CFB odds, tips, best bets

Maybe the road loss to Nebraska in Week 2 wasn’t the end of the world for the Colorado Buffaloes after all.

The Buffs have won three straight games against Colorado State, UCF and Baylor and performed exceptionally well along the way.

Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders have been nothing short of great for Colorado this season, but can they keep their momentum going against a tough Kansas State team on Saturday?

The Buffs enter Saturday’s Big 12 game as a 3.5-point home underdog, and the over/under is 56.5 points.

Here are our prediction and picks for Kansas State vs. Colorado (10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Kansas State vs. Colorado odds

Kansas State vs. Colorado prediction

If there was ever a test for a Buffs team on a three-game winning streak, this would be it.

The 18th-ranked Wildcats have been rock-solid in every game except one – a slugfest at BYU three weeks ago.

Kansas State’s three-headed monster of quarterback Avery Johnson and running backs DJ Giddens and Dylan Edwards have collectively handled most of the team’s offense.

These threes combine for an average of 7.2 yards per carry. K-State’s dominance on the ground and in the trenches on both sides of the ball has been the deciding factor this season.

The Wildcats’ play between the tackles on offense and defense has been the difference between a mediocre start to the season and a great one.

They have the 17th best run grade, 35th best run block grade and 33rd best run defense grade by Pro Football Focus.

Choice between Kansas State and Colorado

If this K-State team played the Colorado team last year, the Wildcats would likely win by multiple touchdowns.

However, the Buffs have made great strides year over year, including their play in the trenches on defense.

PFF assigned them the 12th highest run defense grade for Week 7.

But here’s the best part for Colorado: Kansas State is one of the weaker pass-rushing teams in the country.

In the Wildcats’ last three games, all against P4 schools, they posted the 18th lowest sack percentage nationally.

Betting on college football?

Colorado still isn’t a threat on the ground and its offensive line has some weak moments, but Sanders and the Buffs can exploit the Wildcats’ secondary with their pass-heavy, high-octane offense.

The plan should be simple – stack the box defensively and give Sanders time to pick apart a suspect Wildcats secondary offensively.

Pick: Colorado +3.5 (-105, BetMGM)

Why you should trust New York Post Betting

Andrew Norton hinders the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he achieved an outstanding 14.1% ROI by cashing in 60% of his NBA spread picks and led Tallysight in the SportsIQ metric.