2019 Iowa State Cyclones College Football Odds and Expert Betting Picks

2018 Record: 8-5

2019 Las Vegas Season Win Total: 6.5

2019 Season Win Total Picks NCAA Football: 'Under'

I'm still getting used to the fact that Iowa State is good at football and an actual player in the Big 12. For the better part of the last two decades, this team has been somewhere between cannon fodder and a complete afterthought. But Matt Campbell is doing excellent work in Ames and has guided this group to back-to-back 8-5 seasons.

The last time that Iowa State won eight or more games three years in a row was back in 1976-1978. Can they keep it going? Can Campbell find another level for this program and break into the Big 12's top tier?

That remains to be seen. But the Cyclones have more than held their own against the league powers over the last two seasons. They have four wins (against just three losses) against Top 25 teams over the last two years. They are also 7-2 against the spread against Top 25 opponents under Campbell; 9-2 ATS if you include the bowl games.

Iowa State will certainly miss star running back David Montgomery and wideout Hakeem Butler. They were the team's only top-end talent on offense and accounted for 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns. Now the pressure will be on last year's revelation, quarterback Brock Purdy.

This is Campbell's most experienced team. The roster is stocked with his recruits, and he welcomes back 16 starters from the group that closed out last year on a 6-2 run. Iowa State is stacked on its offensive and defensive lines, with a trio of three-year starters along both.

The Cyclones have four of their first five games in Ames. The key game is in Week 3 against rival Iowa. They have to play at Oklahoma, whom they've given all kinds of problems the last three seasons, but they do host Texas. Other than that, there is nothing glaring about their league schedule.

They group will get back to another bowl game. And I think that 6.5 wins is a little bit low. Campbell has it rolling. And this might be his best roster, from top to bottom. They host TCU, Oklahoma State and Texas and have shown a knack for upsets. I think they'll stay in the groove that Campbell has chiseled out for them, and I can see them getting seven or eight wins and going 'over'.

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