The Colorado Buffaloes are 0-3 in the Pac-12, one year after winning the Pac-12 South Division championship. They are playing on the road this Saturday. They are favored by more than 10 points. What is going on? Find out more below:
Details
Odds: Buffaloes -11.5
Date & Time: Saturday, October 14, 4 PM ET
Location: Reser Stadium, Corvallis, OR
Broadcast: Pac 12 Network
Reasons To Bet On The Colorado Buffaloes
The best reason to bet on the Colorado Buffaloes has nothing to do with them. The Oregon State Beavers are in a world of trouble, trying to find an arrangement which works for them. Previous coach Gary Andersen abruptly resigned on Monday, forfeiting his full buyout in a decision characterized as mutually agreed upon by the coach and the school administration. It is not the first time Andersen has abruptly left a coaching situation. He shocked everyone when he left Wisconsin after just two years.
Deeper reporting in and around the Oregon State situation cited sources close to the program as saying that there was a lot of backbiting and discord behind the scenes. Neither Andersen nor anyone else in the program were happy about the way the team was progressing or how the mood of the team was developing. An interim coach from the staff will take over for the rest of the season while the athletic director will begin his search for a new permanent head coach, with a decision to be made later this year.
It is hard to expect Oregon State to be fully organized, but even if the Beavers are, they probably don’t have the horses to keep up with Colorado. Oregon State’s only win this season came against a lower-division team, Portland State of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Against the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), OSU is winless. The Beavers are still looking for a really solid performance. They are a mess, and usually, big messes aren’t cleaned up in a short period of time.
Reasons To Bet On The Oregon State Beavers
The thing which figures to work against the Beavers could actually help them. While Oregon State is undeniably a weak team and will remain a weak team for most of the remainder of the season, it is important to realize that on many occasions when a coach is fired or resigns, the first game after the change marks a surge in intensity and joy and fun from the players. The coach – if he was a negative influence on players – helps the team by stepping away as Gary Andersen did. The team might play with more freedom and enthusiasm this week. It’s not the sort of thing which can easily be replicated all the time, but in this one game and moment, Oregon State might play far differently when compared to the first several weeks of the season. Playing at home should lead to more adrenaline for the team and its fans. If OSU can get off to a good start, it might be able to ride that adrenaline to victory.
Outlook
The Buffaloes opened up this game as a 12.5-point favorite but the line has been bouncing around since then. For the most part, though, the pressure has been on the dog as the bettors seem to like Oregon State getting +11.5. We’ve seen this line get as low as +11 and it could go even lower by game time. As for the total, it opened up at 55.5 and currently sits at 56.5 as the early pressure has been on the over.
This is the kind of game to stay away from as a bettor, because coaching changes can cut both ways. They can deflate a team or inspire it. However, if you think that is a relatively neutral factor in this game, you should pick Colorado. The Buffaloes are a surprisingly bad team at 0-3 in the Pac-12, but it would be even more surprising if they fell to 0-4 by losing to the worst team in the conference.
Prediction: Buffaloes -11.5
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