College football odds: UMass win total picks, predictions, best bets

With the dog days of summer upon us, sports bettors have a limited menu to choose from on a daily basis.

Luckily, sportsbooks have dropped college football win totals for the upcoming season.

One early bet that sticks out to me is UMass over 1.5 wins. 

Yes, I mean the same UMass football team that is 3-37 over the last four seasons and hasn’t beaten an FBS team since Oct. 9, 2021.

Stick with me here. 

Former Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown took over the UMass program last year and had to start from scratch.

The Minutemen had little talent on the roster but they were actually competitive in a few games late in theseason.

They lost to Arkansas State by two, New Mexico State by 10 and competed with Texas A&M before losing 20-3.

Brown hit the transfer portal and UMass has more talent across the board than it did a year ago.

If UMass can improve just a little bit on both sides of the ball, the schedule sets up nicely for them to go over 1.5 wins. 

Betting on College Football?

Nothing is a gimmie for UMass but let’s assume the Minutemen beat FCS Merrimack on Nov. 4.

There are winnable games on the schedule against New Mexico State, New Mexico, Eastern Michigan and Arkansas State to get to two wins.

With an improved roster and manageable schedule, I see UMass recording more than one win in a season for the first time since 2018.