CFB Futures – 2024 Colorado Buffaloes Win Total Odds

The first season of Deion Sanders as a head coach of a college football Power conference program was a circus. Coach Prime rebuilt the team through the transfer portal and the Colorado Buffaloes won just four games. The 2024 campaign will again be a circus but likely a muted one as the program shifts to the Big 12 Conference. Last season started strong with three straight wins with the hype and never-ending coverage reaching a fever pitch. However, things shifted drastically once Pac-12 play started and the Buffs won just one of their final nine games. They went OVER their projected win total of 3.5 and oddsmakers believe with a year under his belt Sanders can get the team to loftier heights. The Buffs have a win total of 5.5 at BetMGM.

Regular Season Wins for the Colorado Buffaloes

Over 5.5 ( -145 )

Under 5.5 ( +120 )

Just through the relentless media coverage of Deion and the program last year the school got a decent return on its investment. In many ways the season wasn’t too bad, improving by three wins from the 2022 disaster. But it wasn’t good enough and the squad was last in the Pac-12 at 1-8. Coach Prime is at it again hitting the portal hard to shore up deficiencies in the offensive line, which allowed the second-most sacks a season ago. The spotlight will again shine bright on Sanders and the team, but mostly on Deion.

Reduced juice betting is one of the best ways for any sports bettor to save money and far too many people don’t take advantage of it. If you are not playing at a sportsbook that offers reduced juice betting then you are simply giving away money.

Bet on College Football at BetMGM 

Roster

It’s a good idea to protect the best and most important player on the team. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders has the potential to be a first round NFL draft pick and had startling numbers despite being constantly hounded by opposing defenses. Sanders threw for 3,230 yards averaging nearly 294 yards per game, with 27 touchdowns and only three interceptions while completing nearly 70 percent of his throws. The Buffs averaged more than 41 points in winning their first three games, but things changed once Pac-12 games started. 

It’s not always a good plan to rebuild through the portal and Sanders is doing it again, especially on the offensive line. Five new starters are projected up front after the group surrendered 56 sacks last season. It didn’t help that there was no run game to speak of forcing Sanders to throw more than he probably should have. Dylan Edwards had a team best 321 rushing yards last season and the Buffs averaged less than 70 yards on the ground. 

In an effort to diversify the offense former NFL coach Pat Shurmur was hired as new OC. The ground game will start over after Edwards and second-leading rusher Anthony Hankerson hit the portal. But I suppose it can’t be worse than it was in 2023. If there is success running the football and the line comes together, the Buffs could have more success against better defenses. Against the three best scoring defenses in the Pac last year the Buffs averaged 13 points and failed to score more than 17 in any of those games.

A lot of the blame for the collapse goes to a defense that ranked 130th nationally allowing 453.3 yards per game and 124th giving up an average of 34.8 points. Keep in mind there were 133 schools that played at the FBS level meaning the Buffs were awful. New coordinator Robert Livingston will try to get the most out of a group that has some talented players.

Like their rushing attack, there is nowhere to go but up for the defense. Led by Travis Hunter, the secondary should be strong. The two-way threat excelled at receiver and corner catching 57 passes while collecting a team-high three interceptions.

Schedule

The Pac-12 was strong last season so the move to the Big 12 should be a little easier, but not by much. The non-conference portion has FCS North Dakota State followed by games at Nebraska and Colorado State. And as a result of the odd number of conference games the Buffs have five home Big 12 contests. At this point the most difficult matchup is against Utah and cashing the OVER on this bet will likely come down to the final game against Oklahoma State.

Prediction

The amount of turnover again within the program makes it difficult to gauge how good the Buffs can be. A lot has to go right for them to reach bowl eligibility and that’s the goal, but that was the goal last season as well. Shedeur and Hunter are studs and getting the team to come together is a big ask with plenty of new players and two new coordinators. The schedule helps out a little bit, but another three game improvement is a leap. 

Check out the latest college football odds at BetMGM