Sports Betting Operators Take Heavy Losses from Colorado, Coach Prime

The University of Colorado Buffaloes are in the hearts (and pockets) of many American sports bettors, but they are also public enemy number-one for sports betting companies.

Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and company are already halfway to exceeding their projected win total of 3.5 with two wins in two games, one against national runner-up No. 17 TCU and another against rivals Nebraska. Their national popularity has also made them a favorite for sports bettors, which has led to operators taking massive losses.

As the Buffaloes continue to snowball national prominence and attention, Vegas has to be concerned that this is just the start of a season of great financial loss.

According to Front Office Sports, 92% of bets and 91% of the handle at DraftKings sportsbook were on Colorado to cover in last Saturday’s clash with Nebraska. Not only did UC win and cover the 2.5-point line, but it did so in style, winning 36-14.

It also wasn’t just DraftKings that showed overwhelming support for the Buffs. Online sportsbooks all across the country failed to split the betting public and, as a result, were met with heavy losses.

“I’ve never seen a pros/public split like this Colorado/Nebraska game,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews shared via X (formerly Twitter). “Of course I’ve only been doing this 44 years.”

BetMGM reported that Colorado was the most-bet team of the weekend, not just in college football, but in the NFL as well. One bettor risked $115,000 on the UC spread to win $100,000, which cashed when time expired.

But that $115,000 wasn’t even close to the biggest bet of the day. A FanDuel bettor put up a stake of $1 million on Colorado -2.5, which at -110 odds, would lead to a $1.909 million payout.

🚨 HUGE BET ALERT 🚨

One bettor has placed $1 MILLION on Colorado (-2.5) to cover the spread today 😱

You riding with Prime? pic.twitter.com/akWY51fhqG

— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 9, 2023

There’s also been heavy movement in Heisman trophy betting odds following the Buffs’ fast start. DB/WR Travis Hunter, whose Heisman odds were around +23000 in July, is now +7000 to win college football’s highest individual honor.

QB Shedeur Sanders, son of Coach Prime, has also vaulted from +15000 to +3000, which is tied for ninth-best in the country.

Colorado’s rise to prominence is nothing short of unprecedented. Despite Sanders’ warnings of “we comin’,” oddsmakers greatly doubted Colorado entering the year. They had only won one game the year before and were 20.5-point underdogs to TCU in the season-opener.

It’s been quite the turnaround for the UC program. Sportsbooks such as FanDuel now have special “Colorado” tabs in their sportsbooks, College Gameday is heading to Boulder for the first time in 27 years, and the program is regularly a featured topic on national sports talk shows.

PointsBet/Fanatics trader Ethan Useloff told ESPN there were more bets in Colorado to win the national championship at +10000 than there were on any other program, including two-time defending champions Georgia.

"They are being backed as if they were one of the favorites to win it all," Useloff said.

Despite the enormous and ever-increasing public pressure, Colorado is still behind 20 other schools in national championship odds at FanDuel (+12000 to win it all) and seventh to win the Pac-12 (+2500).

The potential matchup of the season will take place in the mountains Saturday, September 30, when reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams and the No. 5 USC Trojans pay the Buffs a visit.

Williams is third in total passing yards (one spot behind Sanders) and is the odds-on Heisman favorite at +390 at FanDuel. He’s hoping to become the second player in the history of college football to win the award twice.