As long as Deion Sanders is the head coach at Colorado, his Buffaloes are going to attract an unprecedented amount of attention across the sports world.
The media coverage is intense and the social media discussions about Colorado are especially passionate. And from a gambling perspective, bettors are already jumping at the chance to lay money down on the Buffs’ title futures.
If you want to put a few bucks down on Colorado’s Big 12 futures, them to make the 12-team playoff or even on them to win a national title, I’m not here to stop you. I think it’s burning money, but to each their own.
That said, there is one bet I do like when it comes to the team’s futures: Colorado to go Over its preseason win total, which is currently sitting at 5.5.
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First, let’s just set aside the absurd projections about Colorado’s success.
Respectfully, some of those projections come from folks who don’t follow the sport. But when you get right down to it, the Buffaloes are going to be on the same path that most rebuilding teams are on. It’s going to be a slow climb out of the basement.
The 2023 Colorado team won one game, and in Deion’s first season, the Buffaloes won four. That’s a three-game improvement. A new roster, new culture and new attitudes in Boulder raised expectations.
The general progression of a rebuilding college football program is going from one win to four wins in the first season. That’s just what Coach Prime’s Buffs team did. They started fast and finished slow, but still notched more victories than the previous year. They also went over their preseason win total, which was a plus for bettors.
Year 2 progression? Win seven or eight games or, at minimum, finish with six wins and a bowl berth.
I do believe Colorado can win six games with a much easier schedule than last season and some improvements on the roster.
As a former NFL lineman, one thing I do know is the trenches, and this offensive line will be better. Colorado’s overall defense will also be improved. As a whole, this year’s roster is better than it was in 2023-24.
It is fair to question the depth of the roster and the team’s offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. He wasn’t effective in the league as a playcaller, and I’m not sure why this year would be any different. But the Buffs have Sheduer Sanders at quarterback, and he’s a legit top-10 talent at the position. We saw what he did last season without much protection or help. Those things should be corrected with roster adjustments and just better overall players.
Deion Sanders on future with Colorado: ‘I plan on being here and being dominant’
When it comes to betting win totals, the team’s schedule is always key. When I go through Colorado’s schedule, I see some winnable games.
I do believe the Buffaloes beat North Dakota State in Week 1 and Colorado State in the third week. Nebraska on the road in Week 2 will be a difficult contest, but the team should start the season 2-1.
In the Big 12 conference slate, I see Cincinnati and Baylor as home games the Buffs are likely to be favored to win. That’s four wins right there. Then, they would need another two wins in the other eight games to get there.
The Buffs are at Arizona, which will be their toughest road conference game. They host Utah, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. If the Buffs win one of those four games, they’d need to beat UCF, Texas Tech or Kansas in what would be toss-up games.
Assuming Shedeur is healthy at QB, it feels like there’s a good chance that Colorado wins at least 6 games in 2024.
PICK: Colorado Over 5.5 wins
Geoff Schwartz is an NFL analyst for FOX Sports. He played eight seasons in the NFL for five different teams. He started at right tackle for the University of Oregon for three seasons and was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection his senior year. Follow him on Twitter @GeoffSchwartz.
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