Colorado vs. Kansas, Northwestern vs. Michigan predictions: College football odds, picks
As much as Deion Sanders and Co.have impressed this year, I’m still not sold on the Buffaloes.My biggest issue is that the offensive isn’t good.
Shedeur Sanders is constantly running for his life, and Colorado ranks 104th nationally in sack rate allowed (8 percent).Of greater importance to this matchup is that the Buffaloes can’t run the ball behind their lousy front five — they rank 110th nationally in EPA per Rush and seventh in pass play rate (60%).That bodes well for Kansas.The Jayhawks’ undersized front seven is vulnerable against the rush (125th nationally in EPA per Rush allowed).
Nevertheless, the defense is OK at defending the pass behind the rock-solid cornerback duo of Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant.On the other side of the ball, Kansas’ offense has caught fire now that Jalon Daniels is healthy.The Jayhawks had a string of unlucky losses in the early season, but they’ve won three of their past four games, dropping over 40 points on Iowa State and Houston during the stretch.Colorado’s rush defense is merely average (66th nationally in EPA per Rush allowed), and the Jayhawks boast a top-10 rushing offense behind the dual-threat Daniels and star running back Devin Neal.This is a good matchup for the up-and-coming Jayhawks, and it appears the Buffaloes are overvalued — four of their six Big 12 wins have come against teams with losing league records.Pick: Kansas +3.Michigan’s passing attack has looked slightly better since the Wolverines started playing Davis Warren again.
The senior can complete almost 60% of his passes and tends to keep the ball out of harm’s way with a low average depth of target.Still, the Wolverines’ aerial attack is among the worst in college football.They’re still overly reliant on the rushing attack, ranking 27th nationally in rush play rate (58%).That doesn’t bode well against Northwestern, which boasts a horrific secondary but a talented front seven that ranks in the top 15 nationally in EPA per Rush an...