Brent Brennan and the Arizona Wildcats look to get back on track as they hit the road to face Coach Prime and the Colorado Buffaloes in Week 8.
With the added attention to everything Deion and the Buffs, there's a bounty of props to comb through and I've got three Colorado vs. Arizona player props for tonight, focusing on Shedeur Sanders... and a couple of secondary offensive weapons.
Read on to see which college football picks I’m targeting for this game — and for more analysis on this Big 12 matchup, see our Colorado vs. Arizona predictions.
Colorado vs Arizona props for Week 8
- Sheppard o47.5 receiving yards (-115 at BetMGM)
- Sanders o313.5 passing yards (-115 at BetMGM)
- Conley o27.5 receiving yards (-115 at BetMGM)
Picks made on 10-19.
Read full analysis of each pick.
Colorado vs Arizona college football player props
Prop bet #1: Will Sheppard Over 47.5 receiving yards
The Colorado Buffaloes dealt with attrition in the receiving room in Week 7 as Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. were sidelined in the first half with injuries and did not return.
Coach Prime went on record to say both players should be OK to return in Week 8, but that doesn't mean they'll be 100% — or see their usual full allotment of targets.
That has me looking at Vanderbilt transfer Will Sheppard, who has hit his stride lately in catching nine passes for 182 yards and two scores across the last two weeks. He leads the team in pass snaps played and considering Colorado has the second-highest pass rate (66.9%), he will fill a valuable role in this offense.
This isn’t a difficult matchup, as the Arizona Wildcats rank just 89th in defensive success rate and are dealing with several injuries on the defense (including the secondary), so they're expected to be at less than full strength.
The book on Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders is you can throw him off his game if you consistently crash the pocket and create pressure... but Arizona does not appear equipped to execute that strategy, ranking 120th in front-seven havoc and averaging just 1.6 sacks per game.
Sheppard’s receiving prop is set at 47.5, despite him hitting the Over in four of his six games with the Buffaloes and this being a favorable matchup.
Prop bet #2: Shedeur Sanders Over 313.5 receiving yards
Remember what I said about Shedeur excelling when there isn’t pressure? That should mean a successful day for the entire Buffaloes passing attack, which has me looking at the Over on Sanders as well.
He's a polarizing NFL Draft prospect for a few reasons, one of which is his questionable pocket presence. That concern is mitigated in this matchup and there’s no doubting Sanders’ talent, so I’m betting we see him shine tonight.
Sanders is averaging 336.3 passing yards per game and is thriving in a pass-first system. The Buffaloes have shown some semblance of a ground game (47th in rushing success rate) but not enough to rely on with high frequency, meaning Sanders is locked into plenty of volume each week.
The Wildcats rank 67th in PFF’s coverage grade and don’t have the requisite pass rush to make up for their mediocre secondary. Hunter and Horn may not be fully healthy, but it’s encouraging that both were allegedly given the green light early in the week.
Arizona has had a few questionable defensive performances, allowing 260 passing yards to New Mexico, 280 passing yards to true freshman Isaac Wilson and Utah, and most recently surrendering 251 yards and three scores through the air against BYU.
Prop bet #3: Quali Conley Over 27.5 receiving yards
Running back Quali Conley is one of Arizona’s best skill players, as the San Jose State transfer followed his coach to Tucson and has been the team’s lead back, racking up 609 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns.
He's an interesting handicap, however, because despite being a talented tailback, he doesn’t feature in a very successful ground game: The Wildcats rank just 83rd in EPA per rush and 104th in success rate.
The primary issue is a soft offensive line that ranks 132nd in stuff rate, 131st in power success rate, and 112th in line yards. That has led Dino Babers to keep the ball in quarterback Noah Fifita's hands instead, as Arizona ranks just 119th in rush rate.
So, where does that leave us with Conley? He’s such a good player that I'm interested in his non-rushing props, specifically his receiving yardage total of 27.5.
The RB is a huge plus in the passing attack, catching 22 passes for 151 yards on the year. The Buffaloes just allowed five catches for 65 yards to Kansas State’s backfield, but that isn’t the only time they were burned — UCF’s RJ Harvey caught four passes for 92 yards, while Nebraska’s Rahmir Johnson caught eight passes for 49 yards.
This is a weakness in Colorado’s defense that Conley is perfectly suited to exploit.
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