College Football Picks – Colorado @ TCU

College Football Picks – Colorado @ TCU

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

Week One of the college football season kicks off today with a highly anticipated matchup as the Colorado Buffaloes of the Pac 12 go on the road to face the No. 17 ranked TCU Horned Frogs of the Big 12. The game will be televised on Fox starting at noon eastern. TCU is a 20.5-point favorite and the total is 63.5. This is the second meeting between these schools, they also played in the opening week of last season with TCU winning 38-13. Colorado’s hiring of NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders has raised the profile of this game.

Colorado went 1-11 last season, they tied the school-record for most losses in a season and lost 10 games by 20+ points which was the most of any team in the FBS. TCU went 13-2 last season, which matched a school record for wins and advanced to the National Championship game where they were routed by Georgia. TCU has won 9 straight games against the Pac 12 dating back to 1999,

An interesting side note to the game is, TCU star linebacker Jamoi Hodge claimed he’s learning the tendencies of Colorado players from watching YouTube videos uploaded by Deion Sanders Jr., the eldest son of Deion Sanders. Sanders uploads daily videos to his ‘Well Off Media’ channel that chronicles the day-to-day activities of Colorado players and coaches. Hodge also said, “Colorado Is Putting A Little Bit Too Much On The Internet.” We’ll see whether this becomes an issue during or after the game.  

THE SKINNY ON BOTH TEAMS

Colorado made headlines in the offseason when they hired “Prime Time” Deion Sanders as its head coach last December. Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders won back-to-back SWAC Championships at Jackson State in 2021 and 2022, and went a combined 22-3 in those seasons. Sanders made sweeping changes upon his arrival in Boulder as he brought in 86 newcomers to Colorado’s 114-man roster. Only 3 Colorado starters return from last season. 

Some of the highly touted newcomers for Colorado include Jackson State junior quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Deion Sanders youngest son), Jackson State sophomore defensive back/wide receiver Travis Hunter and South Florida junior wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. All three are expected to be major contributors for Colorado this year.

Sanders passed for 3,732 yards with 40 touchdowns to 6 interceptions and completed 70.6 percent of his throws last season. He was named the 2022 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year. Hunter was a 5-star recruit and the number 2 overall recruit in the high school class of 2022, he surprised many when he chose Jackson State over the big-name FBS schools. He played in 8 games as a true freshman last season and was named the SWAC Freshman of the Year. Hunter is expected to play wide receiver and defensive back for the majority of snaps. Horn Jr. caught 67 passes for 959 yards and 4 touchdowns in his two seasons at South Florida.   

After completing the greatest season in school history, TCU looks to come back strong in 2023. They’ll have to replace the majority of its explosive 2022 offense. All-World quarterback Max Duggan (3,698 yards, 32 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 9 rushing touchdowns) is now a back-up quarterback with the Los Angeles Chargers. Running back Kendre Miller (1,399 yards on 224 carries and 17 touchdowns) also departed and was a third-round pick of the New Orleans Saints. Just 41 percent of the roster production on offense returns. 

TCU brought in several BCS skill position transfers to replace last season’s offensive production. A pair of Alabama products in running back Trey Sanders and wide receiver JoJo Earle, along with LSU wideout Jack Bech are the three biggest names among the group of transfers. Sophomore Chandler Morris is expected to take the reins at quarterback for TCU this year. He was actually the starter in last year’s season-opener against Colorado, but left the game with a knee injury and never got the starting job back after Duggan took over and became a superstar.

TCU had three defensive players selected to the All-Big 12 Preseason team in defensive lineman Damonic Williams, linebacker Johnny Hodges and defensive back Josh Newton. Linebacker Jamoi Hodge is also a standout on TCU’s defense. An improved and experienced defense may be able to carry the team until the newcomers on offense can develop chemistry.

THE PICK

I expect Coach Prime will have some struggles this year due to the massive roster overhaul but TCU also had to replace a lot of talent from last season’s 13-2 team, I think Colorado can keep this one somewhat close, Take the Points…TCU 38, Colorado 28