FiveDimes recently released over/under regular season win totals for college football teams.
Here is an early season look at the Washington State Cougars in the Pac 12.
Over/under
FiveDimes has Washington State at five regular season wins. Last year, the Cougars were 3-9 in the regular season. The line features a better return on the under at -110, while the over is at -130.
The upside
The talent on Washington State’s roster should be better this year.
The Cougars took a step back last year after making a bowl game in 2013. Now, quarterback Luke Falk returns, after stepping in last season for Connor Halliday. He finished last season with 13 touchdowns and 1,800 yards in six games.
He’ll be aided by all five starting offensive linemen returning, along with his top two running backs and a top wide receiver from 2013, who redshirted last season. Those pieces should fit in nicely with head coach Mike Leach’s offensive attack.
There are definitely some winnable games on the Cougars’ schedule, especially early and late. Washington State will host Portland State and Wyoming, and travel to Rutgers and California in the season’s first four games.
To conclude the season, the Cougars will host Colorado and travel to Washington, which should have an uphill climb this season.
The downside
The middle part of the schedule doesn’t offer much hope, though.
From Oct. 10 to Nov. 14, Washington State must travel to Oregon, Arizona and UCLA, and host Stanford, Arizona State and Oregon State. Only one of those six games will likely feature the Cougars as favorites, and the other five will likely consist of heavy spreads against Washington State.
And while the offense should be improved, that usually isn’t the problem for Leach-coached teams. The defense has been an issue at Washington State, and this year, with having to replace NFL-bound defensive end Xavier Cooper, and former nose tackle Kalafitoni Pole, this could be another difficult year on defense.
There are some key returners in the linebacking and secondary units, but there’s no guarantee those spots will feature above-average playmakers.
The verdict
When looking at this schedule, Washington State should be favored in at least four games, and have toss-ups at Washington, at Rutgers and at California.
Bettors would have at least four wins as pretty good bets, while three would sit on the fence. The other five will feature big spreads in the opposite direction, so it would take a fairly big upset to achieve a win in those games.
But Washington State should have a better product on the field, and this should be a bowl team. Winning those toss-up games could be a risky proposition, but the Cougars should have a good shot at getting six wins, making the over the best pick.
