The 2024 college football season is here. What better way to get into the groove of a new season than by looking at a few win totals for the new year?
Our staff came through with 12 — that's right, twelve — win totals for the upcoming season. So, whether you want to add a few regular win totals to your portfolio or you want to add some flair with a conference win total or exact win total, we have you covered.
Check out all 12 of our favorite college football win totals for the 2024-25 college football season below.
College Football Win Totals
| Bettor | Win Total |
|---|---|
| Thomas Schlarp | |
| Patrick Strollo | |
| Greg Waddell | |
| Alex Hinton | |
| Mike McNamara | |
| Greg Liodice | |
| Alex Hinton | |
| Mike Ianniello | |
| Alex Kolodziej | |
| Dan Keegan | |
| Joshua Nunn | |
| Brett Pund | |
| Doug Ziefel | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our NCAAF Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | |
Miami Over 9 Wins
By Thomas Schlarp
Death, taxes and Miami failing to meet offseason hype. But 2024 is finally the year the Hurricanes buck that trend, assuming Mario Cristobal took summer school classes on what the victory formation is.
The Canes were one of the offseason’s big winners in the transfer portal, landing two of the Pac-12’s most statistically prolific players in quarterback Cam Ward from Washington State and running back Damien Martinez from Oregon State.
Not only does Ward have both of Miami’s top two receivers from 2023 returning, but the former Cougar also now has one of the Big 12’s best receivers from a year ago in Sam Brown to toss to.
Miami had some attrition in the secondary, losing both James Williams and Kamren Kinchens to the NFL, but the front seven should be strong with reigning ACC Freshman of the Year Rueben Bain Jr. and more portal reinforcements.
That secondary also won’t be tested much this season, with Louisville's Tyler Shough and Florida State's DJ Uiagalelei being potentially the “best” passers the defense will see.
Miami’s schedule also shakes out extremely favorably. The Hurricanes don’t leave the Sunshine State until October, and their two biggest toss-up games against Virginia Tech and Florida State both take place in Hard Rock Stadium.
The Hurricanes went all-in this offseason, building a roster to win now. That should pay off in a big way with double-digit wins and potentially even their first appearance in the College Football Playoff.
Pick: Miami Over 9 Wins (-125 · Play to -140)
Virginia Tech Over 8.5 Wins
By Patrick Strollo
As we enter Year 3 of the Brent Pry era at Virginia Tech, it feels like the Hokies have hit a tipping point. They now have a chance to return to the form similar to the Frank Beamer era when yearly contention for a conference championship was commonplace.
Last year, Virginia Tech finished on a high note after what could only be characterized as a deflating start to the season. Following a 1-2 start, Kyron Drones emerged as the starting quarterback and led Virginia Tech to a 7-6 record that culminated in a 41-20 win over No. 23 Tulane in the Military Bowl.
Drones, a dual-threat signal-caller and Baylor transfer, finished the season going 166-for-285 (58.2%) with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions while averaging 160.4 yards per game. On the ground, Drones added 818 yards (4.9 yards/attempt) and five trips across the goal line.
These numbers were good, but Drones will need to continue to develop to become more efficient in the passing game, especially if the Hokies look to move toward the 10-win mark.
Virginia Tech brings Drones back, but the Hokies have a lot more returning production as well. In fact, Virginia Tech returns the fourth-most production in all of FBS, per SP+ (second on offense and 13th on defense).
Importantly for Drones, nearly all of his chemistry comes back on offense (90%), which should help the Hokies get off to a hot start.
While Drones has consumed most of the chatter this offseason, the return to Beamer Ball — or should I say, Bud Foster Ball — may have already happened. Last season, the Virginia Tech defense was excellent, finishing the 2023 campaign as the nation's 20th-ranked unit in total defense (316.8 YPG).
With 77% of its returning productivity back and defensive-minded Pry at the helm, the stop unit should be in excellent shape.
In addition to excellent returning productivity on both sides of the ball, Virginia Tech has a very favorable schedule as we look toward the 2024 season. The Hokies kick off the season at SEC foe Vanderbilt but are 13.5-point favorites.
They avoid ACC troublemakers Florida State, Clemson and NC State but will have to contend with Miami and Clemson on the road and at home, respectively.
Even with losses to Miami and Clemson, Virginia Tech could still suffer another defeat and still cash this ticket.
Overall, the Hokies have a very manageable schedule that plays into an over bet on the season win total of 8.5. They're a mature team with some of the highest returning production marks in the nation.
