College football picks, Week 7: Stanford vs. Colorado prediction, odds, spread, game preview, more

We have a Friday night Pac-12 showdown at Folsom Field this evening as the Stanford Cardinal will head to Boulder to face the Colorado Buffaloes. The game will kick off at 10 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. Deion Sanders made it known this week that he is not a fan of these late start times for Pac-12 games.

Stanford (1-4, 0-3 Pac-12) is returning to action after a bye last week and were last seen getting housed in a 42-6 loss to Oregon. The Cardinal had a really hard time moving the ball against the Ducks and had no answers for Bo Nix and company. The team is experiencing some rough growing pains under first-year head coach Troy Taylor and is starting down the barrel of going 0-fer in its final season of Pac-12 play.

Colorado (4-2, 1-2 Pac-12) got back into the win column last Saturday with a 27-24 victory over Arizona State. The Buffs found themselves tied at 24 with 50 seconds left before quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed a pair of long passes to get them into field goal range. That set up kicker Alejandro Mata to boot a 43-yard go-ahead field goal that ultimately won the game for CU.

There is a possibility that Colorado wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter could make his return for this contest. The star returned to practice this week after missing the last three games with a lacerated liver. Coach Sanders said on Tuesday that there’s a “tremendous chance” that Hunter could play, but wants to make sure that he’s in game shape.

SP+ Rankings

Stanford: 97 overall, 107 offense, 83 defense
Colorado: 80 overall, 49 offense, 105 defense

Injury update

Stanford

WR John Humphreys - Doubtful (Undisclosed)S Jimmy Wyrick - Questionable (Undisclosed)OL Simione Pale - Questionable (Undisclosed)

QB Ashton Daniels - Questionable (Head)

Colorado

WR/CB Travis Hunter - Questionable (Abdominal)RB Alton McCaskill IV - Questionable (Undisclosed)

CB Kyndrich Breedlove - Questionable (Undisclosed)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread in 2023

Stanford: 2-3 ATS
Colorado: 3-2-1 ATS

Total in 2023

Stanford: Over 1-4
Colorado: Over 3-3

Team Pace

Stanford: 2.08 plays per minute of offense
Colorado: 2.62 plays per minute of offense

Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Colorado -12.5
Total: 59.5
Moneyline: Colorado -455, Stanford +350

Opening line: Colorado -11
Opening total: 59

Weather

34 degrees, clear, 5 MPH winds SW with 10 MPH wind gusts

Our Best Bet for Stanford vs. Colorado

Colorado -12.5

Colorado covering as a home favorite was the easy choice here. The Buffs have played well at home this season and they should have plenty of juice with Hunter potentially back on th field. Meanwhile, Stanford is having a hard time this year and it’s not going to get any easier when playing in freezing temperatures on the road. Lay it with the Buffs.