The college football season rolls along this week with a number of notable matchups across the Power 4 and Group of 6 ranks. The Big 12 is home to College GameDay on Saturday between Houston and Utah, but there are other matchups in the conference that promise intrigue and excitement.
One such game comes in Stillwater, where we’ll see the Colorado Buffaloes take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Both teams are coming off close losses the previous week, but the market still has a fair bit of confidence in the hosts to take care of business on Saturday. Below is my preview, prediction, and pick for Saturday’s college football game between Colorado and Oklahoma State.
Oklahoma State is a 13.5-point favorite for this matchup with the total listed at 56.5 at DraftKings Sportsbook. Let’s dig into the odds and my best bet on Saturday’s matchup, and don’t miss our complete coverage of all of the Week 8 college football action at DraftKings Network.
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Colorado vs. Oklahoma State Prediction
There was a lot of negative buzz surrounding Colorado heading into the season, and while the Buffaloes got off to a promising start, their play has left much to be desired in recent weeks. The Buffaloes have dropped four straight games, while failing to cover the spread in three of those contests. This team has really struggled to score, and the move to insert Isaac Wilson in as the new starting quarterback hasn’t changed much on that front. Even when Colorado put up a valiant effort at home against Utah as significant underdogs, the Buffaloes still came up short in the final quarter. This week, the challenge only increases in a tough spot on the road against a high-powered offense.
At this point, we can comfortably assume that Oklahoma State’s loss at Tulsa to open the season was a bit of a mirage. Since that shocking defeat, the Cowboys have rattled off four wins in five games and they look more like the team that oddsmakers expected prior to that Week 1 result. Drew Mestemaker has been as advertised at quarterback, and he’s performed very well when stepping up in class this season. In fact, the sophomore has thrown for over 1,000 yards and recorded nine total touchdowns in three Big 12 games to this point. The former North Texas quarterback should see more success this week against a Colorado defense that has struggled mightily against high-level passing offenses.
Colorado vs. Oklahoma State Best Bet
Oklahoma State has been excellent at home this season, scoring at least 39 points in every game at Boone Pickens Stadium. Eric Morris’ offense is ranked inside the top 10 nationally in success rate and yards per play, while sitting inside the top 20 in yards per dropback and passing success rate. To their credit, the Buffaloes defense is a top 20 unit in EPA per play and a top 40 unit in success rate allowed per Game On Paper. However, when Colorado has faced an excellent passing offense this season, the Buffaloes allowed 41 points to Northwestern on the road.
Even if Deion Sanders’ team manages to hold down the Cowboys early on, this is an offense that can strike quickly and score in bunches — as we saw in their 29 point second-half showing against Houston a week ago. With that in mind, I’ll back Oklahoma State to exceed its team total and put up a big number against a beleaguered defense on Saturday.