2013 Record: 7-6

2014 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 6.0*

2014 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

This proud Pittsburgh program has been able to keep its head slightly above water over the last few seasons based almost solely on grit and determination. But the Panthers simply are not very talented and expectations have to be pretty low for Paul Chryst's third season.

Pitt is just 19-20 over the past three seasons and has gotten used to playing in third-tier bowl games like the Compass and Little Caesar's bowls. They have just 13 returning starters and have to replace starting quarterback Tom Savage and No. 1 draft pick Aaron Donald. Not particularly talented or experienced, this looks like a very ordinary roster.

However, if Chryst plays his card right the Panthers have a chance for a misleadingly strong season. Pitt hosts Iowa in its fourth game of the season. If the Panthers can somehow win that one they have a shot at a 6-0 start. Their first three road games all come against weak sisters (B.C., FIU and Virginia) and that would give Pitt a ton of momentum going into its first bye week.

The Panthers come out of their Oct. 11 bye with a season-defining three-game home stretch. They host Virginia Tech on an ESPN Thursday night game. The following week is a homecoming tilt against Georgia Tech. Duke is next, followed by another bye week.

This team could certainly flame out if they can't find a quarterback to replace Savage or if the defense flops. But if they get off to a strong start with four or five wins in the first six games then I think they will easily go 'over' this total thanks to an upset or two in the second half of the year.

2014 Pittsburgh Panthers Schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME (ET) Location Result

Sat, Aug 30th, 2014 Delaware 12:00 PM Heinz Field

Fri, Sep 5th, 2014 at Boston College 07:00 PM Alumni Stadium

Sat, Sep 13th, 2014 at FIU 12:00 PM Alfonso Field at FIU

Sat, Sep 20th, 2014 Iowa TBA Heinz Field

Sat, Sep 27th, 2014 Akron TBA Heinz Field

Sat, Oct 4th, 2014 at Virginia TBA David A. Harrison III Field at

Thu, Oct 16th, 2014 Virginia Tech 07:30 PM Heinz Field

Sat, Oct 25th, 2014 Georgia Tech TBA Heinz Field

Sat, Nov 1st, 2014 Duke TBA Heinz Field

Sat, Nov 15th, 2014 at North Carolina TBA Kenan Stadium

Sat, Nov 22nd, 2014 Syracuse TBA Heinz Field

Sat, Nov 29th, 2014 at Miami-Florida TBA Sun Life 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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