2013 Record: 8-5

2014 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 6.5*

2014 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

Jerry Kill, despite all of his health issues, has done yeoman's work with this Gophers program. He has increased his win total in three straight seasons, culminating in a rare eight-win season in 2013, and now the Golden Gophers are trying to break through into the top tier of the Big Ten.

Minnesota has 15 returning starters this year. Last season they parlayed 16 returning starters into an 8-4 regular season. And if sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner can make some strides then the Gophers will be a tough out again this year. The defense finished No. 25 in the country in scoring and has seven starters back. But the guys they lost were crucial. And Minnesota should experience some regression.

Minnesota plays seven of its first 10 games at home. They should bag easy wins their first three games. And I expect a loss in their first two road games at TCU and Michigan. That means they will be 3-2 heading into a key October stretchwhere they host Northwestern and Purdue before a road game at Illinois. If Minnesota can win two of those games they will be positioned for bowl eligibility for the fifth time in seven years.

However, Minnesota's November slate is ruthless. They host Iowa and Ohio State before finishing on the road at Nebraska and Wisconsin. So if they don't have six wins - which will be tough - prior to Halloween then the Gophers have no chance of getting over the hump this year.

I like Minnesota and respect the hell out of Kill. But I am playing 'under' here and betting against a program that has topped six wins just twice in the last eight years.

2014 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result

Thu, Aug 28th, 2014 Eastern Ill 07:00 PM TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Sep 6th, 2014 Middle Tennessee TBA TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 at TCU 04:00 PM Amon G. Carter Stadium

Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 San Jose St TBA TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Sep 27th, 2014 at Michigan TBA Michigan Stadium

Sat, Oct 11th, 2014 Northwestern TBA TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Oct 18th, 2014 Purdue 12:00 PM TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Oct 25th, 2014 at Illinois 12:00 PM Memorial Stadium

Sat, Nov 8th, 2014 Iowa TBA TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Nov 15th, 2014 Ohio State TBA TCF Bank Stadium

Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 at Nebraska TBA Memorial Stadium

Sat, Nov 29th, 2014 at Wisconsin TBA Camp Randall 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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