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All win totals are courtesy of South Point.
Cincinnati Bearcats - O/U 5 wins
Joey Broback - Push. I’m optimistic about the Bearcats this season, and anything above five wins will be a surprise.
Darrell Thompson - Push. I’m not sold on Fickell as a homerun hire, but he could be decent, and five wins seems about what the fans should expect this year.
Joe Serpico - Over. Six wins is a realistic possibility as the schedule plays out favorably for Luke Fickell in his first season. The Bearcats return plenty on defense so it's up to the first-year coach to get the offense rolling.
East Carolina Pirates - O/U 2.5 wins
Joey Broback - Under. A lot needs to change for my opinion to do so as well. The offense doesn’t have receiver Zay Jones, and the Pirates could easily be winless until November.
Darrelle Thompson - Under. I see them getting one win next year, against James Madison, then the season will go off the rails.
Joe Serpico - Under. I'm a bit more optimistic about the Pirates offense than my colleagues, but with that said, only two wins are likely this season. We will learn a lot about how Scottie Montgomery is building this program come December.
Temple Owls - O/U 7 wins
Joey Broback - Under. A lot of talent needs to be replaced on both sides of the ball, and I’m not sure what Geoff Collins will be able to do with this group.
Darrelle Thompson - Push. The team loses their defensive leader, and head coach, but the schedule lines up for them to win the games they are supposed to win against inferior competition.
Joe Serpico - Push. The defending AAC champs have a new head coach and plenty of holes to fill - including at quarterback - but still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball to get back into a bowl game.
UCF Knights - O/U 7.5 wins
Joey Broback - Over. Scott Frost knows a thing or two about offense, and has the talent needed to explode in 2017. The defense is already solid, so that should mean an improved record combined with the offensive improvement.
Darrelle Thompson - Over. The schedule ends with two tough games (at Temple and home against USF), but the offense will be firing on all cylinders and could break out in the AAC.
Joe Serpico - Over. This is the year Scott Frost makes the offense magical in Orlando, and the Knights could be in position for a AAC Championship appearance heading into the regular season finale against USF.
Connecticut Huskies - O/U 4 wins
Joey Broback - Under. Round 2 under Randy Edsall could go as well as the first round, but 2017 won’t be the start Huskies’ fans are looking for.
Darrelle Thompson - Under. I think the defense will improve substantially, but it’s still a tough schedule and Edsall will need to recruit in the trenches for a year or two before the Huskies can get to bowl status.
Joe Serpico - Under. Randy Edsall is back after a failed stint at Maryland, but his predecessor Bob Diaco didn't leave him much to work with in his first season.
South Florida Bulls - O/U 10 wins
Joey Broback - Over. While Quinton Flowers is running the offense, the weapons around him will emerge. Defensively, the Bulls should reap the benefits of being coached by Charlie Strong.
Darrelle Thompson - Over. Quinton Flowers is a beast and should finish int he top 5 in Heisman voting barring an injury, and Charlie Strong should have a much better defense than the outfits he had at UT.
Joe Serpico - Push. The Bulls have the best player in the conference and Charlie Strong is a great hire, but the last three games of the season are against teams that could be in the mix to win the conference championship. Some are already handing them the division, but as I previously said, I feel it's going to come down to the matchup at UCF.