Colorado vs. Colorado State prediction, odds: 2024 college football expert picks, Deion Sanders bets

The Week 3 college football schedule is loaded with rivalry matchups, and one of the more intriguing ones is the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown between Colorado State and Colorado. This rivalry got a huge boost last year when Deion Sanders arrived at Colorado. These teams met on Sept. 16, 2023 and it was a 43-35 double-OT win for Colorado that was one of the most-watched games of the season. This season, both teams are off to a 1-1 start and will be looking for a big win on the path to bowl eligibility. 

Kickoff in Fort Collins is set 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. The Buffalos are 7.5-point favorites in the latest Colorado vs. Colorado State odds via SportsLine consensus, down from opening at -8. The over/under is 58.5. Before making any Colorado State vs. Colorado picks, you need to see the Week 3 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. Colorado State on Saturday 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 Colorado State vs. Colorado:

• Colorado vs. Colorado State spread: Colorado -7.5
• Colorado vs. Colorado State over/under: 58.5 points
• Colorado vs. Colorado State money line: Colorado -292, Colorado State +231
• Colorado vs. Colorado State streaming: Paramount+ (get 50% off first year of annual plan now until 9/22/24)
• Colorado vs. Colorado State picks: See picks at SportsLine

Why Colorado can cover

Travis Hunter will be the best player on the field in this rivalry game. The two-way star can impact the game on both sides of the ball, and will be incredibly difficult for the Rams’ secondary to contain. Hunter enters Saturday with 17 catches for 242 yards and three touchdowns.

Quarterback Shedeur Sanders is likely going to be a first round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. When the Buffs have protected Sanders, he has proven to have elite pocket awareness and an ability to pick apart defenses. In Colorado’s double overtime win over CSU in 2023, he threw for 348 yards, four touchdowns and one interception and led the Buffs on a 98-yard game tying drive in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. See which team to pick here.

Why Colorado State can cover

The Rams have home-field advantage on their side. This is the biggest game in the brief history of Canvas Stadium, and will be the first playing of the Rocky Mountain Showdown in Fort Collins since 1996. In 2023, the Rams were 28-point underdogs and nearly pulled off the upset at Folsom Field.

CSU has a rising star at the running back position in freshman Justin Marshall. In the Rams’ season opening loss to No. 2 Texas, Marshall rushed for 106 yards on 25 carries. For the season he has 173 yards on 35 carries (4.9 yards per carry), and the Buffs have had issues defending the run, allowing 153 rushing yards per game thus far. See which team to pick here.

How to make Colorado State vs. Colorado picks

Kaylor has analyzed Colorado vs. Colorado State from every angle and he’s leaning Over 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. Colorado State in the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday in Fort Collins, 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.