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Top 3 College Football Picks & Predictions: Colorado vs. #23 UCLA (Week 9)

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Prime Numbers takes a weekly look at the best bets in the upcoming Colorado Buffalos game. Coach Prime watched the worst collapse of his coaching career, dropping a game his Buffs lead 29-0. My picks went 1-2 last game: Missed the 1H o30.5 (29) thanks to multiple first-half missed field goals and then ultimately lost when Prime lost as well. After a week off for Coach Prime and me to both lick our wounds, kickoff for this one is slated for 7:30 pm EST on Saturday night in Pasadena, CA. Without further ado, here are this week’s Prime Numbers!

Last Week: 1-2-0
2023 Season: 10-10-0

PRIME NUMBERS: Week 9 – Colorado Buffaloes (4-3, 1-3) at #23 UCLA Bruins (5-2, 3-1)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

1 – UCLA Moneyline (-675)

Coach Prime and his Buffs are teetering on the brink and don't have two winnable games left to get bowl-eligible. UCLA has too much pressure up front for Colorado's Swiss cheese offensive line. The last time the Buffs faced a defensive front this daunting they were crushed by Oregon (42-6) the day the Era of Good Feelings came to a screeching halt in Eugene. UCLA rolls in this one but it's hard to give anyone 17 points. Chip Kelly went back to junior quarterback Ethan Garbers, who began the season as the starter, before giving way to true freshman Dante Moore. The 18-year-old signal caller, the first five-star recruit Chip Kelly has brought in during his six years at UCLA, was benched for Garbers prior to their last game against Stanford. Garbers appears to have given the Bruins stability at the quarterback position once again and they should dispatch Colorado as easily as they did Stanford (42-7).

2 – Under 62.5 Total Points (-110)

Just one of UCLA's seven games this season has gone over this total and that one game only went over on a garbage time NC Central touchdown with 6:08 remaining. Colorado has traded over/under results all season and is set for an under this week. As mentioned before, the front 7 of UCLA will be too much for Colorado and I don’t think Shedeur Sanders has enough of his head left in college football to put up enough of a fight to get this game over the 62.5 point mark. The USC Over doesn't hold as much water anymore as Caleb Williams & Co. have been unmasked as fake contenders ever since that 48-41 barnburner. The Oregon game seems like the biggest comp here opposition-wise and I look for this final score to look closer to that one. (42-6)

3 – Carson Steele 80+ Rush Yards (-235)

Steele has rushed for 75+ in six of seven games this season. This number is only 5 yards higher and  Steele has seen highly increased usage in recent weeks. Steele averages 86.5 rushing yards per game for the season. Additionally, over the last three games, he has averaged 109 rushing yards. This increased game average has directly corresponded with his increase in carries. Over the last three games, Steele has averaged 24 carries after only seeing an average of 10.25 through the first four games. Colorado is ranked 90th in the country allowing 157.4 rushing yards per game and Steele should easily hit this number like he has all year.

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:


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Luke Monaldo is a featured writer at BettingPros. Follow him on Twitter @MoKnowsSports. For more from Luke, check out his archive.

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