Betting Mountain West college football win total odds: Bank on Boise State to be great

Boise State is still king of the college football betting odds in the Mountain West Conference, where the boys in blue received a 2020 season win total of 9.5 victories. Can the Broncos bust through and hang double-digits W’s?

Despite the threat of a cancelled season, due to the COVID-19 shutdown, sportsbooks like Caesars Entertainment are pushing forward with betting odds for the 2020 college football schedule. Here are the win total for the MWC:

Mountain West Conference College Football 2020 Season Win Total Odds

Boise State is consistently projected as the best of the Mountain West, and this year is no different, though the Broncos’ win total opened below double digits. In fact, eight of the conference’s 12 teams are sandwiched between 6 and 9.5 wins.

Highest Win Total: Boise State Broncos

The Broncos opened at 9.5, shaded ever so slightly to the Over at -115. Boise State went 11-1 SU (6-5-1 ATS) last regular season, beat Hawaii in the MWC title game, then got drubbed by Washington in the Las Vegas Bowl. QB Hank Bachmeier is among five returning offensive starters, but the O-line loses four starters.

Lowest Win Total: New Mexico Lobos

New Mexico and UNLV share a room in the basement, with both opening at 3.5 wins, though the Lobos are -115 to the Over, while the Rebels are -185 to the Under. Last season, New Mexico went 2-10 SU (4-8 ATS), leading to the departure of coach Bob Davie after eight years, with Danny Gonzales taking over. Likewise, UNLV has a new coach, firing Tony Sanchez after a 4-8 season (6-5-1 ATS) and a five-year run in which the Rebels never won more than five games. Marcus Arroyo is the new coach.

Team Of Note: UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

UNLV presented a challenge for Caesars’ risk room, and there’s been a little early back-and-forth among bettors, too.

“UNLV was an interesting case,” Caesars sportsbooks director of trading Jeff Davis told Covers. “By many accounts, with the Rebels’ returning roster and new coach, things are looking up. The problem is their schedule is absolutely brutal. We spent a long time (debating) between 3 and 3.5. We hung 3.5 (Under -185) and took a bet on Under, went to 3 (Under -120) and took a bet on Over 3 (even).”

Nevada was also an interesting case, coming off a 7-5 SU regular season (5-6-1 ATS), followed by a loss to Ohio in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“We are higher than most on Nevada,” Davis said. “The Wolf Pack probably aren’t more than a 7-point ‘dog in any game this year. Maybe at Arkansas. We hung 6.5 (Over -145) and took a bet on Under.”

Mountain West Season Win Total Opening Odds

How to bet season win totals

Season win totals are somewhat self explanatory: betting on how many wins a team will have that regular season. 

Oddsmakers set a projected number of wins for each team - based on past success, returning personnel and strength of schedule - and offer Over/Under betting options, allowing you to wager on if a team will exceed that win total (Over) or fall short of it (Under). This total does not include postseason games, such as the conference championship or bowl games.

On top of the season win total itself, oddsmakers set an assigned cost to the Over and Under bets – also known as vig or juice – depending on the implied probability of the team winning more or less than that total. 

For example, oddsmakers calculate TEAM A to win nine games this upcoming season but do feel like there’s a better chance of them winning 10 games rather than 8. Therefor, they set TEAM A with a win total of 9 but increase the vig on the OVER to -130 (bet $1.30 to win $1) and decrease the vig on the UNDER to +110 (win $1.10 for every $1 bet).  

OVER 9 WINS (-130)
UNDER 9 WINS (+110)

Season win totals are considered futures betting odds and sportsbooks will take action on season win totals from the time they post the odds until the start of the season. Futures bets are then graded at the end of the season when all results are final. 

More college football betting 2020 season win total odds

• SEC 2020 Season Win Totals
• ACC 2020 Season Win Totals
• Big Ten 2020 Season Win Totals
• Big 12 2020 Season Win Totals
• Pac-12 2020 Season Win Totals
• AAC 2020 Season Win Totals
• MWC 2020 Season Win Total

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