The University of Colorado’s football team has found itself in the national spotlight following the surreal departure of head coach Mel Tucker.
It’s unclear who will lead the team, coming off a disappointing 5-7 year, or how long it will take the Buffaloes to again become Pac-12 contenders.
Those unanswered questions will undoubtedly impact the team’s betting prospects on futures and when they kick off Sept. 5 against Colorado State.
What do futures look like for Colorado football?
Colorado football is not expected to have a good year. Some sportsbooks, in fact, have the team with the longest odds to win the 2020 Pac-12 conference championship.
The Buffaloes are slated to finish well behind mainstays like Oregon and USC and can only hope to emulate the recent success generated at unconventional football power Washington State.
Here are some futures odds from online sportsbooks for a Buffaloes team that heads into the 2020 football season as heavy underdogs:
- DraftKings: +8000 to win the Pac-12
- BetRivers: +8000 to win the Pac-12
- 888: +8000 to win the Pac-12
- FanDuel: +40000 to win the national championship
- BetAmerica: +40000 to win the national championship
- BetMGM: +100000 to win the national championship
For Colorado optimists, at least, those numbers mean a miracle year would create enormous returns.
Hope could be on the horizon
Rumored names for the new head man include Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy or a promotion of interim head coach Darrin Chiaverini.
Colorado’s most recent recruiting class also shows promise.
Rivals.com’s latest ranking has Colorado’s 2020 class as the 32nd best in the country and sixth in the Pac-12. ESPN ranks Colorado’s 2020 class as the 34th-best in the country and also sixth in the conference.
Ranking ahead of Colorado is Oregon, Stanford, Washington, Arizona State and Utah.
Recruits on the ESPN300 list include New Orleans running back Ashaad Clayton and dual-treat Texas quarterback Brendon Lewis.
The Denver Post reported in 2019 that Lewis had offers from schools in each Power 5 conference. The 6-foot, 200-plus-pound Clayton, meanwhile, has been heralded as a blue-chip recruit expected to produce immediately.
Other heralded recruits include Rivals four-star defensive back Christian Gonzalez, who initially chose Purdue before a change of heart, and wide receiver Brenden Rice. Rice generated offers from Big Ten schools like Michigan and Michigan State before choosing Colorado.
Adding to the defense will be ESPN300 recruit Jason Harris. A 6-foot-7-inch defensive end, Harris received offers from both Alabama and Auburn.
Shenault gains traction before Combine
Four Buffaloes received invites this month to the 2020 NFL Scouting Combine: wide receiver Tony Brown, quarterback Steven Montez, wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr., and linebacker Davion Taylor.
While Brown and Taylor have snuck up on some as legitimate pro prospects – and Montez’s arm has caused many to salivate – Shenault is the former Buffalo to watch.
ESPN draft guru Todd McShay has Shenault projected to in the late first round to the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers. McShay calls Shenault the “draft’s ultimate offensive Swiss Army knife.”
Shenault, experts believe, is likely to utilize his open-field skills as both a receiver and a runner to terrorize NFL defenders in coming years.
