In the 1990s, Deion Sanders captivated a nation of sports fans when he became the first athlete to have long and successful careers in both the NFL and Major League Baseball. “Prime Time” won two Super Bowls and played in a World Series — the only player ever to do so. Sanders’ football career was far flashier than his baseball career, and he’s always right around the top of any conversation about the best cornerbacks in NFL history.
Nearly 20 years after Sanders played his last snap, America is again in a Prime Time frenzy. “Coach Prime,” as Sanders is referred to, has catapulted sports bettors. A team that has not been in the national conversation in recent years is top of mind and top of betting through the first four weeks of the college football season.
Saturday’s USC at Colorado game is no exception — as of Friday, DraftKings said it was the most bet game by number of tickets written and the fourth-most bet by handle. At the start of the week, DraftKings shared that the game was the most bet game by handle and second most bet game by number of tickets written.
DraftKings also reported that futures odds on Colorado winning the national championship had moved from +11000 to +25000 as of Tuesday.
Public frenzy a pro’s dream 2fo39
The fact that the general public is all lathered up and betting the Buffs isn’t lost on professional bettors. ESPN’s David Purdum reported Monday that those in the know are taking advantage of hype that has nothing to do with the product on the field.
“In a social media post Saturday afternoon, veteran Las Vegas bettor Steve Fezzik wrote that the ‘worst bettors in the world’ were betting Colorado on the moneyline, making it an ‘amazing great bet,'” according to Purdum.
Last week, DraftKings bettors made the Colorado-Oregon game the most bet game by handle and number of tickets written, beating out more traditional matchups with more recognizable names like Ohio State at Notre Dame (No. 2 in both categories) and Florida State at Clemson (No. 3 in both categories). Beyond that, bettors wagered more often and for more money against the spread on Colorado than any other team.
Colorado piquing interest at other books 6y6r10
Other sportsbooks are also seeing a rise in the interest in Colorado — but the betting on this Saturday’s game points to the expectation of a blowout by USC.
At Fanatics Sportsbook, which is live online in five U.S. states, bettors are favoring USC, with 71% of handle on the Trojans vs. 29% on the Buffaloes on a 22.5-point spread favoring USC. According to the book, 80% of moneyline bets and 63% of spread bets are on USC.
Rush Street Interactive, which operators BetRivers in 14 states across the U.S., shared that heading into Saturday’s game, the moneyline play at -2000 on the Trojans ranks as the third-most wagered on in of both dollars and tickets written. But bettors are favoring Colorado (+22) against the spread — that option is ranked No. 4 in of dollars bet this week.
All of Colorado’s games leading into this weekend ranked in the top 10 nationally in of the amount wagered on college football games. The Colorado-Nebraska game, played during the second week of the season, rose to No. 3 in of amount wagered, with the Colorado-Colorado State game, played the following week, ranked No. 4.
In of number of tickets written, last Saturday’s Colorado-Oregon game ranked No. 1, the Sept. 16 CSU game ranked No. 2, and the Sept. 9 Nebraska game ranked No. 3.
According to Rush Street, no Colorado game during the 2022 season was ranked in the top 100 for either money wagered or tickets written.
