The College Football season at the FBS level is now less than one month away.

There have been plenty of storylines and soundbites emerging from the game thus far, and we're still just creeping up on the start of the season.

We don't yet have an official Preseason Top 25 poll, although we will soon, but we do have projected win totals to dissect.

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Here are the win total projections according to VegasInsider for our area FBS College Football Programs:

*Odds/Totals subject to change and may have changed since publication.

Big Ten

Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes
Steven Branscombe/Getty Images
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Iowa - 7.5 wins

Nebraska -7.5

Wisconsin - 6.5

Illinois - 5.5

Guaranteed Rate Bowl - West Virginia v Minnesota
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Minnesota - 4.5

Northwestern - 5.5

 

Big 12

Kansas State - 9.5

Kansas - 8.5

Iowa State v UNLV
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Iowa State - 7.5

Colorado - 5.5

 

SEC

Missouri - 9.5

 

Mountain West

 

Air Force - 6.5

Colorado State v Colorado
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Colorado State - 6.5

Wyoming - 6.5

 

American

Army - 6.5

Navy - 5.5

 

There are 4 football games involving FBS programs coming up in less than a month. 'Week 0', as it has been affectionately known for a while, kicks off on Saturday, August 24th with the following contests:

ESPN.com - Odds via ESPNBET
ESPN.com - Odds via ESPNBET
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Sources: ESPN.com and Vegas Insider

Know Your South Dakota College and University Mascots

The college football experience is an ultimate high for football fans and it takes several other teams to make that happen week after week during the season.
Just think about what goes into gameday? First and foremost, the players and coaching staff who put in hours and hours of practice and training to play in front of their fans. Then there's field prep, game officials, live broadcasts, concessions, and on-the-field entertainment. Yep, entertainment.

Second to the game, who do you watch? The cheerleaders? The band at halftime? What about the mascot? That's a job not many people can do.
I asked Sioux Falls native and former Cagey mascot for the Sioux Falls Canaries and Little Red & Herbie for the Nebraska Huskers Nate Welch about being a mascot:

  • What does it take to be a mascot?
  • "Losing a bet or filling an opportunity!" Welch says, "An internal energized desire to love life. After meeting great performers who are introverts out of costume, they become the center of attention when they take the stage. And also feeding off the performance of others."
  • Why does the mascot never talk?
  • "Know your role and shut your mouth. You are there to entertain. Tell the story with your actions and not your voice."
  • Advice to someone putting on that costume for the first time?
  • "Remember you are now in a costume. Have fun. Otherwise, you're just a dork in tights. If the fur ain't flying you ain't trying."

Nate Welch has moved on from his days as a mascot to Executive Director of the Vermillion Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Company in Vermillion, South Dakota.

So, can you name the mascots at our South Dakota Colleges and Universities? Check out the gallery below:

Gallery Credit: Dave Roberts

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