Oddsmakers have released win totals for the 2016 college football season.
I’ll take a look at each power conference and pick the teams with the best chances to earn the over and the under. Here’s my look at two teams in the SEC destined for the over in 2016.
Auburn Tigers, over/under 6.5 (-110 over/-110 under)
I get why oddsmakers are frustrated with Auburn. Nobody’s been worse in the power five than the Tigers against the spread in the last two seasons. That’s not necessarily their fault, though.
Experts relied too heavily on Auburn’s ability to score at will and dominate teams. We’re three years removed from the improbable run to the national title game, and in the last two seasons, the Tigers were looking more like a team incapable of playing defense and struggling at times on offense than the game-changing team we saw a few short years ago from Gus Malzahn and company. Oddsmakers and bettors should have adjusted…and they didn’t.
But with reduced expectations will come better results. Sometimes you just have to trust the head coach. There are some question marks on offense, especially with the quarterback position, but I anticipate them to make it work offensively. And on defense, there’s legitimate NFL talent on that side of the ball, which should open up some possibilities for the offense.
The nation will be down on the Tigers, especially with an opening night game against Clemson to go along with a difficult SEC West schedule. I’m banking on a rebound year and I can’t quite get more confident in NCAA football win totals than the over for Auburn. — Over
Arkansas Razorbacks, over/under 7.5 (-120 over/+100 under)
Oddsmakers went overboard last year entering the 2015 season with Arkansas. For some reason, experts were predicting Arkansas to be a conference title winner and the over/under was set at 8.5. Arkansas proceeded to lose four of the first six games and they were essentially eliminated from the national conversation.
Despite the bad start, Arkansas showed toward the end of the season that it could be a factor while Bret Bielema is the head coach. Arkansas quietly won six of the final seven games (including a bowl win against Kansas State), to finish with a respectable eight wins (the eighth win was in the postseason, so it didn’t count toward the win totals).
This year’s version will feature a new quarterback and running back, but the offensive line should still be one of the better units in the SEC. And the team returns nine starters from last year’s defense.
The schedule is difficult, but the Razorbacks should be able to rattle off enough wins to achieve the over. — Over
Other Win Totals
Alabama, 10
LSU, 10
Tennessee, 9.5
Georgia, 8.5
Mississippi, 8.5
Florida, 7.5
Mississippi State, 6.5
Texas A&M, 6
Missouri, 5.5
Kentucky, 5
South Carolina, 5
Vanderbilt, 5
