- The BYU Cougars travel to Boulder, Colorado, on Saturday night to take on the Colorado Buffaloes in a late-night Big 12 game.
- BYU enters as a -6.5 favorite on the spread, with the over/under sitting at 50.5 total points.
- Read on for Stuckey's BYU vs. Colorado prediction and pick for Saturday, September 27.
The BYU Cougars take on the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder, Colorado, on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is set for 10:15 p.m. ET on ESPN.
BYU is favored by 6.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -250. Colorado, meanwhile, is a +6.5 underdog and comes in at +200 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 49.5 points.
Here’s my BYU vs. Colorado prediction and college football picks for Saturday, September 27.
BYU Cougars vs. Colorado Buffaloes Prediction, Picks
- BYU vs. Colorado Pick: Colorado +6 or Better
My Colorado vs. BYU best bet is on the Buffaloes to cover as home 'dogs. Find the best line available on our live NCAAF odds page.
BYU vs. Colorado Odds, Lines, Spread
| BYU Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-6.5 -115 | 50.5 +100o / -120u | -240 |
| Colorado Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+6.5 -105 | 50.5 +100o / -120u | +200 |
BYU vs. Colorado Pick, Best Bets
Colorado has a chance for revenge after a humiliating bowl loss against BYU ended its 2024 season.
More importantly, I am unable to reach this number.
This is right around where BYU closed at East Carolina last week. While BYU deserved to win that game and probably cover, it also benefited from a bit of fortune, thanks to a defensive touchdown (+2 turnover margin) and a couple of red-zone fourth-down stops, in a game where the Cougars had only a 14-yard net edge.
After adjusting for last week's results, I still have the Buffaloes power rated approximately 4.5 points higher than the Pirates, without even considering the Cougars' travel across the country to the East Coast for a high snap count affair and now back to Boulder.
Therefore, I can't pass up getting the same price as ECU got last week against BYU.
Quarterback Bear Bachmeier has looked the part so far in his first three career games, but he's still a true freshman who has only faced Stanford, Portland, and ECU. This will be a step up in class in terms of the talent (and coordinator) faced.
Meanwhile, Colorado has faced a much more difficult schedule to date.
It also has appeared to settle on a quarterback with Kaidon Salter, who looked fantastic against Wyoming, throwing for over 300 yards while adding another 86 on the ground.
I'm not sure what Deion Sanders was doing with the whole Ryan Staub experiment, but his disastrous start at Houston certainly weighs down some of their offensive advanced metrics.
Salter gives the Buffs their best chance, and his legs add dynamism to the ground game. He looked comfortable running the offense after experiencing some expected growing pains in a brand-new scheme.
If he repeats that performance, the Buffaloes should have opportunities to exploit matchup advantages on the outside.
It is worth noting that Colorado is in much worse shape in terms of injuries. The Buffaloes will need someone (likely Teon Parks) to step up at one of the outside corner spots due to a pair of injuries at the position.
They'll also have to make do without two of their running backs and continue to deal with injuries along the defensive line, in addition to a first-half suspension of defensive tackle Anquin Barnes.
It does at least appear that stud left tackle Jordan Seaton and the rest of the offensive line will come in at full strength.
Conversely, BYU looks relatively healthy and will even likely see the debut of Oklahoma State transfer Justin Kirkland to bolster the defensive front.
Still, I can't reach this number that I believe should be closer to 4 or 4.5.
Keep in mind that the market bet heavily against Colorado late in the opener against a very good Georgia Tech, which closed at 3.5. While the Yellow Jackets deserved to win and cover, it still took a late broken run to get to the window.
For what it's worth, Coach Sanders-led teams are 9-4 ATS as an underdog, including 4-1 against the closing number at home.
Pick: Colorado +6 or Better
