College football betting: Colorado is bettors’ most popular team once again

The Colorado allure is still strong for bettors despite a disappointing first season for Deion Sanders’ team.

The Buffaloes’ win total is the most-bet of any team at BetMGM so far. Oddsmakers have set Colorado’s over/under at 5.5 wins for the upcoming season. More over bets have been made on Colorado’s total than any other team and the Buffs are also getting the most under bets.

So far, the mass of bettors placing wagers on Colorado are generally siding with the over at -125. Sixty-three percent of bets and 79% of the handle is on the over.

An over would mean six wins and a bowl game. And that would be a big achievement after a lackluster 4-8 campaign in 2023. Colorado started the season 3-0 with wins over TCU and Nebraska to begin the year as bettors flocked to them in droves. The Heisman odds for QB Shedeur Sanders and DB/WR Travis Hunter dropped precipitously and people even took lots of fliers on Colorado to win the national title.

Those title hopes were extinguished quicker than they got started. Colorado got blown out by better teams in the Pac-12 and went just 1-8 in conference play.

A big reason for Colorado’s struggles was its porous offensive line play as Shedeur Sanders was sacked over 50 times. Colorado has been the most active transfer portal team this offseason and has worked to address the offensive line depth and quality.

It’s the second consecutive offseason of major overhaul for the Buffaloes and they also face a daunting schedule in their first season back in the Big 12. Colorado opens with a home game against FCS powerhouse North Dakota State before visiting a Nebraska team that also hopes to be much improved in 2024.

The conference schedule includes Kansas State, Arizona, Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. All five of those teams won at least nine games in 2023. Overall, seven of Colorado’s nine Big 12 opponents made bowl games in 2023. If that scares you, the under is calling your name.

Bettors think Michigan is taking a step back

After losing a lot of talent to the NFL Draft and coach Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers, the over/under for the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines is at 9.5. A 10-win season for Michigan is at +170, as the majority of bets (65%) and money (89%) is siding with a 9-3 season or worse at -210 in Sherrone Moore’s first season as head coach.

While Colorado is getting the most under bets of any team, Michigan’s under has the most money of any team. And it’s fair to wonder if a lot of that money is coming from Michigan State fans. After all, the Spartans are the second-most bet team to surpass their win total (4.5) and have gotten the third-most money to hit the over behind Colorado and Virginia Tech.