Colorado is always going to be a team the public enjoys backing, but I have many questions. Georgia Tech played awful in Week 1 on the road, and was still able to go to Colorado and squeak out a win on a late touchdown. I don’t trust the Buffs on defense, and there are lots of questions about who will be taking the snaps at quarterback in this game, which has caused the line to bounce around to as high as HOU -6 throughout the week. Without the elite playmakers Colorado had to bail the team out many times over the past couple of seasons, I think we should see some struggles on the road in a Friday night ESPN game.
Meanwhile, Houston has looked very good so far. The Cougars haven’t played any Power Four competition, but have rolled the teams they’ve played with relative ease — 27-0 vs. SF Austin and 35-9 on the road at Rice. We can’t really ask them to do more than play the schedule in front of them, and they’ve answered the call in doing so.
Conner Weigman failed at Texas A&M, but fits well under center with the Cougs. He’s looked comfortable in the passing game, and should present some problems for the Buffs in the secondary. But Houston should really have an advantage on the ground in this one. Again, it’s tougher to gage against lesser competition, but Houston has run the ball well to start the season. That could be a problem for Colorado, who had the ball shoved down its throat for 320 rushing yards when it faced Georgia Tech.
Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter have bailed Colorado out over the years with some huge plays, and I just don’t see that same magic happening with the current offense. Houston has been solid on defense, giving up just nine total points through three games. I’m expecting Houston to step up at home under the Friday night lights and put up some points on Coach Prime’s squad. We’ll learn a lot more about both of these teams on defense in this game, but Colorado needed gift after gift in the turnover department from Georgia Tech to jump out to a lead, and still was unable to close.
I was fortunate enough to play this one early in the week at -3.5, and am fine giving out the current number of -4.5. I’d lay up to -5.5 with the Cougars in this one, and am expecting a comfortable win at home.
CFB Pick: Houston -4.5 (-110) 1-unit
Check out my full CFB Week 3 betting card on DK Network right here.
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app on Apple or Google!
