After another offseason full of roster turnover and national media attention, the Colorado Buffaloes are set to kickoff their second season under head coach Deion Sanders when they host FCS powerhouse North Dakota State on Thursday. The Buffs are coming off a 4-8 season, but Coach Prime returns a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way standout Travis Hunter, and he signed the No. 8 transfer class, according to 247Sports. NDSU is ranked No. 2 at the FCS level, and Tim Polasek is back to lead the Bison after spending the last three seasons as the offensive coordinator at Wyoming. Polasek was previously an assistant on four national championship teams at NDSU. Bison quarterback Cam Miller is one of the top candidates in the country to win the Walter Payton Award.
Kickoff from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. is set for 8 p.m. ET. The Buffaloes are favored by 9.5 points in the latest NDSU vs. Colorado odds, while the over/under is 60.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before making any Colorado vs. North Dakota State picks, you need to see the Week 1 college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s Jimmie Kaylor.
Kaylor is an NFL, college football and DFS expert for SportsLine, who has covered the NFL and college football for close to a decade as a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. His background as a former college football All-American and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building his fantasy lineups and locking in his betting picks. He has his finger on the pulse of the college football landscape and has been cashing in big for the last two years.
Kaylor destroyed the books in college football in 2023, netting a whopping 57.9 units while posting a 107-45-2 record. Anyone who followed his picks finished the season way up.
Now, Kaylor has dialed in on Colorado vs. NDSU on Thursday and just revealed his picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the college football odds and college football betting lines on the spread, money line and over/under for NDSU vs. Colorado:
- North Dakota State vs. Colorado spread: Colorado -9.5
- North Dakota State vs. Colorado over/under: 60.5 points
- North Dakota State vs. Colorado money line: Colorado -350, NDSU +280
- North Dakota State vs. Colorado picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Colorado can cover
Colorado has a legitimate gamechanger at the most important position on the field in senior quarterback Shedeur Sanders. In 2023, Sanders was the most-sacked quarterback in the FBS, but he still managed to throw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He also added four rushing scores.
The Buffs top offseason priority was getting better on the offensive line. All five starters from 2023 are no longer with the program, and Coach Prime added the top offensive tackle recruit in the 2024 class (Jordan Seaton) and several highly coveted transfers. The offensive line will also have a new man leading them in former NFL offensive tackle Phil Loadholt, who was previously an offensive analyst at Oklahoma. See which team to pick here.
Why North Dakota State can cover
The Bison have won nine of the last 13 national championships at the FCS level. First-year head coach Polasek was an offensive assistant for the 2011 and 2012 championship teams, and was the offensive coordinator for the 2014 and 2015 championship teams. He inherits a team that returns plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, including quarterbacks Miller and Cole Payton.
Miller is the team’s unquestioned starter, and is a preseason FCS All-America candidate. He returns to the Bison after completing 72% of his passes for 2,688 yards, 19 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and rushing for 629 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. Payton is an outstanding runner, who plays a role for the Bison that is comparable to what Taysom Hill does for the New Orleans Saints. In 2023, Payton threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 615 yards and 13 scores. See which team to pick here.
How to make North Dakota State vs. Colorado picks
Kaylor has analyzed Colorado vs. North Dakota State from every angle and he’s leaning Under on the point total. He has also discovered a critical X-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the spread. He’s only sharing what it is, and which side to back, at SportsLine.
So who wins Colorado vs. North Dakota State on Thursday in Boulder, and what critical X-factor makes one side of the spread a must back? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the expert who profited $5,790 for $100 college football bettors in 2023, and find out.
