Colorado Buffaloes 2024 College Football Preview
Posted July 7, 2024
2023 Recap
Record – 4.8
ATS – 7-5
“Dive! Dive! Dive!”
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COACH PRIME and company were the darlings of the college football world after a 3-0 start that was more dramatic than KAREN at a “climate change” rally. The Buffs upset TCU on the road as 20-point underdogs, followed that up with a slaughter of Nebraska, and topped the sundae with a 2OT win over Colorado St. Sadly, they ran out of juice (and depth) and only managed to win one more game the rest of the campaign. They hung tough with Arizona and Utah in the final month but couldn’t pull out a win. Yup, a promising season dove into the abyss.
How will Colorado fare in year one of their return to the Big 12?
Colorado Buffaloes 2024 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Buffaloes had elite QB play from Shedeur Sanders LY (27-3 TD to INT) but he was absolutely destroyed by opposing defenses (Colorado 56 sacks allowed, dead worst FBS), and the Buffs gave him no support on the ground (#1 RB had 321 rush yards). Sanders is back for his final season and he’s one of the best signal callers in the country. The WR group is flat out FILTHY as they return #2 WR Jimmy Horn and #3 WR/DB Travis Hunter, and they add a pair of studs in Will Sheppard (#1 WR Vanderbilt LY) and the uncoverable LaJohntay Wester (108 receptions with FAU LY). Ohio St transfer Dallan Hayden will be the #1 RB and he’s a clear upgrade at the position but we’re not sure about the depth behind him. The offensive line was an atrocity last year, worse than a crappy MAC team would put on the field, but the Buffs have a new OL coach and plenty of intriguing transfer portal specimens that should make for a better performance this season. We’re optimistic, but you never know.
DEFENSE
Colorado yielded an impossible 44.5 PPG in 2022 (dead last FBS) and improved to 34.8 PPG last season (#124). It’s reasonable to expect a bit more improvement this year as they return their top-three tacklers and add in a boatload of transfers to the mix. In fact, there are so many new faces on this side of the football (a good thing) that’s it’s very tough to predict how good they will be on defense this season. DE Dayon Hayes (10.5 TFL LY, Pitt), DE BJ Green (2nd Team PAC 12, Arizona St), CB Preston Hodge (Liberty), and CB DJ McKinney are just some of the new faces that you need to pay attention to in 2024. Colorado has a few notable holdovers as well including DB/WR Travis Hunter, LB LaVonta Bentley, and SS Shilo Sanders. This stop unit will be improved and it has some tantalizing upside, but it’s still likely to reside in the bottom half of the Big 12 in most key defensive metrics.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Things look pretty good. The Buffs have a rock solid kicking combo in punter Mark Vassett (44.4, 40.6 net LY) and PK Alejandro Mata (10/12 FG LY), and note that Jimmy Horn did a good job on KR on limited attempts LY (7, 26.1).
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Hey, now. Colorado has a legit shot to start 4-0, although CORN NATION may have something to say about that, yo. The Buffaloes draw Kansas St, Utah, and Oklahoma St but get all three of those contests at home.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at UCF (Sept 28)
This will be Colorado’s 3rd road test in four weeks and it’s a rare trip into Florida, not to mention it’ll be in September when temperatures and humidity can be SPICY.
Season Win Total
Market consensus July 7
Over 5.5 -130
Under 5.5 +110
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Over
This team appears too talented to not make a bowl game.
NOTE – “Lean” implies this is how we’d invest in this market if forced to make a choice. We’ll notify subscribers in our Season Win Total blog post of any season win totals that have made our investment card.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
The great Brad Powers alerts us to the fact that Colorado has added 128 new players over the last 18 months. Most have stayed, some have gone. #Turnover
Colorado lost eight games last season but they had a lot of close shaves (USC lost by 7, Stanford lost by 3, Oregon St lost by 7, Arizona lost by 3, Utah lost by 6).
The GREAT STATE OF COLORADO is in turmoil as #PrayForDenver is trending on most fascist social media platforms whilst it devolves into a lawless hellhole. We’re not sure why that’s happening but it’s probably due to “climate change”.
MEGALOCKS Forecast:
Yes, we are mildly intrigued. If you can remove yourself from all the COACH PRIME stuff and media hype, it’s reasonable to believe that this team is a longshot Big 12 contender. They’ve got an elite THROW GAME and an improved defense. Depth is a major concern, as is the schedule, but at least they get the majority of their tough games at home in Boulder. We’ll call for six wins and a bowl appearance but note that the upside with this squad is more significant than the downside. Go Buffs!