Joel Klatt gives his take on betting line for TCU vs. Colorado

The Colorado debut of Deion Sanders will be one of the first games of the college football season. Kick-off from Fort Worth is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT, where TCU is a rather heavy favorite. Fresh off a national championship appearance, the Horned Frogs are 20.5-point favorites with oddsmakers expecting a blowout.

FOX’s Joel Klatt will be broadcasting the game with Gus Johnson and Jenny Taft but expects it to be a closer matchup than the line suggests. He does not believe the line represents how both Colorado and TCU are going to look throughout the 2023 season. Instead, Klatt says Vegas is basing everything on last year.

“This line suggests Vegas believes TCU is what they were a year ago and Colorado is what they were a year ago,” Klatt said. “Both of those are false assumptions. That’s why I think that this line is too big. Colorado is going to be much better than people think. TCU, I’m not sure. It’s a wait-and-see.”

Saturday will be the second leg of a home-and-home series between the two. TCU traveled to Boulder last season and pummeled Colorado, 38-13. Thirty-one second-half points from the Horned Frogs were the difference as their magical run to the College Football Playoff got underway.

Times a different than a year ago, though.

Colorado has completely revamped the program, beginning with hiring Sanders. He has attacked the NCAA transfer portal from both angles. Players have left in the masses while Sanders has brought in his own Louis bags. None more notable than two-way star Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

A lot of SEC talent has migrated out West too. Klatt, who is an alumnus of Colorado, believes the Buffaloes will be better than people are expecting — even if Sander brings high expectations along with him.

TCU, on the other hand, is losing some considerable talent. Max Duggan will be the biggest name after his magical season. However, Chandler Morris, who is stepping in as the starter, did win the job heading into 2022. A knee injury against Colorado allowed Duggan to step in and he never looked back.

A total of eight TCU players were drafted in April. Head coach Sonny Dykes dipped into the transfer portal himself, hoping to fill a few gaps. Even so, Klatt is betting on the Horned Frogs being knocked down a peg or two.

Klatt may be attempting to hype up the product for FOX but he does believe Saturday’s game will be closer than three touchdowns. Colorado putting on a good show would be quite the surprise, even if TCU is not as talented as their CFP team.