Stanford vs Colorado Prediction, Odds, Spread and Over/Under for College Football Week 7
Week 7’s Stanford vs Colorado matchup will be a weekend teaser on Friday, October 13, with the Buffaloes coming in 4-2 after a narrow 27-24 win over ASU that required a field goal in the final minute to clinch it, and the Cardinal limping in as a 1-5 Pac-12 bottom-feeder reeling from a 42-6 loss to Oregon in Week 5 that mirrored the Buffs’ defeat to the Ducks a week prior on September 23.
Colorado is a heavy favorite for the second time this season; the first being what turned out to be a double-overtime thriller over Colorado State that had a three-score spread differential going into it. And it’s for good reason.
Thus far in 2023, Stanford has been the only team to justify the preseason favorite hype for USC in the Pac-12 and also has a loss to FCS Sacramento State — which is a perennial Big Sky powerhouse to be fair — on their record.
Does all of this equate to an easy victory in Boulder for the Buffs?
Stanford vs Colorado Odds, Spread, and Total
Stanford vs Colorado How to Watch
Date: October 13, 2023
Game Time: 8 pm Mountain Time
Venue: Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado
How to Watch: ESPN, which is available on FuboTV.
Stanford Record: 1-5
Colorado Record: 4-2
Stanford vs Colorado Key Players to Watch
Stanford
Joshua Karty: Not often is a kicker worth scouting before a game, but Joshua Karty has a surefire future NFL leg and is a former No. 1 overall PK in the nation. Plus, with Stanford not having any standouts offensively and having split snaps at quarterbacks, Karty is the highest-scoring player for the Cardinal.
If the Buffs somehow struggle offensively and find themselves in a close game, Karty could reverse the kicking karma from Alejandro Mata’s Week 6 heroics in Tempe and be an unsung difference-maker.
David Bailey: With four sacks, EDGE rusher David Bailey is setting a tone for the Cardinal defense that very few of his teammates are following considering Stanford ranks No. 116 in the nation in opponents’ points per game through Week 6.
If anyone is going to take advantage of Colorado’s porous pass protection, it’ll be the former Mater Dei High School star.
Colorado
Shedeur Sanders: You can realistically have Shedeur Sanders as a player to watch every week, but in particular that is the case in Week 7 because of, coincidentally, a watch — specifically the wristwatch Coach Prime’s quarterback son flashed to the ASU fans in Tempe following the narrow October 7 triumph.
If Sanders doesn’t show out against Stanford’s down-on-its-luck defense after such a brash display, social media will be foaming at the mouth to call No. 2 a fraud as it is every week.
Travis Hunter: Another player who would realistically be in this section every week, Travis Hunter hasn’t been able to be watched by Buffs fans at all the past two weeks against USC and Oregon because of a dirty hit from Colorado State’s Henry Blackburn on September 16.
Hunter will likely be back against Stanford, though, so keep an eye on how he’ll be used in his return from a scary injury.
Stanford vs Colorado Prediction and Pick
Colorado may find itself in a closer game than predicted for a good portion of this one, but as a second-half team, particularly at home, a backdoor cover doesn’t seem particularly difficult to predict against one of the Pac-12’s, and the nation’s, worst defenses.