Oregon State vs Colorado Prediction: Fade Coach Prime?
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images. Pictured: Colorado’s Deion Sanders.
- Coach Prime returns to the field Saturday night when his Colorado Buffaloes host the Oregon State Beavers.
- Oregon State finds itself as a -13.5 favorite, as the over/under sits at 59.5 for this Pac-12 After Dark showdown.
- Check out Oregon State vs Colorado odds and a prediction in our full betting preview below.
Oregon State Beavers vs Colorado Buffaloes Odds
| Oregon State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-13.5 -105 | 59.5 -110o / -110u | -500 |
| Colorado Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+13.5 -115 | 59.5 -110o / -110u | +375 |
It's time to take a closer look at the odds and make a Oregon State vs. Coloradoprediction.
Coach Prime and the Buffaloes return to Boulder riding a two-game losing skid, and the competition isn't getting any easier.
The No. 16 Beavers are the next opponent for the Buffs, and they aren't happy either after losing to Arizona on the road last weekend.
Even though Colorado is a home underdog, Oregon State has been much less effective away from Corvallis.
The Beavers are 1-2 on the road against Pac-12 competition, with their only road win coming over a bad Cal team, so there's definitely an opportunity for the Buffaloes.
Two things can be true about Coach Prime's first season in Boulder.
It's true that Deion Sanders has completely rejuvenated the program, and already having four wins is impressive considering the Buffaloes went 1-11 last year. It's also true that the hype grew too big early in the season and that their overall roster has some clear holes.
Through it all, Colorado enters tonight's game at 4-4 with a healthy Travis Hunter. Having Hunter on the field makes the Buffaloes a better team because Colorado probably doesn't beat TCU in Week 1 without his efforts.
Even in a loss to UCLA last Saturday, Hunter kept the game from truly getting out of hand with two interceptions. This one in the first quarter shows how good he is at reading plays:
TRAVIS HUNTER IS AN ATHLETE 😤 pic.twitter.com/x2TU3Kkl1C
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 29, 2023
Unfortunately, Colorado has found out that Hunter can't cover up every flaw on this roster.
The Buffaloes offense does have a lot of talent … other than an offensive line that's giving up an FBS-worst 5.3 sacks per game. Sacks are a quarterback stat as well, but when a team allows the most sacks in the country, it's not just the QB.
C0lorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has done a great job in his first year against FBS competition, save for some of the sacks. His 2,637 passing yards trail only Michael Penix Jr. and Caleb Williams, and he's also thrown for 22 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Nobody can doubt his clutch ability either after he led game-winning drives over TCU, Colorado State and Arizona State.
There's also a good chance those are his last game-winning drives of the season because Colorado's defense may not cooperate.
The Buffs defense is not good, giving up 34.9 points per game, which is second-worst in the Power 5. Colorado ranks 95th in Rush Success Allowed and 111th in Pass Success Allowed.
Oregon State is once again a good, solid team under Jonathan Smith. The Beavers are No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings after their road loss to Arizona, but a conference championship is still within reach.
It's all about the run game for Oregon State. The Beavers break the dam of the opposing defense by rushing for 5.4 yards per carry and are all the way up at fourth in Rush Success Rate.
Damien Martinez leads the pack with 763 yards and three touchdowns.
OSU quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has been a great addition to the offense and actually leads the team with five rushing touchdowns. Despite completing only 59.2% of his throws, DJU is having a resurgent season in Smith's offense with 1,791 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions.
It's a good thing the Beavers got Uiagalelei this season because their defense is not as stingy as it was last year. While they are 19th in Pass Success Allowed, their rush defense has not held up its end of the bargain, as it gives up 118.9 rushing yards per game and ranks 116th in Rush Success Allowed.
Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Oregon State and Colorado match up statistically:
Oregon State Offense vs. Colorado Defense
 | Offense | Defense | Edge |
| Rush Success | 4 | 95 | |
| Line Yards | 18 | 66 | |
| Pass Success | 33 | 111 | |
| Havoc | 36 | 112 | |
| Finishing Drives | 10 | 103 | |
| Quality Drives | 41 | 102 |
Colorado Offense vs. Oregon State Defense
| Offense | Defense | Edge |
| Rush Success | 68 | 116 | |
| Line Yards | 35 | 55 | |
| Pass Success | 39 | 19 | |
| Havoc | 93 | 25 | |
| Finishing Drives | 28 | 26 | |
| Quality Drives | 84 | 51 |
Pace of Play / Other
| ||
| PFF Tackling | 127 | 71 |
| PFF Coverage | 22 | 93 |
| Special Teams SP+ | 16 | 94 |
| Middle 8 | 23 | 84 |
| Seconds per Play | 29.3 (107) | 22.5 (7) |
| Rush Rate | 54.7% (48) | 41.9% (131) |
Oregon State vs Colorado
Betting Pick & Prediction
This game comes down to how well Oregon State can run the ball on Colorado. The betting markets seem to think the Beavers will be successful on the ground because Oregon State is favored by 13.5 points.
I can't argue with that. Oregon State is just a more solid team, and it doesn't look like Colorado will test its subpar rush defense much because the Buffaloes don't run the ball that often.
Look for Oregon State to establish the run early and pull away for a win and cover.
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