Michigan Football: Over/Under 2013 Win Total Predictions for Wolverines

What is a fair over/under projection on the Michigan Wolverines' win total for this upcoming season? It's certainly a debate that will rage on over the next few months.

Some fans believe the bar has been set incredibly high and would say 10 is a fair number. Others would argue that this is a very mediocre team, and that eight should be the starting point. Even though it may not seem like much, that differential is very large when it comes to betting lines.

First of all, the Wolverines' schedule needs to be the sole focus when projecting a win total. Everyone has their own opinion, but I personally see five games that can be categorized as "gimme games." Those five are Central Michigan, Akron, at Connecticut, Minnesota and Indiana.

Next, there are five games that Michigan should win, but at the same time are certainly losable. Those five are at Penn State, at Michigan State, Nebraska, at Northwestern and at Iowa.

Finally, we have two tossups in Notre Dame and Ohio State. Some think the Notre Dame game just got a whole lot easier for Michigan with the whole Everett Golson debacle, but honestly I don't think it changes much.

Let's just assume Michigan splits its two tossup games and wins the five it's strongly expected to; that would put its record at 6-1.

When looking at the final category of five games, it's clear to see that none of them will be easy to win. This may seem absurd to some, but I actually think the Nebraska game is probably the easiest out of that entire group. The fact that it is in Ann Arbor is the reason why.

I could see Michigan losing any of those other four, though. The most likely scenario is that Michigan wins either three or four of those five.

If that plays out, it puts Michigan's win total at either nine or 10. Those two win totals definitely seem to be the most likely. For argument's sake, I would place the over/under at nine.

I do think 9-3 is the most likely outcome for this season, with 10-2 being a very real possibility as well. However, for those projecting 8-4 or worse, I just don't see it.

This team is too talented and too well coached to lose all of its big games the way it did last season.

So, let the debates begin as the over/under is currently at nine.