Ricky Dimon
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It all came crashing back down to earth for Colorado last week. The Buffaloes had been the talk of the college football world with a 3-0 record to start the Deion Sanders era, but the first-year head coach saw his team get blown out by Oregon 42-6. Now they face another tough rest in the form of USC, which is 4-0 and once again has reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams running the offensive show.
Here is my Same Game Parlay for the festivities, which will be televised starting at 12:00 pm ET on FOX. Also be sure to check out our full USC vs Colorado predictions.
Colorado +21.5 (-105)
Shadeur Sanders to score a touchdown (+440)
MarShawn Lloyd Over 88.5 rushing yards (-114)
Parlay odds: +1949
One of the benefits of Same Game Parlays, of course, is that you can correlate the plays. That is some of the plan here, as Shadeur Sanders scoring a touchdown would obviously work well with a Colorado cover. At the same time, plays that aren’t correlated drive up the overall payout of the parlay. That is the case with backing USC running back MarShawn Lloyd to amass his fair share of rushing yards. But even if that happens, there is no reason why the Buffaloes can’t keep this game within 3 touchdowns. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
Colorado +21.5 (-105)
Colorado’s performance against Oregon was alarming, but it also wasn’t entirely unexpected. The Buffaloes were feeling themselves a but following their 3 season-opening victories, but their competition level left them unprepared to face a powerhouse program – especially on the road. Now, the Buffs know what it’s like to face the cream of the crop in college football and they get to play this game against USC at home. That’s not to say Colorado is going to win outright, but it should put up a much more respectable fight. The Buffaloes seem to be a squad that plays better when there are doubts involved, as they proved everyone wrong by beating TCU as big underdogs in the first week of the 2023 campaign. Meanwhile, USC thoroughly underwhelmed in a 42-28 victory over Arizona State last weekend. It was a one-possession game with 8 minutes remaining.
Shadeur Sanders to score a touchdown (+440)
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Sanders take matters into his own hands on Saturday. Travis Hunter is still sidelined, so Colorado’s star QB doesn’t have a full compliment of weapons at his disposal. Sanders may be running for his life, too, as USC is among the national leaders in sacks through 4 weeks. The former Jackson State star has already run for a touchdown this season and he scored 6 times on the ground last year for the Tigers before taking his talents to Colorado.
MarShawn Lloyd Over 88.5 rushing yards (-114)
Lynch is coming of a 154-yard performance on 14 carries last Saturday against Arizona State. Only once this season has the Wilmington, Delaware native rushed for fewer than 76 yards. Now he has an extremely favorable matchup on his hands in the form of Colorado, which just gave up a ridiculous 240 rushing yards to Oregon. The Buffaloes are in the bottom 10 of the entire country in rushing defense, allowing more than 206 yards per game on 5.3 yards per attempt. Even if the home team covers, you gave to figure that USC will be playing from ahead all or most of the way and that means Lloyd will likely get a steady diet of carries.
