2018 Iowa Hawkeyes Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football

2017 Record: 12-2

2018 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 7.5*

2018 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Over'

In sports betting, particularly in college football betting, stability and consistency are gold. There is so much insanity from week-to-week and season-to-season that I love some measure of predictability. And that's why I enjoy Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Ferentz is entering his 20^th season at the helm in Iowa City. And you just know what you're going to get with them every year. This team is going to run the ball, play good defense, win around eight games, and spring an upset somewhere along the way in a big home game.

This year's Iowa team fits that bill. They are stale offensively, having to replace their top two runners and two of their top four receivers. And the Hawkeyes have to replace six of their top eight defenders. In some programs that would all signal a rebuilding season. But with 13 total returning starters and plenty of upperclassmen looking to step into those positions, I think Iowa will be able to somewhat brush off those losses and have another winning season.

Ferentz hasn't produced many good quarterbacks at Iowa. But junior Nathan Stanley has the potential to be very good. He threw 26 touchdowns to just six interceptions last year. And with his top two receivers, including touchdown machine Noah Fant, Stanley has the chance to put up some strong numbers again this year.

Three of four starters are back on the defensive line for the Hawkeyes. This is an area where Iowa is consistently good. They also have three of four starters back in the secondary for a group that was No. 17 in the nation in scoring defense last year. They are unproven at linebacker. But Iowa should again have a perfectly acceptable stop unit that is good enough to bail out its erratic offense.

Iowa is expected to be the second-best team in the Big Ten West. But as I look at the roster I don't see a team that is capable of going toe-to-toe with division favorite Wisconsin. And we will find out how these two teams matchup early; they meet in Week 4 at Iowa.

The Hawkeyes open with four straight home games, capped by that clash with the Badgers. They also get rival Iowa State at home in Week 2.

But then Iowa has to go on the road for four of five games on the road. Those games mostly come against second- and third-tier opponents (at Minnesota, at Iowa, at Penn State and at Purdue). But over the last 20 years the Hawkeyes have been little more than a .500 team away from home (28-21).

I'm unmoved by this Iowa team. I like their quarterback and a couple of their other players. But it doesn't really matter. Going back to what I said in the open, you just know that this team is going to go 8-5 this year. They've posted that exact record each of the past two seasons and three times in the last five years. I wouldn't touch this season win total. But they will be right around seven or eight wins in the regular season. So I will defer to Ferentz and say that he will avoid enough upsets to tuck over this number.

Robert Ferringo has been the top football handicapper in the country the past seven years, earning nearly $28,000 in total football profit. He has also posted seven of nine winning seasons (including back-to-back winning years) and produced 26 of 41 winning football months and an amazing 45 of 70 winning football months over the past decade. Robert has eight of 10 winning NFL preseasons and he is at nearly 60 percent winners over his last 900 totals picks. Also, Robert's proprietary KING College Football Betting System has posted three of five winning seasons. Robert is looking for a third straight winning football year and wants more profit this fall. SIGN UP HERE TODAY AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OUR 3-FOR-1 FOOTBALL SPECIALS!

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