NCAA College Football Betting Picks: 2023 Win Totals and Predictions for Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and more

Week 0 of college football season is in the books, but Week 1 marks the official start of the 2023 campaign. Every season, big-name programs like Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma are hopeful for a College Football Playoff berth. Needless to say, the majority of them will disappoint and fall short.

Every program listed in this article will have the talent advantage in most of their matchups, but that won't keep some of them from falling short of their projected win total.  However, there are a few programs that will even exceed their sky-high expectations and win more games than predicted. We're here to find the best futures bets for several key teams.

All odds listed in this piece are according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Win total projections are for regular season contests only. Let's dive in!

Alabama Crimson Tide

UNDER 10.5 Wins (-175)

Since 2008, Nick Saban's Alabama squad has won fewer than 11 regular season games just three times. And the program hasn't failed to win at least 11 regular season games in two consecutive years since 2006 and 2007. However, they'll fall under the 11-win mark for a second straight year in 2023.

Alabama has run out Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young at quarterback over the last five seasons. This year, the team hasn't even named a starting quarterback and all three possible options have a ton of uncertainty and aren't NFL-caliber signal-callers.

Jalen Milroe flashed his rushing skill set in the absence of Young last year but completed just over 58% of his passes and notched five touchdowns to three interceptions. Tyler Buchner, a transfer from Notre Dame, has thrown six touchdowns to eight interceptions in 13 career games. Redshirt freshman Ty Simpson is the wild card, but he has zero game experience and hasn't set himself apart from the competition.

The Crimson Tide are also weaker at all skill positions than usual and will break in new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Even Saban has admitted defense is no longer the key to victory in today's modern game, and the lack of firepower on offense will be detrimental to the team's title hopes. The storied program will drop two games this year.

Alabama Record Prediction: 10-2

Michigan Wolverines

OVER 10.5 Wins (-130)

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is suspended for the first three games of 2023. The opponents in those contests? East Carolina, UNLV, and East Carolina. Any intern on the Michigan staff could act as head coach and they'd win those three games with ease.

The Wolverines return quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards, and four starters on the offensive line from its Big Ten Championship team last season.

On defense, the program returns superstar cornerback Will Johnson, last year's leading tackler Junior Colson, and the majority of its defensive line production. Overall, Michigan leads the conference in returning starters.

Michigan's schedule features just two teams who are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, and they'll face Ohio State at home this year. Expect the Wolverines to be favored in all 12 games this season -- and don't expect them to lose two bouts.

Michigan Record Prediction: 12-0

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

OVER 9.0 Wins

Notre Dame is led by quarterback Sam Hartman, who transferred to South Bend after throwing for nearly 13,000 yards and 110 touchdowns in 45 starts for Wake Forest. In the Week 0 game against Navy, Hartman completed 19 of his 23 passing attempts for 251 yards and four scores. Ultimately, he looked as advertised.

The 24-year-old signal-caller has seen almost everything a defense can throw at him and will give the Irish a chance to compete with the big programs on its schedule.

However, he's not alone in his efforts. Left tackle Joe Alt is viewed as arguably the nation's top offensive lineman and running back Audric Estime is poised to break out in his junior campaign. If a couple of wide receivers or tight ends step up, this could be one of college football's elite offensive attacks.

Sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison is one of the best defensive backs in the nation, and the rest of the defense is littered with graduate transfers and seniors.

To get over nine wins. the Irish will need to defeat one of Ohio State, USC, or Clemson -- who of which they face at home. Even if the program loses all three of those games, the bet will push even and you'll get your money back.

Notre Dame Record Prediction: 11-1

Oklahoma Sooners

UNDER 9.5 Wins (-120)

Oklahoma's first year under head coach Brent Venables didn't go as planned. The program dropped six regular season contests in 2023 and was drummed in a 49-point shutout loss to the rival Texas Longhorns.

The Sooners still ranked 13th nationally in total offense in the first season after the departure of Lincoln Riley. However, the high-powered unit lost starting offensive linemen Anton Harris, Wanya Morris, and Chris Murray, running back Eric Gray, wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr., and tight end Brayden Willis to the NFL.

On defense, Oklahoma's woes continued as they allowed 461.0 yards of offense per game (122nd of 131).  Ultimately, one offseason doesn't seem like enough time for Venables to turn around the program drastically, especially considering the key departures from last year's squad.

The Sooners could be improved, but 10 wins shouldn't be the expectation in 2023.

Oklahoma Record Prediction: 8-4

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Texas Longhorns

UNDER 9.5 Wins (+120)

The Longhorns program will continue to get hype as each college football season rolls around, but a double-digit win regular season is improbable.

Texas has the No. 6 toughest schedule this season and will once again draw a matchup with Alabama -- this time in Tuscaloosa. Oklahoma should be improved and TCU, Kansas State, and Iowa State are usually tough matchups. They'll also square off with two new members of the Big 12 -- Houston and BYU -- who were regularly some of the best non-Power 5 conference teams in the nation before joining.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers has carried a ton of hype with him since being a five-star recruit in the class of 2021, yet he threw for just 15 touchdowns in 10 games last season. Simply put, that's mediocre production in Big-12 competition. The Longhorns will also have to replace running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, who were arguably the best duo in the nation last season.

Texas will make things interesting in the Big-12 title race, but once again, the storied program will fail to meet expectations.

Texas Record Prediction: 9-3

USC Trojans

OVER 10.0 Wins (-120)

USC went 10-2 in the first year of Lincoln Riley, and quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy. Ultimately, betting the over at 10.5 wins would be a good move, so over 10.0 feels like an easy call. Williams would have to regress mightily or get injured for the Trojans to fall under 10 wins and the former will not happen.

The programs' first seven games are against teams that had losing records last season and will be overmatched by USC's talent. The schedule heats up quickly with games versus Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Oregon, and UCLA, but USC should win a minimum of three of those contests.

Its defense is likely going to be one of the worst units in the NCAA, but more than ever before, football is a game of quarterbacks, and USC will have the better QB by an overwhelming margin in every game.

USC Record Prediction: 11-1

Utah Utes

OVER 8.5 Wins (+115)

Utah is coming off of two straight Pac-12 Championships, and head coach Kyle Whittingham has won at least nine regular season contests in each of the last four full seasons (Utah played five games in 2020 due to Covid-19).

The quarterback from both title runs, Cam Rising, is also back, though he's recovering from a torn ACL and is questionable for the Utes' Thursday night opener against Florida. Utah plays like a physical SEC time stylistically, which gives high-flying Pac-12 teams fits.

Bouts with USC, Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, and Baylor set up to be a tough road -- but led by a 24-year-old QB and a head coach with the formula to win in league play, the Utes will go over 8.5 wins.

Utah Record Prediction: 9-3

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