Predictions for how many wins four NCAA teams will have in 2018

The 2018 college football season is slowing nearing closer with games set to begin on Saturday 8/25. I’m going to being sharing my college football regular season win totals picks. The college football odds illustrated in this article are based on a consensus of all major offshore sportsbooks.

South Carolina Gamecocks over 7.0 (-135): Will Muschamp begins his 3^rd season as the Gamecocks head football coach. His team returns 14 starters from a squad that finished 9-4 last year. As a matter of fact, 2 of their 4 defeats came against Georgia (13-2) and Clemson (12-2) who both were part of the 2017 college football playoffs.

South Carolina has winnable road games at Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and Ole Miss. Furthermore, they face the likes of Coastal Carolina, Marshall, and Chattanooga at home. I look for South Carolina to be one of the surprise teams in the country this season, and it wouldn’t shock me whatsoever to see them win as many as 9 regular season games.

Florida Gators over 8.0 (-125): Former Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen takes over in Gainesville this season. All Mullen did in Biloxi before was lead his Bulldog teams to 8 consecutive bowl appearances and 7 winning seasons. Mullen has the luxury of inheriting 19 starters from last season’s vastly underachieving 4-7 team.

Florida won’t face Alabama during their 2018 regular season slate. They’ll face 2 beatable opponents on the road in Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The Gators should be mortal locks in home games against Charleston Southern, Idaho, and Colorado State.

Washington Huskies over 10.0 (-115): Washington is one of my picks to make it to this season’s national championship game. If that indeed occurs, they’re not going to get there by losing more than 1 regular season game. This will be an experienced Washington team that returns 17 starters from last year’s squad that finished 10-3.

The Huskies will be led by a 2018 Heisman Trophy candidate in senior quarterback Jake Browning. Browning has gone a combined 22-5 the past 2 seasons as Washington’s starting quarterback, and that includes a 2016 college football playoff appearance where they fell to Alabama.

The Huskies return 9 starters from a defense which allowed 16 points or less in 9 of their 12 games during its 2017 regular season campaign. Barring a rash of injuries, Washington will be one of the nation’s top defensive teams.

Washington will only face USC this year if both teams advance to the PAC-12 Championship Game. Another conference favorite will be Stanford and the Cardinal will be travelling to Seattle on 11/3. The Huskies will certainly face a stern test in their season opener in Atlanta against Auburn. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they enter the PAC-12 title game with an undefeated record.

Syracuse Orange over 5.5 (-125): Some readers may view this pick as a bit of a reach and understandably so. After all, this is a Syracuse football program that’s endured 4 losing seasons in a row and hasn’t exceeded 4 wins since 2013. Nonetheless, I look for the Orange to show considerable improvement in head coach Dino Babers 3^rd year on campus.

The Orange return 8 starters on offense and that includes 3^rd year starting quarterback Eric Dungey. The problem with Dungey has been his inability to stay healthy throughout an entire season. Unlike prior years, if Dungey were to go down, there won’t be a significant drop in play regarding Syracuse’s backup quarterback. Highly touted redshirt freshmen signal caller Tommy DeVito will be chomping at the bit for an opportunity to shine. It won’t be easy, but I have a sneaky hunch that Syracuse will be bowl eligible in 2018.

Ross Benjamin is a top sports analyst and one of the sports industry's most respected handicappers. Follow him on Twitter: @RossBenjamin1 or visit his website at RBWins.com