BYU Cougars vs Colorado Buffaloes Betting Pick & Prediction Valero Alamo Bowl
ABC will be covering the 7:30 ET kick-off between the Colorado Buffaloes and BYU Cougars in the Valero Alamo Bowl. The game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, with Colorado technically the home team, even though it is a neutral site. The Buffaloes are the slight -2.5-point favorites over the Cougars, with the over/under line set at 54.5 points. Both teams come in with impressive 9-3 records for the season.
BYU COUGARS VS COLORADO BUFFALOES BETTING PICK
The Pick: BYU Cougars +2.5
This game will be played at Alamodome at 7:30 ET on Saturday, December 28th.
WHY BET THE BYU COUGARS:
- We have the BYU Cougars winning this one by a score of 26 to 22
- Not only do we have the BYU Cougars winning straight-up, we have them covering the spread at +2.5
- We see this game finishing below the line of 54.5 points
Can The BYU Cougars Pick Up A Win At Alamodome?
BYU enters Week 1 against Colorado with a 10-2 record. They’ve gone 5-1 on the road and 4-1 at home this season. The Cougars have been favored in six of their 12 games, going 5-1 as the favorite. Their average scoring margin is +10.7 points per game, and they’ve covered the spread in six of 11 games, with a 4-2 ATS record on the road.
BYU’s over/under record is 8-3, with their games averaging 50.8 points. This week’s line is set at 54.5 points, higher than nine of their games this season. The Cougars’ average over/under line has been 48.5 points, and they’ve exceeded the total by an average of 2.1 points per game.
At home, BYU is 2-2-1 against the spread, while they’ve gone 4-2 ATS on the road. As the favorite, they are 2-3-1 ATS, but they’ve covered four out of five games as the underdog this season.
BYU’s offense is averaging 30.8 points per game, placing them 36th nationally, and they are ranked 30th in our offensive power rankings heading into week 1. Jake Retzlaff has thrown for 2,745 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, giving him a passer rating of 89. BYU ranks 66th in passing attempts per game.
Overall, BYU is 60th in passing yards per game, averaging 233.8 yards. Retzlaff’s completion percentage is 57.5%, and the team is 106th in third-down conversions, converting just 35.3% of their attempts. LJ Martin leads the rushing attack with 630 yards, averaging 5 yards per carry and scoring five touchdowns. Chase Roberts has 792 receiving yards on 49 catches.
BYU’s defense has been strong this season, ranking 17th nationally by allowing just 20.1 points per game. In their recent game, they gave up 18 points and forced two interceptions. They held Houston to 253 total yards, including 97 rushing yards on 36 attempts and 156 passing yards.
Opponents have averaged 139.1 rushing yards per game against BYU and 180.3 passing yards. Quarterbacks have a passer rating of just 59.6, the fourth-lowest in the nation, completing 55.3% of their throws against BYU’s defense.
Can The Colorado Buffaloes Take Care Of Business On A Neutral Field?
Colorado enters Week 14 with a 9-3 record, going 3-1 at home and 4-2 on the road. They’ve been favored in six of their 12 games, posting a 5-1 record as the favorite. At home, the Buffaloes are 3-0 when favored and have a +12.5 average scoring margin this season.
Against the spread, Colorado is 8-2, with a perfect 4-0 mark at home. They are 5-1 ATS as the favorite and 3-1 ATS as the underdog. At home, they are 3-0 ATS when favored and 1-0 as the underdog.
Their over/under record stands at 4-5-1, with an average total of 56.5 points per game. The average over/under line this season has been 57.3 points, slightly higher than this week’s line of 54.5.
Colorado’s offense has been driven by their passing game, ranking 4th in the nation with 327.2 yards per game. They are 2nd in completions, averaging 28.1 per game, and lead the country in completion percentage at 73.6%. The Buffaloes are 19th in scoring, with 34.5 points per game, and we have them 18th in our offensive power rankings heading into week 11.
Shedeur Sanders has thrown for 3,926 yards, completing 74.2% of his passes, with 35 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His passer rating is 118. Travis Hunter has caught 92 passes for 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns. Colorado’s run game has struggled, averaging just 71.9 yards per game.
Colorado’s defense is coming off a dominant performance, allowing zero points and just 153 total yards in their latest game against Oklahoma State. They gave up only 76 rushing yards on 30 attempts and 77 passing yards, while also forcing two interceptions.
On the season, Colorado is ranked 27th nationally, giving up 22 points per game. Opponents are averaging 150.1 rushing yards and 204.7 passing yards per game, with a 60% completion rate against the Buffaloes’ defense.