leach Era. Tech won eight games last season and pulled a huge upset, winning outright as a 14-point underdog, in the Holiday Bowl. We’ll see if the Red Raiders can build on that momentum this year.

2014 West Virginia Mountaineers Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/16/2014

It’s been a rough ride down for West Virginia, who is a long way removed from the Rich Rodriguez heyday. Dana Holgersen has see his win total decline every year he’s been in Morgantown and this season might be his last shot to win over the natives. WVU has 13 starters back this year after entering last season with just eight.

2014 Texas Longhorns Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/15/2014

The Charlie Strong Era begins with the former Louisville head coach taking the reigns of one of the premier programs in the country. Deposed Mack Brown left a full cupboard, with 15 returning starters and 13 senior starters, and Strong has an excellent chance to do some damage in his rookie campaign.

2014 Baylor Bears Season Win Total NCAA Football Picks
by Robert Ferringo - 7/15/2014

The Bears laid waste to opponents in 2013 with one of the best offenses of the decade, averaging a ridiculous 52.8 points per game and scoring 69 or more points in five of their first six outings. The Bears won the outright Big 12 championship and solidified their metamorphosis from Big 12 doormat to Big 12 dominator.