Rarely does a matchup between two recently downtrodden college football programs garner more betting interest than the vast, vast majority of NFL games.
Nebraska vs. Colorado — on account of Deion Sanders and his efforts — has the second-most bets on any football game this week at DraftKings, spokesperson Stephen Miraglia told the Action Network. That's only behind Lions vs. Chiefs, which kicks off the NFL calendar on Thursday night.
The same phenomenon is true at FanDuel, a representative told the Action Network.
Coach Prime, Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders and Colorado's clean victory over a team that was in the national championship game last year are the culprits. Of course, Sanders' boisterous personality, bold preseason predictions and fiery speeches have buoyed the whole operation from a PR perspective. But ultimately the play on the field is what's proven most impressive.
Hunter played both sides of the ball and changed the game with a goal line interception. That was to go with 11 catches and over 100 yards receiving. Meanwhile, Sanders only threw for 510 yards with four TDs and no picks.
It's no wonder the two are the public's favorite picks to win the Heisman Trophy so far. Hunter and Sanders are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, for the most bet players to win the Heisman at FanDuel.
For what it's worth, my colleague Brett McMurphy is adamant Hunter has no chance to win college football's most esteemed individual trophy.
Colorado is also the most popular pick to win the national title, too.
And at BetMGM, the story is no different. Nebraska vs. Colorado has more wagers on it than 14 out of the 16 NFL games, BetMGM spokesperson John Ewing told the Action Network. Roughly 80% of that market is on the Buffaloes to cover a -3 spread.
Think about this: the Buffs opened as +7.5 underdogs against Nebraska before Week 1. Only 10% of bettors at BetMGM have bets on Colorado as underdogs — or even slight favorites.
About 90% of the money on Colorado, the rep said, is on the team between -2.5 and -3.5.
People are riding that bandwagon, hard.
And sharp bettors love exploiting those inefficiencies. This matchup has all the makings: narrative, a public darling with a lopsided amount of money, an underrated opponent coming off a bad game.
Expect plenty of analysis across the media landscape that points you toward Nebraska as an underdog this week.
And that's exactly how Prime wants it.
