2018 Michigan State Spartans Season Win Total Picks and Predictions for NCAA Football

2017 Record: 10-3

2018 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 9.0

2018 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Over'

Mark Dantonio heard the haters calling for his head after his disastrous 3-9 season in 2016. And he answered the bell. Boy did he ever answer the bell. Michigan State came roaring back with a 10-3 season in 2017, going 9-4 against the spread and capping it with a 42-17 Holiday Bowl thrashing of Washington State.

Now Dantonio is ready to rev things up and challenge the other superpowers for control of the Big Ten East. And with quarterback Brian Lewerke and one of the best defenses in the country, he is poised to do just that.

Lewerke was quite a find last season, throwing 20 touchdown passes in the air and adding 560 yards and five more touchdowns on the ground. The junior is the unquestioned leader of the offense and will team up with seniors L.J. Scott and Felton Davis (17 combined touchdowns) to ramp up production on an offense that managed just 24.5 points per game.

Michigan State will start three sophomores along the offensive line. But two of those second-year players are among the four starters back from last year's offense. The Spartans also welcome five of their top six receivers back.

Dantonio has always been a meat-and-potatoes guy that hangs his hat on defense. And he has nine starters back from a stop unit that dominated last year. They were No. 2 in the country in rushing defense, allowing just 95.3 yards per game in the rugged Big Ten. Sparty was No. 7 in total defense and No. 20 in points allowed at 20.0 per game.

Teams like Clemson and Auburn get all the love when talking about the best defensive lines in the nation. But Michigan State has three starters and six of their top seven lineman back from last year's powerful front. They also have the entire secondary intact, including "Star" Andrew Dowell, a three-year starter.

Perhaps Michigan State's biggest advantage this year is the schedule. Notre Dame has been replaced by Arizona State in the nonconference. The Spartans avoid the two best teams from the West, Wisconsin and Iowa. And best of all, Michigan State hosts both Michigan and Ohio State, perhaps its two biggest impediments in the East.

That doesn't mean that this slate is without its bumps. The Spartans have to travel to Penn State and play a Nittany Lions team that will be off a bye in Week 7. They also have a tricky road game at Nebraska the week after the Ohio State clash. And while Arizona State is in flux, a trip to the desert in early September can be dangerous.

Michigan State is loaded. They have 19 starters back from a team that was just one win away from the Big Ten title game. Sure, some of their wins last season was smoke in mirrors as they only outscored their league opponents by a total of 15 points. But with their experience, talent and Dantonio at the helm, this group is going to be a force in the stacked Big Ten East.

To lose this wager the Spartans would have to lose four times. I don't see it happening. Even if they lost to Penn State, Michigan and Ohio State, they would still have to get upset by someone else for this wager not to cash. This one is all upside, and I like the Spartans to get to 10 wins and get 'over'.

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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