Buffaloes vs. Wildcats Betting Odds & Expert Picks for Week 8

Colorado Buffaloes (4-2 SU, 4-2 ATS) vs. Arizona Wildcats (3-3 SU, 1-5 ATS)

NCAA Football Week 7

Date/Time: Saturday, October 19, 2024 at 4PM EDT

Where: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona

TV: Fox

The Colorado Buffaloes come to Tucson for a Big 12 showdown with the Arizona Wildcats on Saturday. Both teams could really use a win. For Arizona, a Saturday loss to BYU on the road, 41-19, was their second straight loss, sending them to 3-3 on the season after a promising first month to the campaign. They look to restore order at home, but it won’t be a breeze with Deion Sanders’ Colorado squad coming into town, also looking to atone for last week, when Kansas State beat them 31-28. Who should we get behind this week?

The Current State of Arizona

Some might recall Arizona’s 34-31 win over the Buffaloes last season. Jedd Fisch’s Wildcats team was really humming along nicely. He left, and while some pieces remain, they’re obviously not on the same team. QB Noah Fifita returns, and he helped lead this team to the win last season, where they also ran the heck out of the ball against this Colorado defense. But after a nice 23-10 win over Utah, those two straight losses to Texas Tech and BYU could tell the tale.

It’s still an Arizona offense that can do some damage. Fifita works well with his main targets, guys like Tetairoa McMillan, who was big in this game last season against Colorado. Running back Quail Conley helps give them some balance on offense. But with Fifita connecting with a blue-chipper like McMillan, Arizona is hoping they can take advantage of Colorado, maybe coming into this a little banged-up with the Buffaloes seeing some guys leave the game last week, chief amongst the lot being two-way star Travis Hunter. His presence will need to be monitored leading up to the game.

Where do the Buffaloes Stand?

With their various injuries on Saturday, Colorado still battled back late to take the lead against Kansas State, eventually falling late with their defense compromised. But it’s a pretty good Kansas State team, the same one that crushed Arizona 31-7, so there’s no great shame in that. Coach Sanders has still done well to elevate the form of what was a down-and-out Colorado team before he arrived. Both of these teams are dealing with the rigors of being in a new conference. For the Buffaloes and maybe Arizona, as well, going against familiar former Pac-12 teams might be a little easier than the more unfamiliar matchups with long-standing Big 12 teams.

Still, the Buffaloes are not above reproach, and as Arizona found out last season, their defense can lag behind the other side of the ball to varying degrees, depending on the matchup. Opponents have gone over 30 points in two of their last three, just as Arizona did last season. And when that happens, that’s where Colorado ends up in these toss-ups at the end of games where anything can occur. But on offense this week, they are going against an Arizona defense that isn’t quite the same unit they were last season, both in terms of being stout and in making big plays. And Fifita will need to be a lot more on-point this week, as a repeat of his three-interception performance from last week will have the Buffaloes running away with this one.

Tough Spot for Arizona?

After losing to this team last season and needing a win badly this week to stop the bleeding, I’d imagine the Buffaloes would be revved up for this on Saturday. Motivation and getting fired-up is a big part of coach Sanders’ approach. With what happened last season and this being a line-in-the-sand moment for Colorado, I’d expect him to tap into that in a big way. And from what we’ve seen from them on defense the last few games, I’d expect Shadeur Sanders to continue showing his form with an active pass-attack. The statuses of Horn and Hunter will need to be monitored, but they’re pretty deep, even if they are sometimes one-dimensional, with the run-game being more of an afterthought. There’s still a plethora of weapons for Sanders to choose from in this offense.

While we haven’t seen the Colorado secondary playing the role of ball-hawks, they’re a pretty opportunistic defense as a whole, with Hunter and corner Preston Hodge each picking off two passes so far in ’24. Their secondary gets a lot of pass deflections and is generally pretty disruptive. They are facing a real weapon in McMillan this week, one of the better receivers they’ll see this year. It seems like Colorado missing Hunter is baked into this spread. And without him, it does give a boost to the Wildcats’ aerial prospects this week.

Take the Points on the Road Dog

We may have actually arrived at a good-value spot for the Buffaloes, getting 4.5 as of press-time. And while losing your best DB and top receiver in an offense that doesn’t run a lot could resonate badly if that’s the case, I think Colorado has the depth to make up for it. I see them making enough big plays on defense while taking it to an Arizona “D” that looks to be suffering in the second half of games. I picture a tight game, not dissimilar to last season, where having 4.5 points will come in handy. I’m taking Colorado in this one.

Loot’s Prediction to Cover the Point Spread:

I’m betting on the Colorado Buffaloes plus 4.5 points.

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