Colorado national championship 2023 odds: How Deion Sanders has created surge in bets for Buffaloes to win it all

Primetime is in full effect in Boulder, Colo., where — despite having not played a game under new coach Deion Sanders — the Buffaloes have seen a surge in bets to win the 2023 college football national championship.

According to Yahoo Sports — relaying recent odds from BetMGM — Colorado has the sixth-most wagers to win the 2024 College Football Playoff national championship game, roughly 8.1 percent. That ranks behind only Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and LSU. Yahoo Sports also noted the Buffaloes have claimed 6.6 percent of all wagers on BetMGM's futures markets.

If Colorado was to win the national championship a year after going 1-11, it would be among the biggest upsets in history. But the Buffaloes have quite a bit of history going against them.

To date, only three coaches have ever won the national championship in their first year coaching a team: Michigan's Bennie Oosterbaan in 1948 and Miami's Dennis Erickson and Larry Coker in 1989 and 2001, respectively. Moreover, the Pac-12 hasn't won the national championship since USC's title in 2004, and hasn't even made the CFP since Washington in 2016.

MORE: Former players accuse Deion Sanders of forcing transfers

But Sanders has clearly created renewed interest and — warranted or not — confidence in the Buffaloes program. His controversial team-building strategy has seen 70-plus players enter the NCAA transfer portal, where he has picked up the nation's top-rated transfer class. His star power and track record of success at Jackson State also led to record ticket sales and a sold-out spring game.

But will that lead to a national championship? Here's all you need to know about the Buffaloes' odds in 2023:

Colorado Buffaloes 2023 championship odds

Colorado is the biggest liability among sportsbooks ahead of the 2023 season. Why? Because the Buffaloes have 250-1 odds — +25000 — to win the national championship. Per BetMGM:

The Coach Prime Effect ⭐️

Colorado (+25000) is the biggest liability to win the CFB National Championship #GoBuffs pic.twitter.com/Yk6GSxRnGV

— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) May 8, 2023

For those interested, that's tied for 38th nationally alongside the following programs:

• Colorado
• Tulane
• Purdue
• N.C. State
• Missouri
• Michigan State
• Pitt
• Maryland

MORE: Sanders 'ashamed' NFL only took one HBCU player in 2023 draft

Colorado football record 2022

The Buffaloes haven't won a national championship since 1990, when Bill McCartney's team won the AP vote in a split title with Georgia Tech. But that's ancient history as far as Deion Sanders is concerned: Colorado is coming off a 1-11 record in 2022.

Moreover, the Buffs — excepting the COVID-19-affected season in 2020 — haven't had a winning record since 2016, when they went 10-4. Prior to that, their last winning season was in 2005, when the Buffaloes went 7-6.

Colorado football schedule 2023

If the Buffaloes want to win the 2023 national title, they'll have to traverse the following regular-season schedule — note to mention the Pac-12 championship, CFP semifinal and, lastly, national championship game: