Colorado vs Colorado State Odds: Week 1 College Football Betting

One of the hottest intra-state rivalries west of the Mississippi will renew from Invesco Field in Denver, home of the Broncos, as the Colorado Golden Buffaloes will meet the Colorado State Rams. Kick-off is at 2:00pm EST and the game can be seen on The Mountain Network. Online sportsbooks have opened with the Buffs as a 10.5-point college football betting favorite in week 1 odds with an over/under total of 46.5. Dan Hawkins enters his 5th season at Colorado either as a Dead Man Walking or as a potential Lazarus. Hawkins was as good as fired last year after the Buffs finished 3-9 in college football odds, which followed a 5-7 mark in 2008 that was on the heels of a 6-7 record in 2007.

The good news was that Colorado lacked the money to pay off Hawkins despite the obvious regression so he was given another year. Heading into 2010 college football betting picks, Hawkins has 10 starters back on offense led by junior QB Tyler Hansen, who has been in and out of the lineup splitting time with Hawkins’ son Cody, who is a senior on the team. The offense has averaged 22 points per game or less in 3 out of Hawkins 4 seasons and has lacked big time playmakers, which is an indictment on his recruiting. The defense has been lit up for 29 PPG in 3 consecutive seasons and has 7 starters returning. CU has gone 1-4 against the spread as betting favorites since 2008.

Steve Fairchild led State to a 7-6 bowl season in his first year as coach in 2008 but the program fell back to 3-9 last year as injuries killed the season. Just 4 starters return to the offense and the offensive line is particularly inexperienced as is QB. The defense allowed 30 PPG for the 3rd consecutive season and has 8 starters back with improvement needed to cover for the offense. The Rams scored a 23-17 upset last year and have covered 3 out of the last 5 in the college football betting head to head series.