The Colorado Buffaloes pulled off a stunner of a double overtime victory over Colorado State on Saturday but it may turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory.
That's on account of two-way superstar Travis Hunter's injury, which will put him out for three weeks, coach Deion Sanders said on Monday.
The injury moved Colorado's odds precipitously for its tilt against Oregon this upcoming week. Before its victory over Colorado State, the Buffaloes were +14.5 underdogs against Oregon on the road. Now, FanDuel prices Colorado at +21.5, with the rest of the market settling in at +21. Meanwhile, the total has moved from a consensus of around 69.5 up to its current mark of 72.5.
And there's no telling as to how the injury will affect Hunter for the rest of the season. Sanders and Colorado are being coy as to the exact nature of the injury.
Already, Hunter's Heisman odds have deteriorated. While he was as short as +3500 at DraftKings prior to the news, he's now off the board entirely due to his ailment.
Collin Wilson's Analysis
Losing Travis Hunter for three weeks will keep Colorado’s best player on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball off the field.
Hunter created three pass breakups when targeted nine times by TCU and forced Nebraska and Colorado State to look elsewhere in passing attempts.
The Jackson State transfer spent the majority of his snaps on the outside to put receivers on an island, but he has also lined up in the slot and in the box when Colorado utilized man coverage.
Colorado also loses a viable target on the offensive side of the ball, as Hunter has racked up 16 catches on 23 targets so far this season. Although Hunter has not caught a touchdown pass, the dual-threat star averaged nearly two yards per route run.
The Buffaloes do have other options at wide receiver that soften the blow, but the near-term effect of Hunter’s injury will show on defense as Pac-12 play begins.
