College Football

Three early college football win totals bets to make right now, expert picks by Chris 'The Bear' Fallica

Updated Jul. 3, 2023 2:01 p.m. ET

"Bear Bets" are real wagers that Chris "The Bear" Fallica is actually making.

My first batch of college football wagers inspired me to make more, so I've got three additional college football win totals I am playing.

From a historic university that is popular with bettors to a team that exceeded expectations last season, here's how I'm playing win totals for three different squads.

I’m sure everyone will agree with all of my picks. Good luck!

Colorado State Over 4.5 wins (-115, bet $10 to win $18.70 total)

The Rams weren’t very good on offense last year. They had quarterback issues and receiver Tory Horton was the only reliable playmaker CSU had. Despite that, the Rams managed to win three games but only scored 17 points in each victory.

CSU also lost two other close games (17-13 and 14-13) in a 3-9 season.

In addition to Horton, defensive end Mohamed Kamara gives the Rams two of the better players in the Mountain West Conference, which I do not see as being great at the top.

CSU gets to face three of the projected top MWC teams in Fort Collins — Air Force, Boise State and San Diego State. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rams won two of those games.

Add in a gimme win vs. Utah Tech, a home game with Nevada and games at UNLV and Hawaii, I see a real path to not only five wins but potentially six.

I expect coach Jay Norvell to reshape the roster, rebuild some confidence after the Steve Addazio tenure from 2020-21 and take a step forward this season.

PICK: Colorado State Over 4.5 wins

Colorado, Texas, Notre Dame headline most improved offenses.

FOX Sports' RJ Young discusses the powerhouse offenses he expects to improve in the 2023 college football season.

Notre Dame Under 8.5 wins (-130, bet $10 to win $17.69 total)

The Irish went 8-4 last year and had two of the worst losses in the country. They dropped home games as massive favorites to Marshall (26-21 as a 20.5-point favorite) and Stanford (16-14 as a 16.5-point favorite).

One can take that two ways.

The first is that, despite those two losses, they went 8-4, so there’s no way they will lose two games like that again. Or, one can point to those games and say they can lose to anyone, and we should expect at least one unforeseen loss.

I’m in the latter camp.

I do expect Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman to give the Irish more consistent QB play than they got last year. However, there was considerable turnover on the offensive coaching staff. Also, someone will have to replace tight end Michael Mayer, who seemingly made every big catch for the Irish before becoming the No. 35 pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.

One can assume Notre Dame will be underdogs to Ohio State, USC and Clemson — even with two of those three coming at home. Maybe the Irish win one of those three, but games at NC State and Louisville and then at home vs. Wake Forest and Pitt would worry me if I were a Notre Dame backer.

Seems like another 8-4 regular season is probably on tap in South Bend.

PICK: Notre Dame Under 8.5 wins

Washington Under 9.5 wins (-115, bet $10 to win $18.70 total)

I was bullish on the Huskies going over their win total a year ago (7.5), and my confidence was rewarded with an easy cash as UW finished 11-2.

This year is a bit of a different story, though. I don’t expect UW to be bad at all. But the team is coming off a surprise double-digit win season, and expectations are super high. When this happens, that can create opportunities to play the Under on teams that are good but not quite that good.

This is one of those instances as the Huskies drop UCLA and Colorado from the schedule and pick up USC and Utah. UW also has the return trip to Michigan State this year and has to go to Corvallis to take on Oregon State.

It took unworldly performances from quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to beat Cal, Oregon and Oregon State by a combined 13 points last year. Can that repeat itself, especially if the defense doesn’t improve to take some pressure off the offense to win every game 42-35?

This feels like one of those "10 to beat me" plays, and I’m happy to think 9-3 is a very likely outcome for the Huskies.

PICK: Washington Under 9.5 wins

Chris "The Bear" Fallica has covered sports for nearly three decades. While college football has been his focus, he also enjoys the NFL, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, MLB, NHL and Horse Racing, with an "occasional" wager on such events. Chris recently won the inaugural Circa Football Invitational and finished in the Top 10 of the Golden Nugget Football Contest. He’s a multiple-time qualifier for the NHC Handicapping Championship. Remember, "The less you bet, the more you lose when you win!" Follow him on Twitter @chrisfallica.

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