2013 Record: 8-5

2014 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 8.0*

2014 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Over'

The Cougars were a bit of a surprise in 2013, winning seven of their first eight games and positioning themselves as a player in the AAC. But three tight losses, all by a touchdown or less to Central Florida, Louisville and Cincinnati, put a damper on an otherwise successful season.

The main takeaway from last year was the emergence of quarterback John O'Korn, who posted one of the best statistical seasons in the star-studded history of Houston football. He is the triggerman for a loaded offense and Houston should maintain its high-scoring pace again this year.

The Cougars have an absurdly easy schedule in 2014, beginning with four of five games at home. The lone road game is a revenge situation at BYU on Sept. 11. In fact, Houston plays seven of its first 10 games on its home turf before closing with back-to-back road trips to nearby SMU and Cincinnati.

I think that eight is the perfect number for Houston this year and I wouldn't touch this season win total. But if I had to pick I side I think I would play 'over', simply because it could create some juicy hedge opportunities late in the year with some moneyline underdogs. If Houston can find a way to win road games at USF and at SMU they are one upset away from a potential double-digit win season.

2014 Houston Cougars Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result

Fri, Aug 29th, 2014 TX-San Antonio 09:00 PM Houston Football Stadium

Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 Grambling St. 08:00 PM Houston Football Stadium

Thu, Sep 11th, 2014 at BYU 09:00 PM LaVell Edwards Stadium

Sat, Sep 27th, 2014 Tenn Tech TBA Houston Football Stadium

Thu, Oct 2nd, 2014 UCF 07:00 PM Houston Football Stadium

Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 at Memphis TBA Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

Fri, Oct 17th, 2014 Temple 09:00 PM Houston Football Stadium

Sat, Nov 1st, 2014 at TBA Raymond James Stadium

Sat, Nov 8th, 2014 Tulane TBA Houston Football Stadium

Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 Tulsa TBA Houston Football Stadium

Fri, Nov 28th, 2014 at SMU TBA Gerald J. Ford Stadium

Sat, Dec 6th, 2014 at Cincinnati TBA Nippert Stadium

All Times EST

*Season Win Total Odds from Raphael Esparza. Esparza was a Las Vegas sportsbook manager for 13 years at some of the largest books on The Strip. He is a proven oddsmaker and this is his projected total.

Robert Ferringo was the top football handicapper in the country last year, earning nearly $8,000 in total football profit in 2013-14 and posting one of the best seasons in America. He hit 62.1 percent for the entire NFL season (95-58) and was amazing down the stretch, closing with 11 of 14 winning NFL weeks and 12 of 15 overall winning football weeks. Robert has posted 3 of 4 winning football seasons, 6 of 7 winning NFL seasons, 30 of 44 winning football months, and 6 of 7 winning NFL preseasons. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System posted another winning season (now 2-for-2) and is 83-58 over the last two years (58.9 percent).

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