2018 New Mexico Lobos Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/15/2018

It has been an offseason of turmoil at New Mexico. Coach Bob Davie spent part of the offseason on suspension as the school investigated a host of ugly accusations. Davie managed to keep his job. And then this fall he managed to protect the football program from a range of budget cuts that gutted parts of the athletic department.

2018 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Two years ago the Irish took every bad beat imaginable and bumbled their way to a 4-8 season. They responded in force last year, going 10-3 with their victories coming by an average of more than 22 points per game. Brian Kelly's squad has 15 returning starters and a load of experience. So, should we take this team seriously as a potential College Football Playoff participant or are they just an overblown, overrated side show?

2018 Boise State Broncos Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

The Boise State program was already a juggernaut when Bryan Harsin took over in 2014. But Harsin has to be given some credit for continuing the standard of excellence that Chris Petersen set before he left for Washington. The Broncos have increased their win total each of the past two years, and Harsin enters this fall with potentially his best team yet.

2018 South Florida Bulls Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

I'm glad that Charlie Strong landed on his feet in South Florida. Strong is a really solid coach that's been underappreciated at both Louisville and Texas. And now he can start laying the foundation for his program in Tampa while trying to build on last year's 10-win campaign.

2018 San Diego State Aztecs Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Rocky Long has been getting it done in the Mountain West for nearly 20 years. He had three years off in between a decade at New Mexico and his current gig with San Diego State. And as he enters his eighth season with the Aztecs, this program is as strong as ever and focused on making a third conference title game in four years.

2018 Houston Cougars Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Major Applewhite struggled in his first year with the reins of the Houston program. But the former Texas and Houston offensive coordinator brought in Kendall Briles to help ramp up an offense that is coming off one of its worst full-season efforts in a decade.

2018 Memphis Tigers Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Mike Norville has been a steady hand at the rudder for Memphis over the course of the past two seasons. But now he has to move on without sensational quarterback Riley Ferguson (and standout receiver Anthony Miller) while trying to maintain the Tigers' perch atop the AAC West.

2018 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

I'm wondering if Tulsa wishes it had stayed in Conference USA. The Golden Hurricanes have had a rocky road since joining the AAC, with last year serving as their second 2-10 season in four years. And if you look at the trajectory of the program, coach Phil Montgomery is following the same path as the man he replaced, Bill Blankenship.

2018 SMU Mustangs Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Chad Morris did a decent job of building up SMU from a laughingstock to a legitimate AAC program. But Morris bolted for Arkansas rather than stick around and continue to grow with the Mustangs. Despite that, SMU scored another touchdown when they landed journeyman Sonny Dykes. Dykes didn't work out at California. But he did an excellent job at Louisiana Tech prior to that and he should pick right up where Morris left off.

2018 UNLV Rebels Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Slowly but surely. That is how Tony Sanchez has been building up the Rebels. And you have to give the UNLV brass credit for sticking with Sanchez and giving him the time and the tools necessary to turn this comically-bad program into something resembling competitive in the Mountain West.

2018 Wyoming Cowboys Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

The Cowboys are being written off as a contender in the Mountain West this year thanks to the loss of first-round NFL pick Josh Allen. Call me crazy, but I actually think that this year's Wyoming team can be even better despite the loss of their big-armed quarterback.

2018 Temple Owls Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

If you're looking for a potential sleeper in the AAC this year then look no further than Philadelphia. Temple played in back-to-back AAC title games in 2015 and 2016, meaning that the Owls' senior class will be gunning toward a second potential title and third championship game in four years.

2018 Utah State Aggies Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/14/2018

Utah State had its third consecutive losing season in 2017 after enjoying four straight winning years from 2011-2014. On the surface, last year's sub-.500 record should be a disappointment and cause for concern if you're interested in coach Matt Wells' job security. However, if you dig a little deeper it becomes clear that Utah State's effort last fall was more impressive than it seemed and could be the springboard for a fantastic 2018.

2018 Central Florida Knights Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

No one saw Central Florida's 2017-18 National Championship season coming. But when the dust settled last year, the Knights were the only unbeaten team in college football and (self-proclaimed) champions. Of course, I'm only half-joking when I refer to the Knights as "National Champions". The school and ex-coach Scott Frost made that declaration on their own after beating Auburn - the lone team to beat Alabama - in the Peach Bowl to complete an unblemished season.

2018 Navy Midshipmen Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

Navy has been one of the most consistent college football programs in the country in this young century. The Midshipmen have posted a winning record in 14 of the past 15 years, playing in six straight bowl games. But I have a feeling that the bloom is off the rose in regards to Navy's addition to the AAC. And this will be a telling season when it comes to the Middies staying power.

Silver Seven: College Football Teams to Fade or Follow 2018
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

If I've said it once I've said it 1,000 times: gambling isn't magic, it's mathematics. The mathematics of college football offers gamblers one of their most daunting challenges. Football's scoring structure, unique among all non-football sports, is one example of football's distinct properties. The limited number of betting opportunities, because football has the shortest schedule, is another.

2018 Tulane Green Wave Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

Tulane came up one tantalizing inch short of a bowl game last year. The Green Wave haven't made the postseason since 2013 and have played in just one bowl game since 2002. Willie Fritz has this team pointing in the right direction, and last year's close call should serve as the perfect motivator for this year's group.

2018 Cincinnati Bearcats Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

Prior to Tommy Tuberville's hiring in 2013, Cincinnati had gone 65-26 over a seven-year stretch while serving as a springboard for Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly and Butch Jones. How badly did Tuberville screw up this program? They have gone 33-31 since he stepped on campus. And now it is up to second-year coach Luke Fickell to continue to pick up the pieces of this program.

2018 East Carolina Pirates Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

As recently as three or four years ago, East Carolina was a feisty small-conference program just salivating at a chance to knock off an unsuspecting regional foe from the ACC or SEC. They beat Virginia Tech in back-to-back seasons (2014-2015) and had near-misses against schools like Florida and South Carolina. But right now the Pirates are the shell of the program that they were. And this team has barely showed an ability to be competitive in their own league, much less against teams from power conferences.

2018 Connecticut Huskies Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football
by Robert Ferringo - 8/13/2018

The Huskies have barely been a D-I college football team over the past five years, going 16-43 against FBS opponents. Randy Edsall was brought back in an attempt to build the Huskies back up to the level of respectability on which they perched before his 2011 departure. But last year didn't give any indication that this team is even close. And a quick scan across the roster heading into fall camp doesn't instill any confidence in the short term.