The 2023 college football season is officially in the rearview, with Michigan capturing its first national title in 27 years while a slew of other programs are hard at work building championship caliber rosters.
Among the teams in the latter camp is Colorado, which went from being the toast of CO sports betting in the sport’s opening month to an afterthought after losing six straight to close out the regular season with a disappointing 4-8 record.
Now that the offseason is upon us, it’s worth wondering whether second-year CU coach Deion Sanders can build upon the Buffs’ early success to get the program back into a bowl game in a 12-game season for the first time since the 2016 Alamo Bowl.
We are three years into the transfer portal, and some teams have utilized it to a very successful margin over the time period. BetColorado.com used On3.com’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings from 2022 to 2024 to find the best portal programs. The 2024 rankings are as of Jan. 10.
Most Successful Transfer Portal Programs
Colorado sports betting apps list Georgia as the national championship favorite at +375. Ohio State is second at +750, and Alabama is third at +800 despite the Wednesday retirement of coach Nick Saban.
CU Takes Advantage of Portal
The Buffs’ posted the third-best combined On3 Index Score between 2022 and 2024, at 149, ranking behind national leaders Louisville (171) and Ole Miss (166) and ahead of No. 4 USC (108).
As of Wednesday, CU has the No. 3-ranked transfer class in the nation, per 247 Sports, behind the Rebels and Texas A&M, with Prime bringing in 19 players through the portal — including a host of talent in the trenches.
With Sanders’ son Shedeur returning to Boulder in 2024 after throwing for 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns, and CU likely getting leading receiver Xavier Weaver (908 yards and four touchdowns on 68 catches) and two-way stud Travis Hunter (721 receiving yards and five scores to go with three interceptions) back, there’s good reason to expect another surge in production in the new year.
With CU returning to the Big 12 this fall, the road is open to make some moves on the field. Oddsmakers from FanDuel Sportsbook Colorado, however, list Sanders’ bunch at +30000 to win the CFP championship with a win total over/under of 4.5.
For now, Sanders is putting the finishing touches on the roster with an eye towards the season opener at Folsom Field against North Dakota State on Aug. 31.
