It is Deion Sanders's first game as the Colorado Head Coach as they face TCU. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Colorado-TCU prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.

Last year it was a 1-11 record for Colorado. They fired their coach, and now enter Coach Prime. They bring in a ton of transfers to this team. Two USF wide receivers join Travis Hunter from Jackson State. Shedeur Sanders will be leading this offense, also coming in from Jackson State. The offensive line brings in a few guys from Sean Lewis' team at Kent State. The defense was awful last year, but they bring in a ton of transfers there too. Derrick McLendon comes in from Florida State and Sav'ell Smalls comes in from Washington. They have a good linebacking core as well. The biggest issue will be depth. If a star transfer goes down, the backups will have to take over, and they are not nearly the same level of players.

TCU went to the playoffs last year, but they lost a lot as well. Chandler Morris takes over as quarterback, but he was the initial starter last year. He hurt his knee against Colorado last year, and he should be solid. While Quentin Johnston is gone, they have a great group of wide receivers as well. The offensive line brings some stars and some solid players back. The defense was not great last year, but they should be just as good as last year. They lose Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, but they have good playmakers in the secondary which could cause an issue for Colorado.

Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Colorado-TCU Odds

Colorado: +20.5 (-110)

TCU: -20.5 (-110)

Over: 63.5 (-110)

Under: 63.5 (-110)

How to Watch Colorado vs. TCU

TV: Fox

Stream: Fox Sports App

Time: noon ET/ 9:00 AM PT

*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Colorado Will Cover The Spread

This all starts with Shedeur Sanders. In his two seasons at Jackson State, he threw for 6,963 yards with 70 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions.  He also ran in nine touchdowns on the ground which will be a huge upgrade. He will also be in a fast-moving offense. Sean Lewis comes in from Kent State and he runs a very quick offense. It was an issue for the Kent State defense last year, but he will push the ball quickly with a no-huddle offense. Sanders will have to prove he can run that type of offense in this game and should be firing downfield a lot.

He has a great group of wide receivers to join him. Jimmy Horn Jr. comes in from USF. He caught 37 balls last year for 551 yards. He is joined by Xavier Williams who had 53 receptions for USF last year. Williams went for 718 yards and six scores. Then, Sanders also has chemistry with the third wide receiver. The two-way star Travis Hunter will also be part of this offense. He has 190 yards receiving and four touchdowns.

They bring in a new group of running backs as well. Kavosiey Smoke comes in from Kentucky. Smoke ran for 277 yards and a touchdown last year for Kentucky, and is a solid running back. He is just 5'9″ but at 215 pounds he has a bruising back. He is joined by Alton McCaskill who has 189 carries in 2021 for Houston. In that time he ran for 961 yards and 16 scores.

The defense was one of the worst in the FBS last year. They gave up 44.5 points per game last year, but they brought in a lot. Pass Rushers Derrick McLendon and Sav'ell Smalls come in to put pressure on the quarterback. They are good pass rushers, but they will struggle with quicker offensive lines. Myles Slusher, Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig, and Shilo Sanders join Travis Hunter in the secondary.

Why TCU Will Cover The Spread

Chandler Morris is now the starting quarterback. He was solid before getting hurt against Colorado. He was 13-20 for 111 yards in the game but did not see the field much with the emergence of Max Duggan. Kendall Briles comes in as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. He runs a high-flying offense that will be airing out the ball plenty. Morris has the arm to get the ball down the field and should be able to hit open wide receivers with ease. He will have to figure out who the wide receivers are though.

The top three pass catchers from last year are all gone. Still, there are weapons. Savion Williams had 392 yards last year with four scores. They also bring back one of the best tight ends in the conference Jared Wiley. TCU added JoJo Earle from Alabama, as well as Jack Bech from LSU in the transfer portal. Both of those guys were highly touted recruits who will be showing that they belong on the field in this game.

The offensive line for TCU remained mostly intact, with the replacements being well-experienced. Trey Sanders is expected to be the primary back for the offense. In his time at Alabama, he ran for over 500 yards and three scores. He can also catch balls out of the backfield. The biggest thing for him is space. When he gets space, he can bust a big run, which he should get in this game.

The defense is dependent on the linebacking core. Johnny Hodges and Jamoi Hodge both are back in this one. They had a combined 169 tackles and 4.5 sacks last year. They will patrol the middle of the field with ease. Josh Newton comes back with his three interceptions and 12 passes defended.

Final Colorado-TCU Prediction & Pick

TCU lost a lot of star power, but this is the first game for Colorado trying to gel together a bunch of new parts. Asking them to go up against a team that played in the national title game last year in their first game is a huge ask. TCU has more talent in all sports as well. They have the better offensive line and the better weapons on offense. They will win this game with ease.

Final Colorado-TCU Prediction & Pick: TCU -20.5 (-110)