Drones' first full offseason and training camp as a starter should pay dividends this season as the burgeoning star looks to increase his passing efficiency.
I recommend betting over 8.5 on Virginia Tech's season win total. Alternatively, or in addition to this bet, you could look at Virginia Tech to win the ACC at +1000 if you're feeling confident in the Hokies.
Pick: Virginia Tech Over 8.5 Wins (-105 · Play to -115)
Arizona Over 7.5 Wins
By Greg Waddell
New coach, new conference. That’s not typically what you look for from a team you want to back to hit its win total over following a 10-win season, but this is no normal rebuild.
Out goes Jedd Fisch after a bowl win over Oklahoma that left Arizona in the 11th spot in the final AP Poll. But the cupboard isn’t empty for the new staff.
Noah Fifita returns with the third-highest passer rating in the country to his name. His top target, Tetairoa McMillan, is back with him, ready to win jump balls any time he's needed.
Four offensive linemen are back as well to anchor the returnees from one of the best offenses in college football last season.
But the real reason to back Arizona next season is not just personnel — it's a friendly schedule that makes the Wildcats an appealing target at their current price.
With a line of 7.5 wins, the Cats have a great chance at going over with ease if they can just take care of business at home in Tucson.
Arizona hosts seven teams that are unranked in the preseason polls at home this year, and it will likely be a sizable favorite in all of them.
That leaves road contests against Kansas State, Utah, BYU, UCF and TCU to push into over territory.
Kansas State and Utah are Big 12 favorites, and there will be plenty of juice to these matchups early in the season. But even if Arizona loses those contests, the final three road games are winnable.
This 7.5 number just feels like a steal given the offensive talent that returns for Arizona in its first foray into Big 12 play.
Pick: Arizona Over 7.5 Wins (-115 · Play to -130)
Arizona Over 7.5 Wins
By Alex Hinton
Few teams finished last season with more momentum than Arizona, which won its last seven games with five wins over ranked opponents. That cost Arizona its coach after Washington hired Jedd Fisch to take over for Kalen DeBoer.
Had Fisch returned, I would've been all over Arizona to win the Big 12, although I still think it's worth a flier at 11-1 or 12-1 odds. Still, Fisch brought a few of his players with him to Seattle, but he left a lot of talent in Tucson for new head coach Brent Brennan to work with.
Leading that group is quarterback Noah Fifita, who enters his second season as the starter after completing 72% of his passes and tossing 25 touchdown passes against six interceptions in 2023.
Fifita will contend for All-Big 12 honors, as will his top target, wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, and cornernack Tacario Davis. McMillan and Davis both may hear their names called in the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft.
We'll know quickly whether or not Arizona’s Big 12 title aspirations are legitimate, as it heads to Kansas State and Utah in consecutive weeks to end September. Even if Arizona drops both of those games, I see a schedule that provides a floor of eight wins.
At home, the Wildcats get New Mexico, Northern Arizona, Texas Tech, Colorado, West Virginia, Houston and rival Arizona State. Also of note, Arizona is -155 for over 5.5 home wins. If it does go at least 6-1 at home, it will just need two games between Kansas State, Utah, BYU, UCF and TCU.
SP+ projects Arizona at 8.6 wins this season, and with a balanced team on both sides, I like it to at least win eight games. You can also back the Cats to win 10-plus games at +300 at FanDuel.
Pick: Arizona Over 7.5 Wins (-115 · Play to -130)
Texas Tech Over 7.5 Wins
By Mike McNamara
Entering last season, Texas Tech was a trendy dark horse pick to win the Big 12. However, the Red Raiders got hit hard by injuries and struggled in one-possession games, ultimately stumbling to a 6-6 regular season.
This year, I believe Tech is very much in line for some positive regression on both fronts.
Joey McGuire’s team is flying a bit under the radar in the preseason despite having plenty of talent on the roster. McGuire did a good job in the transfer portal, and his last two recruiting classes have ranked near the top of the conference.
When quarterback Behren Morton is healthy, he has one of the strongest arms of any signal-caller in this league and should lead the Red Raiders offense to big things in 2024.
Another area that makes this selection appetizing is the schedule.
Four of the first five games are at home — Abilene Christian and North Texas as nonconference opponents, coupled with Arizona State and Cincinnati, two of the basement dwellers in the Big 12.
The only road game is a trip to Washington State against a Cougar team that lost plenty from last season.
I expect Tech to be 5-0 when it heads to Tuscon to take on Arizona in its first difficult Big 12 matchup.
