Money flowing in again on Colorado, Sanders — WIN TOTALS FOR 134 TEAMS
Colorado captivated the college football world last season with a fast start under first-year coach Deion Sanders, aka “Coach Prime.”
The Buffaloes stunned Texas Christian as 21-point underdogs in their opener. They quickly eclipsed their season win total of 3½ before losing their final six games and finishing 4-8.
Bettors have climbed back on the Colorado bandwagon at Caesars Sportsbook, where they’ve pounded the Buffaloes to go over their season win total of 5½ (over -120).
“They’re getting the most action,” Caesars head of football Joey Feazel said. “We’re seeing the same trend from last year, heavy Colorado Buffaloes over (money).
“But it’s not going to be that 3½ number like it was last year. We have them at 5½, basically whether or not they’ll be bowl eligible.”
Caesars also has taken money on Colorado, which returns to the Big 12 after leaving the Pac-12, to win its conference (22-1) and the national championship (75-1).
“The action is continually flowing in on almost every aspect — national champion, Big 12, season wins,” Feazel said. “They have a very talented roster. Shedeur Sanders is a very talented quarterback and (two-way player) Travis Hunter is one of the better players in college football.
“What they need to improve on is in the trenches. Their offensive and defensive lines really struggled last year, especially on the offensive line, where Shedeur, in the later half of the season, couldn’t get enough time.”
Feazel said Colorado’s schedule is tougher this year. It’s a 7½-point home favorite over perennial Football Championship Subdivision power North Dakota State in its Aug. 29 opener before hitting the road to play Nebraska and rival Colorado State.
The Buffaloes also have away games at Arizona, Central Florida, Kansas and Texas Tech, along with home games against Baylor, Cincinnati, Kansas State and Utah.
Highest win totals
Caesars posted season win totals on all 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. Only six are in double digits, all at 10½: Ohio State (o-175), Georgia (o-130), Oregon (-115 both ways), Liberty (u-130), Notre Dame (u-145) and Texas (u-170).
“The only tough games for Ohio State are at Oregon and at Penn State,” Feazel said. “Outside of that, they’re double-digit favorites in every single game, even in the Michigan game.”
The line on the Ohio State-Oregon game Oct. 12 is pick’em. The Buckeyes are 10½-point home favorites over defending national champion Michigan on Nov. 30.
“We expect that line to go down, but Michigan lost so much in the draft,” Feazel said. “And they lose one of the best coaches in the league in Jim Harbaugh. That’s going to affect them.”
Ten teams have win totals of 9½: Alabama, Florida State, Louisiana State, Memphis, Miami (Fla.), Mississippi, Missouri, Penn State, Tennessee and Utah.
Four teams have win totals of 9: Boise State, Clemson, Kansas State and Michigan.
Sharp plays
Sharp bettors at Caesars are banking on Virginia Tech to go over its win total. It opened at 7½ and has been bet up to 8 (o-140).
“We’ve seen a lot of sharp action and mostly one-way action on Virginia Tech,” Feazel said. “They’re being bullish on the Hokies. The schedule seems pretty simple and they have a great quarterback with Kyron Drones.”
Virginia Tech’s toughest tests on paper are at Miami and at home against Clemson.
Caesars also has taken a lot of sharp action on Michigan State to go under its win total. It opened at 5½ and has been bet down to 5 (u-130).
“That was kind of a tougher one to price because they were just so poor the last couple of years,” Feazel said. “They bring in probably one of my favorite coaches in Jonathan Smith from Oregon State.
“Sharp bettors just think bowl eligibility might be too much for year one for Jonathan Smith.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.