Win Total Wednesday: Volume 1
In less than 3 short months college football season is officially BACK. I know some people might be saying “Guys, there’s NBA and NHL playoffs going on, why are you already talking about college football?” Well, I think I speak on behalf of Brandon Walker, Rico, Mintzy and myself when I say, it‘s because we’re college football junkies and we are FEENING.
Every Wednesday during the summer we‘re gonna be doing ”Win Total Wednesdays” where we each bring in one win total we like for the upcoming college football season and crown a winner at the end of the seasons when the bets have all played out. As a disclaimer, lets keep in mind that these win totals are strictly for regular season. Conference championship games and bowl games do not count towards these win totals. Now that we got that out of the way let’s dive right in, bitches.
Rico Bosco: Ohio State over 11
I promise I did not put Rico up to this. When he wants information on Ohio State football and their upcoming season I certainly give it to him, but in no way, shape or form did I ask him or influence him. If anything I’m pissed because I would have loved for the Buckeyes to be one of my choices. They may have lost a lot but when it comes to the elites (Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State etc.) they reload every year and this year is no different. We’ll start with the receiving core where this WR room I genuinely believe has a chance to be as good as Alabama‘s over the last few years. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are both returning and were absolute studs. I can’t even fathom why Olave came back to school when he was a lock to go in the first half of the second round or earlier in the NFL Draft but lord knows you’re not gonna find me complaining about it. The only reason Wilson stayed is because he was a true sophomore last year and he has too. Now we have 3 former 5 star wide outs in Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming who was arguably the number 1 recruit in the country last year coming out of high school in PA) and Gee Scott Jr. all coming back for year 2 after showing some strong flashes as true freshman. This year the Buckeyes bring in another couple 5 stars in Emeka Egbuka and this totally random guy that goes by the name of Marvin Harrison Jr. Yes, he is Marvin Harrison’s son and yes he is awesome. Ohio State’s bookend tackles come back in Thayer Munford and Nicholas Petit-Frare along with Harry Miller and monster 5 star prospect Paris Johnson most likely stepping up into a big role at one of the guard spots. But at the end of the day the X-factor for the ceiling of this Ohio State team is the QB and all signs point to CJ Stroud taking the reigns. He served as the backup last year and looked really sharp in the spring game that ultimately separated himself from the competition. As I said in the video he gives me Dwayne Haskins vibes in terms of his size and passing ability but slightly more mobile. If that comes to fruition he is gonna have one hell of a year with all this WR talent. Not to mention Master Teague is back and being joined by 5 star RB Treyveon Henderson who has looked incredible in spring practices and is putting himself in position to be a huge part of a powerful 1-2 punch in the running game. The defense brings back some great talent like Haskell Garrett and Sevyn Banks but needs some key guys like Tejada Mitchell, Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison to really step up and have huge years for the Buckeyes to fill some big holes at linebacker and on the defensive line. There’s no one I trust more to develop defensive lineman in the country than Larry Johnson and Kerry Coombs is a phenomenal defensive coach and should have the defensive unit more the formidable. As of right now Ohio State is a minimum of -375 favorite in every single game this season and have 12 regular season games schedule. Run the table and we cash and can still afford a loss to walk out with a push. Sounds like a solid bet to me.
Ben Mintz: LSU over 8.5
After an absolute disaster of a season following a national championship the LSU Tigers are back with Coach O still at the helm. They’ve got new coordinators on both sides of the ball to right the wrongs of last season and get the Tigers back to football glory. On a positive note, they return almost their entire offense that showed some flashes of being really good last year ranking 5th in the SEC in yards and 6th in points. On the other hand this was arguably the worst defense in the entire SEC last season giving up an average of 434 yards and 35 points per game. Yikes. They bring back 9 defensive starters but with the numbers I just relayed to you one might struggle to make an argument whether it‘s a bad thing or a good thing. They do have a chance to have the best CB combo in all of college football with beast future 1st round pick Derek Stingley Jr. and Eli Ricks. The success of this team ultimately comes down to both new coordinators coming in and maximizing the talent that LSU has. There’s no doubt that this team has talent, but can Coach O and the new regime back on track. There’s a lot of question about the quarterback position and who’s gonna step up and fill some massive shoes at WR and RB after having so much NFL talent come out of those spots the last couple years. It seems crazy to say this only being 1 and 1/2 years removed from a National Championship win, but Coach O could be on the hot seat if they have another year like they did last season, especially on defense.
Brandon Walker: Alabama under 11.5 and Georgia over 10.5
Of course Brandon had to try and one up everyone and come with a two that motherfucker. Whatever anyways I actually like his picks. People might jump out of their seats when they see Alabama and the under for their win total but it actually makes sense. As much as Alabama reloads every year as we all know, this team is losing EVERYTHING on both sides of the ball. This was an all-time team we saw from Alabama in 2020. To expect this new team to be as good as last year’s team is just unrealistic. For this total to go over Alabama would have to run the table in the regular season. One loss and the bet cashes. In Nick Saban’s tenure they‘ve won 6 national titles and haven’t lost many games. HOWEVER, in Nick Sagan’s 6 national title season he has had losses in 4 of them. The fact of the matter being more times than not, Nick Saban coached teams lose atleast 1 game. I think its definitely worth a shot considering all the turnover on this roster and all it takes is one bad game in a tough SEC to cash this bet. Ride with the under 11.5 on the Crimson Tide.
As far as Georgia is concerned, if they ever have a team that has a chance to get over the hump and win a national title, this team may be it. With JT Daniels leading them at QB and some big time weapons on offense, they might be able to pull this thing off. Regardless of winning a national title, they have a great opportunity to win 11 games in a 12 game schedule. They play Clemson week 1 and I think they can almost lock up this bet right there with a win. They don’t play Alabama in the regular season and I think the SEC should be slightly down with Florida losing their whole team, Alabama losing their whole team and not seeing too much promise from the SEC East when you think of teams on their schedule like Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. I don’t see Auburn being a big threat with Bo Nix still at QB and Arkansas, Vandy and South Carolina should be blow out wins. Now with injuries and the possibilities of Kirby Smart fucking something up nothing is a forgone conclusion, but Georgia is in a great spot to win 11 games this season and meet Alabama in the SEC title game.
Big Ev: Nevada over 7.5
I LOVE Nevada this year as a team. They return every single starter on offense including a dark horse Heisman contender in QB Carson Strong who threw 27 TD and 4 INT last season. They bring back Romeo Doubs who was a big time WR in the Mountain West with over 1,000 yards in 2020 and a big play waiting to happen at any time. Put him along side Elijah Cooks who led the team in receptions, yards and TDs in 2019 and TE Cole Turner who scored 9 TDs last year and they should have a phenomenal passing attack. The Wolfpack also brings back beast RB Toa Taua and the entire offensive line including future NFL lineman in Aaron Frost. This offense is loaded from top to bottom and has a strong chance to be the best offense in all of the Mountain West. If they can grab a win Week 1 at Cal they have an incredible chance to cash this over 7.5 wins. They also play Kansas State on the road who brings back nothing so if they can win either one of those games early in the season their in a great spot, if they can somehow win both they should be close to a lock to get 8 wins. Who knows what Boise State is gonna be after a total shitshow of a season last year but I’d expect they’ll be strong again as long as they don’t have 9 different quarterbacks go down to injury last season. Nevada is my pick to win the entire conference so I’m jumping all over them to get over their win total of 7.5 games.