Of the final seven games, Texas Tech should be a comfortable favorite in each home game (Baylor, Colorado and West Virginia), and while road games against Ariona, TCU, Iowa State and Oklahoma State will be stern tests, each of those games are winnable.
I actually think the Red Raiders have some value at around 14-1 to win the Big 12 title, as I see a path to double-digit wins if everything breaks the right way.
With that in mind, I will gladly play over 7.5 wins here at close to even money on a team that is being undervalued in the market. Wreck 'Em.
Pick: Texas Tech Over 7.5 Wins (-105 · Play to -120)
North Carolina Over 7.5 Wins
By Greg Liodice
North Carolina lost quarterback Drake Maye to the NFL over the offseason. Maye was a dynamic playmaker, throwing for over 3,500 yards in the past two seasons. So, who fills the much-needed role under center for the Tar Heels?
It remains to be seen, but it seems that Max Johnson is the favorite.
Johnson had stops at LSU and Texas A&M but never made a huge impact, so the hope is that his stay in Chapel Hill is different. However, don’t sleep on sophomore Conner Harrell contributing.
Whoever is under center will be protected well. The Heels are bringing in left tackle Howard Sampson from North Texas, who’s an absolute mammoth of a man at 6-foot-8 and 320 pounds. Additionally, they’re bringing in Georgia center Austin Blaske, who has seen limited reps in his career.
Last season, the Tar Heels were a top-10 team in Rushing Success Rate and 11th in PPA. That could continue with Omarion Hampton, who's probably my favorite running back in college football.
The kid is a bowling ball, ready to make anyone who gets in his way his next victim. He ran for over 1,500 yards, averaged six yards per carry and found the end zone 15 times last season.
If it’s not Hampton pounding the rock, Caleb Hood is serviceable, and freshman Davion Gause has turned heads.
UNC lost Tez Walker to the draft but is happily welcoming back J.J. Jones and Nate McCollum while hoping to get breakout seasons from Gavin Blackwell and Kobe Paysour.
Defensively, it’s up to Power Echols to carry on the load. Camp reports have stated that Echols has become the leader of this corps, who doesn’t say a whole lot but leads by example.
While Carolina struggled last season on the defensive side of the ball, there’s a lot of promise. Defensive back Alijah Huzzie and leading sack man Kaimon Rucker return, and it brought in safety Jakeen Harris from NC State.
Give me the Heels to make some noise in the ACC.
Pick: North Carolina Over 7.5 Wins (-105 · Play to -120)
Nebraska Over 7.5 Wins
By Alex Hinton
For decades, Nebraska ranked among college football’s elite. However, there has been a lot of suffering among the Lincoln faithful as their Huskers have finished below .500 in seven consecutive seasons, spanning three head coaches.
They have not been far from turning the corner, going an abysmal 5-21 in one-score games since the 2020 season.
However, there's reason for optimism heading into Year 2 of the Matt Rhule era, beginning with Rhule himself.
At Temple, Rhule’s Owls went 2-10 in Year 1 before improving to 6-6 in his second season. Similarly, Baylor went 1-11 in his first season before making a six-win jump in his second season in Waco.
Now, Rhule finds himself in a tougher league than his previous stops, but Nebraska already won five games in his first season, so he's ahead of the curve by his standards. Another massive jump from a Rhule-coached team would put Nebraska at nine or 10 wins, and its schedule is conducive for nine.
Nebraska will likely be favored in its first seven games against UTEP, Colorado, Northern Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Rutgers and Indiana with five of them at home.
It would behoove Nebraska to take advantage of its soft schedule, as it could be in for a rough finish, but even 6-1 would put it in great shape. It closes the season at Ohio State (where it will be a heavy underdog), at home against UCLA, at USC, at home against Wisconsin and at Iowa.
Additionally, Nebraska may find itself on the right side of some of those close games if program legacy and five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola lives up to his billing.
Typically, true freshman quarterbacks aren't the most reliable. However, it won't be asking too much for him to improve a QB room that averaged 136 passing yards per game, completed 52% of their passes and threw 10 touchdowns to 16 interceptions.
If he's merely adequate in his freshman season, I like Nebraska to win eight games or more.
Pick: Nebraska Over 7.5 Wins (-125 · Play to -140)
Wyoming Over 6.5 Wins
By Mike Ianniello
Despite a head-coaching change, Wyoming had the shortest transfer portal page of any team in the Group of Five. It lost about five total players, and cornerback Kolbey Taylor was the only starter.
