Colorado State vs Colorado Prediction, Picks, Odds: Bet Buffs to Bury Rams

· Sep 14 - 4 minutes read

Colorado was a 20½-point underdog in Week 1 when it stunned TCU on the road. Two weeks later, the Buffaloes are favored by 23 to destroy Colorado State on Saturday in the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Such is life in one of the greatest turnarounds in college football history. Colorado is 2-0. The Buffaloes were 1-11 last season. Deion Sanders has taken the coaching world by storm and has made these NCAA football free expert picks much easier to make.

Star Power Helping to Prop Up Buffaloes

Colorado’s offense has been impressive behind junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Coach Prime’s kid is 69-of-89 passing for an eye-popping 903 yards and six touchdowns. Sanders should easily exceed 346 yards passing against Colorado State as shown in the Prop Builder. Let’s also find some value with Sanders going over 3.5 touchdown passes at a juicy price.

Colorado State vs Colorado Prediction, Picks, Odds: Bet Buffs to Bury Rams

Who will get the bulk of those yards? Look for Xavier Weaver to go over 93.5 when betting online. The senior has racked up 288 yards, 170 in last week’s 36-14 rout of Nebraska.

Colorado was +15000 to win the national championship prior to the season but has dropped nearly in half to +8000. Sanders’ hot start has made College football picks easy when it comes to Buffaloes games. At least until we get to the meat of the schedule, which starts next week in Oregon. Sanders is also rising up the Heisman Trophy odds board at +1800. He’s also +200 to be a finalist. Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter is listed at +3000 to win the Heisman.

College Football Picks: Sanders over 345.5 yards passing (-118), Sanders over 3.5 touchdown passes (+136), and Weaver over 93.5 receiving yards (+108)

Most pass attempts without an INT this season:

🦬 Shedeur Sanders: 90 pic.twitter.com/Y26Up8bLia

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 13, 2023

Pass on Colorado State Having Any Success … Until the End

Colorado State yielded 466 yards passing in a 50-24 loss to Washington State on Sept. 2, and has had a week off to try to figure out how to stop Sanders and Co. A spark, though, was provided by redshirt freshman Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, who relieved sophomore Clay Millen at quarterback. Fowler-Nicolosi completed 13 of 20 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

Fowler-Nicolosi’s performance earned him the start against Colorado. He helped the Rams score more than 19 points for the first time since 2021, so perhaps he can add to an easy score on the over. “Brayden came in and played well,” Colorado State coach Jay Norvell told the media. “The bottom line is we’ve got to score touchdowns and we’ve got to score points offensively. We’re going to give Brayden an opportunity.”

Imagine if Fowler-Nicolosi goes crazy on a Colorado defense that is still unproven. Unlikely, but here’s a reason to head for the sportsbook and play the Rams.

College Football Pick: Colorado State last team to score (+186)

Coach Prime to Put First Stamp on the Series

Colorado has won five straight meetings and leads the series 67-22-2, but does any of this really matter? According to the Las Vegas odds, Colorado State doesn’t appear good enough to put the revenge factor to use. But the bottom line is that Deion Sanders has yet to put his fingerprints on the Rocky Mountain Showdown, so anything that happened previously has little bearing.

Sanders Parlays Motivational Skills Into Success on the Field

Sanders asked his players to each find something personal prior to last week’s game against Nebraska. Coach Prime has clearly demonstrated that he is a master motivator, so getting his team fired up to play its natural rival shouldn’t be too difficult. That is reflected in the NCAAF game predictions as Colorado is expected to improve to 3-0 with an easy victory.

These free NCAAF picks are simple: Colorado 56, Colorado State 7

College Football Pick: Colorado -24 (-110) and over 61 (-110)