College Football Betting: Pac-12 North Team Win Totals

The next college football season will feature a lot of intrigue in the Pac-12 for a lot of different reasons. One basic reason the Pac-12 is such a mystery heading into 2021 is that the conference had a drastically shortened season because of the pandemic. Some Pac-12 teams played as many as six regular-season games last year. That is merely half of a normal 12-game regular season. A few Pac-12 teams such as California and Arizona State played only four games due to COVID-19-based game cancellations. With such a small level of game activity last season, it can be very hard to measure just how much progress various Pac-12 teams did or didn’t make last year. How much improvement, rhythm and confidence do Pac-12 teams carry into the new season? This is going to be a tough process, tougher than in the other conferences which played at least 10 games last year. Let’s look at Pac-12 North win totals for different teams in the division.

Oregon Ducks
Over-Under: 9 wins

The Ducks have elite linebackers and receivers and a good secondary. Many parts of their roster are solid, but they have some changes on the offensive line, and most of all, their quarterback position is weak. Oregon will almost certainly lose to Ohio State. The Ducks are likely to lose at some point in their nine-game Pac-12 schedule. No Pac-12 team has managed to go 9-0 in the Pac-12 in the first seven years of the College Football Playoff, going back to the 2014 season. This Oregon team certainly isn’t strong enough to go 9-0 this year. Yet, if Oregon goes 8-1 in the Pac-12, that would be good enough for a 10-win season, so the over is still a very reasonable play.

Washington Huskies
Over-Under: 9 wins

The Huskies suffered a major injury when Zion Tupuola-Fetui, their best pass rusher by far, was knocked out for at least nine games of this season. He could miss the whole season if his rehab process is slower than hoped for, but even in an optimistic scenario, he will miss ats least nine games. That’s a devastating blow to Washington because the Huskies are expected to lean on their defense this year. Dylan Morris is a modestly talented quarterback who had an uneven 2020 season. He might be an improved player in 2021, but probably not enough to make the Huskies a dynamic team. Washington needed Tupuola-Fetui, nicknamed “ZTF” (his initials), to anchor the defense. Without him, Washington probably won’t be able to smother opponents enough to compensate for the offense’s weaknesses. The Huskies are likely to lose a few games by scores of 23-13 or 27-17 this season. The under looks good here.

California Golden Bears
Over-Under: 6 wins

The Bears have a number of players returning due to the NCAA’s provision that athletes who are seniors can actually get a bonus year of eligibility due to the pandemic. Cal has a number of players who were expected to declare for the NFL draft, but who instead returned to school. That should be enough to nudge this team to the over.

Stanford Cardinal
Over-Under: 4 wins

David Shaw is one of the better coaches in the Pac-12. He beat Cal and Washington on the road last year in a shortened season. Stanford does lose quarterback Davis Mills, but this program should not be expected to win only four games. Stanford performed reasonably well last season and has a culture where players do not cut corners or develop lazy tendencies. The over-under is set way too low here. Go over.