Quarterback Andrew Peasley graduated and star linebacker Easton Gibbs is off to the NFL, but the Cowboys return nearly every other starter on both sides of the ball.
There's especially continuity on defense with defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel taking over as head coach. The lack of portal moves speaks volumes to what the players think of Swavel and wanting to stick around to play for him.
Harrison Waylee is back at running back, although he'll miss the start of the season. However, he battled with injuries at times last year, too, which allowed Sam Scott and Jamari Ferrell to both see time. I don’t expect much of a drop-off with them running behind an experienced offensive line.
Evan Svoboda will take over at quarterback, and he's already drawing comparisons to former Cowboy great Josh Allen. Svoboda is 6-foot-5, 245 pounds and has a rocket arm. He's even wearing No. 17.
On the other side, this defense should be terrific again. The entire secondary returns, led by star cornerback Tyrecus Davis. Jordan Bertagnole is a star up front as well.
Wyoming also has arguably the best kicker in the Group of Five in John Hoyland.
The Pokes have one of the best home-field advantages in college football, and they get all of their coin-flip games in Laramie. Their first five road games are at Arizona State, North Texas, San Jose State, New Mexico and Colorado State. All are winnable.
If they take care of business at home, like they always seem to do, they could have this win total locked up by early November.
Pick: Wyoming Over 6.5 Wins (+116 · Play to -110)
Coastal Carolina Under 6.5 Wins
By Alex Kolodziej
As a fan of egregious home turf and fighting bird mascots, Coastal Carolina automatically makes my list of programs to watch out for when you’re dressing them in "College Football 25." But not in the win total market, no siree Bob from Conway.
I don’t get to seven wins very often when analyzing the Chanticleers' schedule. Auto-wins against Temple and William & Mary are likely marked, but Coastal shouldn’t be favored in more than six games.
That means you might need a couple of upsets or surprises from a team with no continuity or turnover from last year.
Also, I’m not banking on the Chants being anywhere near as explosive offensively. They also might not have the ability to build leads like they did during the Grayson McCall/Jamey Chadwell era, making potential coin-flip games against Old Dominion, Georgia State and Georgia Southern interesting.
Forecasting Coastal’s schedule, it's more likely to win five or six games than seven or eight.
Reaching a bowl’s the ceiling, and under 6.5 at -135 or cheaper feels worth a stab. I’d need +105 or better on a total of 6 if that’s the number.
Pick: Coastal Carolina Under 6.5 Wins (-135)
Mississippi State Under 4.5 Wins
By Dan Keegan
Mississippi State’s thin roster, tough SEC schedule and schematic overhaul put the Bulldogs in a very disadvantageous position for the 2023 season. Jeff Lebby’s inaugural campaign in Starkville has its challenges, and I believe this program is in for a long season.
Despite the string of offensive-minded head coaches, the bedrock of this program over its recent course of success in the past decade has been quality coaching and player development on defense. Just look at all the defensive NFL talent that has moved through Starkville in recent years and realize that will be missing from this year’s group.
The defense ranks 124th in Bill Connelly’s returning production metric, and seven of the top eight tacklers have departed. Their replacements are largely uninspiring.
New defensive coordinator Coleman Hutzler has never led a defense before, although he has bounced around about half of the SEC as a special teams coordinator and position coach.
Despite Zach Arnett’s missteps as the head coach here, he was an excellent coordinator; this hire is a clear downgrade for the program.
Lebby’s Veer-and-Shoot offense is hailed as an “add water, create points” formula. However, Lebby will be running this scheme without the high-end talent of a Tennessee or an Ole Miss; his starting offense is mostly made up of Group of Five transfers.
While the occasional star has been plucked out of the lower ranks, most of these transfers are brought in for depth in the SEC, not immediate impact performance.
Take starting receiver Kelly Akharaiyi. While he accumulated 1,021 yards at UTEP last year, he caught only 13% of his contested throws — in the CUSA. Is that number going to improve against bigger, more physical SEC cornerbacks?
The formula is the same on the offensive line, with North Texas’s Ethan Miner and Memphis transfer Makylan Pounder the impact additions.
Baylor transfer Blake Shapen takes over as the starting quarterback, but he has dealt with injury issues in the past.
Considering how much Lebby likes to run his quarterbacks, will he survive this nasty schedule behind a patchwork offensive line? If not, there's no depth behind him.
