College football player prop: Ervin is deservin’

Even if enjoying the holiday weekend kept your sports viewing to a minimum, you likely know that the biggest story in college football involves the turnaround that NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is orchestrating at Colorado. Through unprecedented use of the transfer portal, the Buffaloes’ first-year coach overhauled a team that went 1-11 a year ago and promptly upset No. 17 TCU as three-touchdown underdogs. But lost in all of the excitement surrounding that epic victory is how vulnerable the Buffaloes looked defensively, and we’re exploiting their biggest weakness for our top prop:

The bet: Over 60½ rushing yards for Nebraska running back Gabe Ervin Jr. (Bally’s)

Recovering from the knee injury and subsequent surgery that ended his freshman campaign, Ervin slowly rounded into form last season. Then he added 10 pounds of muscle and earned back his starting job, rushing for 55 yards on just seven carries in the opener.

That game was lost 13-10 to Minnesota in heartbreaking fashion after a fumble by the man Ervin beat out, Anthony Grant. Cornhuskers coach Matt Rhule specifically cited ball security as a reason for his decision on the starter, and then in a crucial situation, he gave the ball to the player who struggles to protect it. Since Ervin also averaged nearly five yards more per tote, his hold on the position has only gotten stronger.

Rhule has indicated that Ervin needs more touches, and this is the optimal opponent. The Buffs surrendered a whopping 245 rushing yards per game last year, which ranked dead last in the country. They were even worse against TCU, allowing 262 on the ground and an average of more than seven yards per attempt.

At that clip or his personal one, Ervin clears this total before reaching the double-digit carries he’s expected to see.