Colorado football winning is bad for Las Vegas sportsbooks. So you could say the Buffs are the good guys in college football as CU continues its dream season at 6-2. Bettors are backing Colorado to make the College Football Playoff and win the Big 12 Championship, which is a long shot.
Still, if the Buffs can pull off the unthinkable, Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons explains how that'd be bad for his industry. Salmons isn't overly confident that will happen, though.
“They bet Colorado on everything. The national championship. The Heisman. The Big 12,” Salmons said (h/t The Las Vegas Review-Journal). “They’re Deion believers. If Colorado wins, we lose. Their only path (to the CFP) is to get into the Big 12 championship game and win. Colorado still has a couple tough games. This week, they’re only -3 at Texas Tech. At Kansas will be a tough game."
Travis Hunter is the only Colorado football star with a chance to win the Heisman
Salmons explained that only Travis Hunter, Miami QB Cam Ward, Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel, and Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty have a realistic shot at winning the Heisman. Shedeur Sanders, meanwhile, is probably out of contention.
Salmons called Hunter the best player in the country and predicted No. 12 hoisting the Heisman Trophy in New York City come December.
“That’s, to me, the only four that can win right now,” Salmons said. “For the Boise kid to win, he’s going to have to run for 200 and 300 yards on national TV with a ton of touchdowns, and that just hasn’t happened. I don’t see how he can win. So now you’re down to three. I think the Colorado kid is in the best position.
“It’s a weird year. Everyone in the world will tell you the two best conferences are the SEC and Big Ten, and there’s just no dominant player in those conferences that has stepped up. I think the best football player, by far, is the kid from Colorado, and I think he’s ultimately going to win.”
Hunter winning the Heisman would assuredly make him the No. 1 overall draft pick in the NFL. No front office will want to go down as the one that passed up on the generational two-way talent.