College Football

2023 college football odds: Bettors going big on Colorado Buffaloes, Deion Sanders

Updated Jul. 20, 2023 2:39 p.m. ET

College football season win totals are a hot topic over the summer, and now there are only a few weeks to go until the Aug. 26 openers. And arguably, the most-debated team within that topic is Colorado, who will play its first season under high-profile new coach Deion Sanders.

Even with Sanders now in the fold, a chronically lousy Buffaloes program isn’t expected to suddenly be good this year. In fact, oddsmakers expect Colorado to have its 15th losing regular season in the last 18 years.

Kevin Lawler, head of trading for PointsBet USA, helps us dive into Colorado’s regular-season win total and whether Coach Prime can speedily revive a moribund program.

Let's dive in.

Bullish on Buffaloes

Colorado is among several states in which PointsBet USA operates. And no question, there’s some regional bias contributing to the overall action nationwide on the Buffaloes. Public bettors are apparently sold on Coach Sanders.

"The Colorado Buffaloes have been the talk of the town in the Centennial State," Lawler said. "Since Coach Prime was introduced as the team’s head coach on Dec. 3, the program has seen significant movement in the transfer portal, to the tune of 51 new commitments, over a dozen more than any other program."

However, the initial move on Colorado’s win total was actually down a full game from the opening number.

"This market opened at an ambitious 4.5 wins before quickly correcting to 3.5," Lawler said, before noting that at 3.5, customers can’t get enough of the Over. "PointsBet has seen fourfold more bets than any other team on the rejuvenated program’s Over. The market currently sits at 3.5 wins, with the Over at +120."

But that means the Under is still a -160 favorite to hit (bet $10 to win $16.25 total). And it’s worth pointing out that this is a team coming off a 1-11 campaign.

Will Coach Prime and the Buffaloes beat the odds?

FOX Sports' RJ Young breaks down Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes as their win total odds came in as the lowest in the Pac-12.

Uphill Battle in Boulder

As Lawler noted, there’s been no shortage of new commitments for Colorado. And the program has landed a couple of key transfers, too, helping influence all the Over bets on the Buffs.

"Bettors appear to have bought into the hype from former Jackson State stars in five-star cornerback Travis Hunter and QB Shedeur Sanders, son of Coach Prime," Lawler said, alluding to players who followed their coach to Colorado. "However, the team will have an uphill battle by way of road trips to Eugene and Salt Lake City, as well as a home duel with Heisman winner Caleb Williams."

Indeed, games at Oregon and Utah are daunting, and the Williams-led USC Trojans will almost certainly be monster favorites in Boulder on Sept. 30. Plus, for all those new players coming in, even more have departed.

"They also will have to make up for 70 players leaving over the last year, including 37 since the spring game a couple of months ago," Lawler said. "With the Buffs sitting at 125/1 (+12500) to win the Pac-12, the second-longest odds [of any team], Deion Sanders may do a better job generating hype than bringing the program to a bowl game in his first season."

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas

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