Nobody believed in Deion Sanders' Colorado team — but bettors did
Deion Sanders chided everyone who doubted his Colorado Buffaloes after they beat TCU on Saturday. He said he kept receipts.
He's not wrong. There were plenty of critics. Many said Sanders wouldn't work out at CU, like it mattered for a program that hasn't been relevant in 20 years. CU would never have been better off hiring some other former Buffaloes player and shooting for another 4-8 season.
Oddsmakers doubted Sanders' group, too. The Buffaloes' win total this season was a paltry 3.5. They were 20.5-point underdogs at BetMGM for the opener against TCU. They opened at 9-to-1 to win against the Horned Frogs.
Sanders can take his victory lap against several critics — but not against bettors, many of whom believed before CU even kicked off its season.
Bettors loved Colorado vs. TCU
Sometimes, the wisdom of crowds works in betting.
The most-bet side among Saturday's games, in terms of number of bets, was Colorado +20.5. Alabama -39.5 took in the most money, mainly due to a $108,000 bet on the Crimson Tide, but Colorado was right behind.
The Buffaloes opened at +900 on the moneyline against TCU. When 93% of moneyline bets on Colorado-TCU came in on the Buffs, the line moved to +650. Even at those odds, it's a heck of a win for those who took Colorado to win straight up.
Bettors never had to sweat the spread, as Colorado came out fast. There was a sweat for the moneyline bettors, but behind Shedeur Sanders' school-record 510 yards, CU came back for a thrilling 45-42 win.
It won't happen too often that a large majority of bettors nail a game like that. But they believed in what Sanders was selling before oddsmakers did.
That was especially true in the futures market.
Over on CU's win total was very popular
It's not just a loss on Saturday's CU game that sportsbooks have to worry about.
The most-bet over for any win total in college football was Colorado. That 3.5 looks like a gift after the Buffaloes went on the road and beat a TCU team that was in the College Football Playoff last season.
BetMGM also took at least three big future bets on the Buffs: $1,000 to win $250,000 on Colorado to win the national championship (+25000 odds), $4,500 to win $450,000 on CU to win the Pac-12 (+10000) and $1,000 to win $125,000 on Shedeur Sanders to win the Heisman Trophy (+12500).
Colorado, which opened at 300-to-1 to win the national title, is BetMGM's biggest liability in that market. While nobody should be putting the Buffaloes in the CFP after one win, it looks like oddsmakers severely underestimated Colorado's roster after Deion Sanders completely reshaped it through the transfer portal.
There are plenty of Colorado bettors looking good on their future bets after one week. And many have already cashed some nice tickets on the Buffaloes just one game into the Sanders era.
