Look: Colorado’s Win Total is Set For 2024 Season
Colorado will rejoin the Big 12 in 2024 after leaving a very different-looking version of the conference over a decade ago, and the Buffs team that comes back into this league has all kinds of juice.
Deion Sanders took over as the head coach in Boulder after the 2022 season, and inherited a 1-11 football program that has been to two bowl games in the 13 years since it left the Big 12, and lost both of those.
Coach Prime led the Buffs to a 3-0 start in 2023, but lost eight of their last nine games and finished the year at 4-8. Now, heading into the Big 12, the Buffs will have another recruiting and portal cycle under their belts and will have high hopes that a change of scenery is just what the program needs to turn things around.
Unfortunately, FanDuel’s sportsbook didn’t get the memo that Colorado is set for a resurgent season in 2024.
With the 2023 season coming to a close just last week, there aren’t many win totals available yet for 2024, but two of them are on the board as of Wednesday.
Alabama: 9.5 wins; Over (-106), Under (-122)
Colorado: 4.5 wins; Over (-146), Under (+112)
The over is set at -146 (bet $146 to profit $100) while the under bet has the juice at +112 (bet $100 to profit $112). When looking at the Buffaloes 2024 schedule, it’s quite a task to predict where they would pick up enough wins to get to a bowl game.
The non-conference slate is fairly challenging but manageable, with North Dakota State coming to Boulder and road trips to Nebraska and Colorado State.
However, the conference schedule is brutal, as Coach Prime and the Buffaloes will face what projects to be seven of the top eight teams in the league next year. Although there aren’t any dates for the games, look at this gauntlet that CU will run in ’24.
- @ Arizona
- vs. Utah
- vs. Baylor
- vs. Oklahoma State
- vs. Kansas State
- vs. Cincinnati
- @ Kansas
- @ Texas Tech
- @ UCF
Luckily, Colorado gets three of its four toughest games at home with Utah, Oklahoma State, and Kansas State all coming to Boulder. They will likely be home underdogs in those games, as will likely be the case in trips to Arizona, Kansas, and UCF.
However, it would be unwise to count out CU if they can find enough protection to keep Shedeur Sanders upright in 2024. Despite his offensive line giving up a Power Five-leading 56 sacks in 2023, Sanders was one of the most electric players in college football when he was on the field, completing 69.3% of his attempts for 3,280 yards and 27 touchdowns with just three interceptions and four rushing scores. With him leading the offense in Boulder, there’s no telling what could happen in 2024.
Feeling good about the Buffs’ chances in Year 2 under Deion? Get over to FanDuel (if applicable in your state) and put your money where your mouth is.
