Things are looking up for the Colorado Buffaloes following their upset win over the TCU Horned Frogs last Saturday. College football sportsbooks had pegged Colorado as a 20-point underdog heading into the game, completely disregarding the monumental change in culture and personnel experienced by the program over the last few months.
The Buffaloes finished 1-11 last season. When Deion Sanders was hired as head coach in December, he announced his intentions to overhaul the program and bring in a new batch of players.
Over 80 transfer players are now members of the Buffaloes, including two that followed Deion from the Jackson State Tigers – Shadeur Sanders at quarterback and Travis Hunter, who plays both ways at wide receiver and corner.
Both former Tigers are now featured in the top five of the current Heisman Trophy odds after their stellar performances against TCU.
2023 Heisman Trophy Winner
Caleb Williams +450
Jordan Travis +600
Michael Penix Jr. +900
Travis Hunter +1200
Shedeur Sanders +1400
HEISMAN LOADING: ████████▒▒ 80%#GoBuffs | @TravisHunterJr pic.twitter.com/FipdO5xBiD
— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 5, 2023
Shadeur Sanders Statistics vs. TCU
38 Attempts, 47 Completions, 510 Yards, 4 Touchdowns, 0 Interceptions
Travis Hunter Statistics vs. TCU
11 Receptions, 119 Yards
1 Interception, 1 Pass Defended, 3 Tackles, 1 Solo Tackle
This Saturday at 12:00 PM, Colorado hosts the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field in Boulder, where the Buffaloes are favored by a field goal.
Nebraska @ Colorado
Colorado Point Spread: -3.0
Colorado Moneyline: -150
Nebraska Point Spread: +3.0
Nebraska Moneyline: +130
Over/Under: 59.0
The Cornhuskers dropped a nail-biter to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 13-10 last weekend. Nebraska QB Jeff Sims tossed three picks against Minnesota and now must face Travis Hunter in the Colorado secondary.
The Buffaloes will begin their Pac-12 schedule against CO State on September 16th.
CO’s odds for betting on the College Football Playoffs suggest they’ll have a tough time earning a berth via a conference championship. If the following Pac-12 futures are accurate, the Buffaloes will finish in 7th place.
Pac-12 Championship Game Winner
USC +200
Oregon +260
Washington +260
Utah +660
Oregon State +1000
UCLA +1800
Colorado +2200
Washington State +6000
California +10000
Arizona +12000
Stanford +20000
Prior to the TCU game, CO held +5000 odds to win the Pac-12.
CFP futures are much more forgiving for Colorado, as they are now ranking as the 12th overall team. More intriguing is that there is only one Pac-12 team, the USC Trojans, ranked ahead of them.
2023-2024 CFP Championship Odds
Georgia +230
Alabama +550
Michigan +650
Florida State +900
Ohio State +1000
USC +1100
Texas +2200
Penn State +2500
Notre Dame +3000
Texas A&M +3000
LSU +3300
Colorado +4000
Tennessee +4000
Their odds for NCAAF National Championship betting were set at +10000 just five days ago and have improved by 6000 points in the moneyline. The time may be now for laying some action on the Buffaloes, as their odds will continue to increase with each win.
Speaking of rankings, Colorado has snuck into the AP Top 25 and is now the 22nd team in the nation. Their next major test of the season will be on September 23rd, when they visit the 13th-ranked Oregon Ducks.
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