Colorado Buffaloes Projected to Finish 5th in Pac-12 by Vegas Odds

Tis the season for 2017 college football projections from Las Vegas oddsmakers. According to current win/loss odds listed by South Point’s Sportsbook along with data collected by SBN’s Jason Kirk, the Colorado Buffaloes will finish fifth in the Pac-12 conference with a bowl bid to play Minnesota in the Foster Farms Bowl on Dec 27.

The four conference teams projected to finish ahead of CU are USC (Pac-12 Champions, CFB No. 4), Washington (Runner-up, New Year’s at-large), Stanford and Oregon. Colorado finished with a 2-2 record against those teams last season.

While Vegas is traditionally the most accurate predictor of success or failure they certainly missed the mark last season. A similar projection for last year gave the Buffs four wins (+/-) and a dead last finish in conference play. Colorado’s 10-4 record last season was the best mark in a decade, but will be difficult to repeat in 2017 due to the exit of a large number of contributors.

CU’s projected over/under wins for the upcoming season is set at 7.5. That mark is good for second in the South Division ahead of UCLA (7), Utah (5.5), Arizona State (5), and Arizona (4.5). Using the same projections against Colorado’s opponents puts the Buffs around a 9.5 or 10 win average with the only losses vs. USC and Washington. The margin exists with Vegas predicting an additional two ‘L’s’ against similar ranked opponents.

As for the College Football Playoff, Ohio State would be the No. 1 overall seed to play the Trojans in the Sugar Bowl and No. 2 Alabama/No. 3 Oklahoma would be the Rose Bowl matchup. There’s a real possibility the committee will snub a mid-major team this year, creating yet another decision based on style points and other factors.

Here’s a look at the entire bowl projections.

Jason Kirk/ SB Nation