The Bulldogs will be outclassed in talent this year with a schedule that does them no favors. An undefeated nonconference is not a guarantee, as they host a feisty Toledo program and travel to Arizona State.
A winless SEC slate is on the schedule as Lebby attempts to rebuild this once rock-solid program back up from a brutal stretch of roster attrition.
Pick: Mississippi State Under 6.5 Wins (-140 · Play to -165)
Temple Under 2.5 Wins
By Joshua Nunn
Temple has posted three consecutive 3-9 seasons, the last two under head coach Stan Drayton, whose ties to the Philadelphia area made him an attractive hire for the Owls.
The problem is, nothing has been working for Temple, and it's falling further and further behind in the competitive American Athletic Conference.
Last year, at times, we saw such a dramatic drop-off in offensive production without EJ Warner in the lineup, and with his departure to Rice this season, these Owls have substantial questions on offense.
Whether it's Rutgers transfer Evan Simon or Forrest Brock taking over, the drop-off from Warner’s production will be evident.
This offensive line is young and a major work in progress, and there's little success in the ground game to draw from.
Defensively, Temple was dreadful, especially in conference play, surrendering 443 yards and 40 points per game against AAC competition. The Owls do have some transfers they like on the defensive line, but the back seven is a major question after losing second-team All-AAC linebacker Jordan Magee to the NFL, along with their top six tacklers.
Plus, all four in the secondary are being replaced by transfers.
Second-year defensive coordinator Everett Withers is a solid recruiter, so there'ss a chance the load of transfers could gel early and the defense could be marginally improved.
However, special teams are also an issue, as the Owls struggled in the kicking game (7-of-12 FGs, 36.8 net punting average) and really don’t have an advantage to draw from in this phase.
The schedule is also difficult for Temple. It doesn't have an FCS team on the schedule, which is where three of its nine wins have come from over the past three years.
The Owls face a nearly impossible road schedule and will be power-rated as a significant underdog greater than 7 points in all 12 games this season. They'll have to pull three upsets with a moneyling number of at least +220 in order to clear this win total, something they've only done three times in the last five years.
There's too much turnover on the roster and too much uncertainty at quarterback and in the trenches to see improvement in the win column this season. Go under.
Pick: Temple Under 2.5 Wins (-140 · Play to -155)
Florida Under 2.5 SEC Wins
By Brett Pund
There has been enough said about Florida’s strength of schedule this summer. This is one of the reasons the Gators’ win total has been shaped, but I think their conference win total is still a great price at DraftKings.
Of Florida’s eight Southeastern Conference opponents, seven of them went bowling last year. This difficult schedule includes a November in which the Gators play Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks.
This follows a trip to Tennessee and a home game against Kentucky in October. The only remaining conference games are against Texas A&M in the Swamp and on the road at Mississippi State.
Even if you give the Gators a pair of wins to open SEC play, I’m not sure where the other victory comes from.
You also have to think about what happens if Florida doesn’t get off to a great start, especially with a loss to Miami in the opener. This could be a situation where head coach Billy Napier gets fired if there aren’t wins early in the year.
I just feel that reaching three conference victories is going to be an uphill battle for Florida. So, I’ll take the plus-money price offered for the Gators to fall under their SEC win total.
Pick: Florida Under 2.5 SEC Wins (+110 · Play to -105)
Iowa to Win Exactly 10 Games
By Doug Ziefel
Under Kirk Ferentz, the Iowa Hawkeyes have become known for great special teams, defense and timely voodoo.
Last year, they relied heavily on all of that as Cade McNamara played through an injury before eventually suffering a torn ACL that ended his season. Well, the Hawkeyes still managed to win 10 games.
Coming into this season, the expectations for the Hawkeyes are a bit tempered by the market, as conference realignment has made the Big Ten formidable at the top.
However, Iowa can't be overlooked. It brings back 18 of its 22 starters, eight of whom were part of an Iowa defense that surrendered just 14.8 points per game.
Meanwhile, McNamara remains the biggest X-factor for the team's success.
Reports suggest that McNamara has made great strides in his health since the spring, and he'll enter the season as the starting quarterback despite battling Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan.
His passing ability will elevate this offense above what we saw last year and give the Hawkeyes real upside in this conference.
The market has the Hawkeyes pegged for at least nine wins, as their listed win total of eight has heavy juice toward the over on DraftKings.
With nine wins expected, it's a short stretch to see this team hit the 10-win mark again, and we're getting a great price here.
Pick: Iowa to Have Exactly 10 Wins (+600 · Play to +550)
