Colorado Slightly Favored Over CSU in Rocky Mountain Showdown
By Charles Jay
When the Colorado Buffaloes meet up with the Colorado State Rams in the “Rocky Mountain Showdown,” the only thing one can predict is that there is going to be some mayhem involved. BetAnySports customers know that you can literally “throw the records out the window” for this one, and that has been demonstrated in the past. This in-state rivalry continues on Friday night at 9 PM ET at Sports Authority Field in Denver.
The Buffaloes have been through some nightmares, to be certain. They shifted over to the Pac-12 Conference in 2001 and have proceeded to win four conference games in three seasons. Overall, they were 4-8 for Mike McIntrye, who came over from San Jose State last year to take the job.
Colorado State rebounded from their opening-game loss to Colorado to turn in an 8-6 season, which included a 48-45 win over Washington State in the New Mexico. That constituted a pretty successful season for Jim McElwain, as the team went to the post-season for the first time in five years.
In the NCAA football betting lines that have been posted at BetAnySports, the Buffs are the favorites by a field goal:
Colorado Buffaloes -3
Colorado State Rams +3
Over 59.5 Points -110
Under 59.5 Points -110
Colorado has won five of the last six meetings when the game has been played in Denver. Last year’s meeting was particularly stinging for CSU, as they led the Buffs 24-23 going into the fourth quarter but blew that lead and went on to lose by a 41-27 margin.
And there is some reason for optimism in Boulder, as this club has eight starters returning on both offense and defense. They have three seniors in the secondary, and BetAnySports patrons think quarterback Seth Liufau may “get it” a bit more after competing 59% of his passes as a freshman.
Colorado State senior quarterback Garrettt Grayson is coming off a rather serviceable season, where he racked up a 62% completion rate and had a nice 23-11 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions. But he’s not a big threat to run, and the Rams have had to restructure their offensive line, which brings back only one starter from last season – senior Ty Sambrailo.
One thing NCAA football bettors have to give McElwain and his staff credit for is that they have gradually improved this team’s ability to deal with opposition rushing attacks. In 2011, the year before the former Alabama offensive coordinator arrived, the Rams allowed a robust 5.5 yards a carry. But in 2012 that figure became 4.7, and last year they were a very respectable 3.9 ypc. The staff will have its work cut out for it now, however, because there are five memebrs of the front seven to replace, including Shaquil Barrett, who was a conference player of the year (Mountain West).
And will the Rams have a running attack of their own? That is something BetAnySports customers will have to wait and see about. The departed Kapri Bibbs had 1741 yards and 31 TD’s last season – gargantuan numbers – but CSU doesn’t have any returning running back who gained any yardage in 2013.
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