By james art 
After Week 2 of the season, both the Colorado Buffaloes and Texas Tech Red Raiders looked dead in the water, but both have turned their seasons around nicely and are fighting outside odds to make the Big 12 Championship Game.
The Colorado jokes are outdated now that the Buffaloes are winning and Texas Tech may have a competent enough defense to complement the offense. Who stays hot and who retires? Find out what we think in this Colorado vs. Texas Tech prediction.
Colorado vs. Texas Tech Betting Preview
All Colorado vs. Texas Tech Odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Sunday, November 3, 2024. CFN Spread comes from College Football Network’s Football Playoff Meter.
- CFN FPM spread
Texas Tech -2.5 - Distribution
Colorado -3 - Money line
Colorado -155, Texas Tech +130 - Over/Under
63 points - Time to play
November 9, 4pm ET - Location
Jones AT&T Stadium | Lubbock, Texas - Forecast weather in Kik
63 degrees, sunny, 13 mph wind - How to watch
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It’s an intriguing matchup and line. The Buffaloes are three-point road favorites as they come off their bye week. Texas Tech has been somewhat unpredictable this season, but the Vegas metrics have the Red Raiders pegged as underdogs.
MORE: Simulate the college football season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
With a total of 63 points and the spread so close, Vegas is in for a hotly contested, high-scoring contest. The implied final score is close to 33-30 in Buffalo’s favor.
Colorado’s odds of winning
According to the CFN Football Playoff Meter, the Buffaloes have the second-best odds to win the conference. That’s not to say they don’t have some tough games at the end, highlighted by the one where the scorecard shows them as underdogs. Colorado has a 45.7 percent chance to win FPM Saturday, the toughest remaining game of the year.
- at Texas Tech: 45.7%
- vs. Utah: 65.7%
- in Kansas: 65.1%
- vs. Oklahoma State: 76.6%
Texas Tech’s odds of winning
Conversely, Texas Tech has a 54.3% chance to beat the Buffaloes at home, which means a spread of about 2.5 points. FPM still thinks the Red Raiders have at least a shot at the Big 12 title, but a loss to Colorado would end that dream.
- vs Colorado: 54.3%
- in the state of oklahoma: 64.1%
- vs. West Virginia: 63.1%
Colorado vs. Texas Tech Prediction
There are times when I really don’t like writing game predictions. I will often have a strong opinion on which way I lean in a game, but this is not one of those cases.
While I think this game will be extremely entertaining, I’ve already debated which team to root for.
Shedeur Sanders gets most of the attention, but Texas Tech’s Behren Morton has been superb this season, throwing for 19 touchdowns and just five interceptions. And he’s not even the focal point of the offense.
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That would be running back Taj Brooks, who is one of the top running backs in the country despite battling some nagging injuries. Now he’s healthy and has rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season.
But while Texas Tech’s defense has improved in recent weeks, I just don’t think it can put pressure on Sanders. When he had time (and healthy receivers) this season, Sanders was nearly unstoppable.
The question is whether the running game can provide enough to give the offense some semblance of balance.
Both offenses should be able to score in a good, old-fashioned Big 12 shootout. However, I like each of these defenses to create occasional havoc and get a turnover or two. Whoever plays the cleanest game late is likely to last.
I like the over better than either team, but I’ll side with FPM here and give it to the Red Raiders in a close, fun game.
Forecast: Texas Tech 41, Colorado 38
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