Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes College Football Bowl Game Prediction

McMurphy has predicted Sanders and Colorado to face the Florida State Seminoles in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 21. The Sun Bowl is played in El Paso, Texas, and typically features an ACC team and a Pac-12 team.

Despite Colorado leaving the Pac-12 in 2024, the bowl tie-ins still apply to schools that left the conference, hence explaining why the Buffaloes played a Big 12 opponent in BYU in last year's Alamo Bowl. This is the final year that the bowl contracts with old Pac-12 schools like Colorado will be honored, making Sanders and the Buffaloes eligible for the Sun Bowl.

Sanders Against Alma Mater

Should the Buffaloes play against Florida State in a bowl game, it would likely be one of the more anticipated matchups outside of the College Football Playoff. Sanders played at Florida State from 1985-1988, and he was named an All-American in his junior and senior seasons.

Sanders has not squared off against his alma mater as a college head coach.

In his college career, Sanders totaled 14 interceptions and returned three for touchdowns. Sanders also returned three punts for touchdowns, totaling 1,429 return yards on punts in four seasons.

According to "Coach Prime," there was almost a chance that he returned to coach in Tallahassee.

Back in 2022, Sanders revealed on the Dan Lebatard Show that he interviewed with head coaching positions at Florida State, Arkansas, and TCU prior to being at Jackson State. The Seminoles job was open in December of 2019 after Florida State fired Willie Taggart during the season, and they ultimately landed on current Seminoles coach Mike Norvell.

"Coach Prime" was hired by Jackson State in 2020, a few months after Florida State hired Norvell.

Colorado, Florida State Projections

Both the Buffaloes and the Seminoles are unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll. The two teams also have their respective win totals set at 6.5 wins by DraftKings Sportsbook. However, the odds for Florida State to reach seven wins are -130 while Colorado's odds are +110.

Can either team make a run at the College Football Playoff? The ACC is competitve with teams like No. 4 Clemson and No. 10 Miami entering the year with high expectations. No. 16 SMU is the third team from the ACC currently ranked while Florida State sits outside of the top 25 to start the season.

In the Big 12, there is no clear betting favorite with three teams favored to win the conference with +600 odds on FanDuel Sportsbook: Arizona State, Texas Tech, Utah. Can Sanders and the Buffaloes make noise in a competitive Big 12?

• Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 
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