Coming off another offseason filled with roster turnover and national media attention, the Colorado Buffaloes will begin their second season under head coach Deion Sanders on Thursday, hosting FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. Though the Buffaloes are coming off a 4-8 season, Coach Prime returns two Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Shedul Sanders and two-way standout Travis Hunter, and he signed the No. 8 transfer student according to 247Sports. North Dakota State is ranked No. 2 at the FCS level, and Tim Polasek returns to lead the Bison after spending the past three seasons as offensive coordinator at Wyoming State. Polasek was previously an assistant on four national championship teams at North Dakota State. Bison quarterback Cam Miller is one of the top candidates in the country to win the Walter Payton Award.
Kickoff is scheduled for 8 PM ET from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. The latest NDSU vs. Colorado odds have the Buffaloes favored by 9.5 points, while the over/under is at 60.5 points, per SportsLine's consensus. Before making any Colorado vs. North Dakota State predictions, you should see Week 1 college football predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's Jimmie Kaylor.
Keillor is SportsLine's NFL, college football and DFS expert and a member of the Professional Football Writers Association who has covered the NFL and college football for nearly a decade. His background as a former college football All-American and NFL player gives him a unique perspective when building fantasy lineups and finalizing betting selections. He knows the pulse of the college football world and has made a ton of money over the past two years.
Keillor had a phenomenal 2023 college football season, collecting a whopping 57.9 units while compiling a record of 107 wins, 45 losses and 2 ties, and anyone who followed his projections ended the season pretty highly.
Keillor will be looking at Thursday's Colorado vs. NDSU matchup and has his predictions and forecasts. To see his predictions, visit SportsLine now. Here are the college football odds and college football betting lines, spread, moneyline and over/under for NDSU vs. Colorado:
North Dakota State vs. Colorado Spread: Colorado -9.5North Dakota State vs. Colorado Over/Under: 60.5 pointsNorth Dakota State vs. Colorado Moneyline: Colorado -350, North Dakota State +280North Dakota State vs. Colorado Picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Colorado has you covered
Colorado has a bona fide game-changer in senior quarterback Shedul Sanders at the most important position on the field. Sanders was the most sacked quarterback in the FBS in 2023, but still threw for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He also had four rushing scores.
The Buffaloes' top offseason priority was strengthening their offensive line. With all five 2023 starters gone, Coach Prime added a top offensive tackle rookie in the 2024 class (Jordan Seaton) and some highly coveted transfers. The offensive line also gets a new leader in former NFL offensive tackle Phil Loadholt, who previously served as an offensive analyst at Oklahoma. Find out which team to pick here.
Why North Dakota has you covered
The Bisons have won nine of the last 13 national championships at the FCS level. Polasek, a first-year head coach, was an offensive assistant on the championship teams in 2011 and 2012 and the offensive coordinator on the championship teams in 2014 and 2015. He takes over a team with a lot of returning talent on both offense and defense, including quarterbacks Miller and Cole Payton.
Miller is the team's obligatory starter and a preseason FCS All-America candidate. He returns to the Bison after completing 72% of his passes for 2,688 yards, 19 touchdowns, and four interceptions while rushing for 629 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023. Payton is a good runner and plays a role for the Bison similar to the role Taysom Hill plays for the New Orleans Saints. In 2023, Payton passed for 289 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 615 yards and 13 scores. Find out which team to pick here.
How to predict North Dakota State vs. Colorado State
Keillor breaks down Colorado vs. North Dakota State from every angle, leans toward the under point total, and finds some key X-factors that tip the scales heavily on one side of the spread, and he's sharing with SportsLine what they are and which side you should back.
So who will win Thursday's Colorado vs. North Dakota State game in Boulder? And what are the key X-factors that should make you bet on either side of the spread? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you should bet on. This is all from an expert who made $5,790 in profit on a $100 college football bet in 2023.
