Over/Under: Predictions on the 2017 Colorado Football Team

CUSportsNation.com staffers Scott Hood, Jack Stern, and Mike Singer give their over/unders on a few totals for the 2017 Oregon State football team. Check it out below!

PROMO -- Get 100 days FREE to CUSportsNation.com!

Hood: Over.

I’m thinking eight or nine wins for the Buffs. Colorado State,Texas State, Northern Colorado, Arizona, Oregon State, California and Arizona State are all ‘should wins.’ That’s seven. Road games at UCLA, Washington State and Utah are all winnable, but won’t come easy. The Buffs should capture one of those. The difference between a very good season and a great season will be how the Buffs fare against Washington and USC, the two toughest opponents on their 2017 slate. Good news? Both of those games are in Boulder. Overall, if the Buffs take care of business, they should go to a very good bowl game. The key is how the Buffs handle transitioning from the hunter to the hunted. Unlike previous years, they have a target on their chest.

Stern: Over.

The Pac-12 as a conference has improved greatly from a year ago, and I do see the Buffs ultimately regressing and losing a game or two more than last year. But there offensive attack as a whole, put together with their solid secondary, is too talented for them to lose more than four games - especially considering their schedule.

Singer: Over.

I have Colorado winning eight games in the regular season, so they have a chance to get to nine wins. This team won't be as good as the 2016 magical team, but message to the Pac-12: do not sleep on the Colorado Buffaloes as a Pac-12 South contender. I think that they could definitely finish second in the south.

Hood: Over.

That’s an average of less than two TD passes per game over the course of a 12-game regular season schedule. Heck, Montez could have eight or nine TD passes by the end of Week 3 when the Buffs host Northern Colorado. Montez has thrown 9 TD passes in 119 career pass attempts. If he maintains that ratio - and stays healthy - he will easily surpass 22 TD passes. Another factor is the quality and depth of the Colorado receiving corps. Montez has plenty of talented receivers to throw to this season, and he should take advantage of that quality and quantity.

Stern: Under.

Even with Colorado's talented receiving core, I can't see Montez passing Liufau's combined 20 touchdown total over the last two seasons - especially considering he's a first year starter who'll have some inevitable growing pains. Likewise, Colorado has absolutely no reason to throw the ball too much on the red zone, or at all, as they can rely on Lindsay and the talented offensive line to pound the ball.

Singer: Over.

Easy choice here for me. Montez is a gifted passer that will more than get the job done for the Buffaloes. Oh, it doesn't help that he has an experienced line and one of the top receiver corps in the nation. I think he gets to 25 passing touchdowns.

Hood: Under.

I believe Lindsay will get to 1,000 yards rushing this season, but achieving 1,200 yards will be difficult because the Buffs should throw the ball a good bit. Lindsay averaged 94 yards rushing in 10 games last season, so he has proven he can average close to 100 yards per game. For any running back, the ‘X’ factor is health, especially in a Power 5 conference. Watch carefully how Lindsay runs against Washington in Week 4. If he has a big game against the Huskies, he could be off to the races. If Lindsay can avoid injuries and is on the field for 60 minutes for all 12 regular season games, he could get to 1,200 yards.

Stern: Over.

It's no secret that Lindsay is in store for a career year, and with a offensive line that's he gelled with the last three years blocking in front of him, I see no reason why Lindsay can't have his best season yet. The only way I see this not happening is if the coach's decide to even out the workload a little bit more. Lindsay ran the ball 230 times last season, and they might want to cut this number down to reduce the constant wear-and-tear.

Singer: Under.

The dude is an absolute star, but I do think that Colorado will share carries a bit more this season to keep Lindsay fresh. It really depends on how much Colorado throws the ball, and we'll see who emerges as the true backup to Lindsay. Lindsay eclipsed 1,200 yards last season with 1,252, but I'm with Scott - I think he breaks 1,000 but not 1,200.

------

Colorado recruits predict the Rocky Mountain Showdown

MacIntyre: Buffs defense will be challenged by CSU's high tempo offense

PROMO -- Get 100 days FREE to CUSportsNation.com!

------

Hood: Over.

Arguably Colorado’s best deep threat, Fields had nine TD catches in 2016 among his 56 receptions, so he’s proven he can get to the eight TD reception level. Only five Pac-12 receivers had more touchdown catches than Fields last season. Sure, Fields will draw a lot of attention from opposing defenses this season, but he will also run by a lot of defensive backs as well.

Stern: Under.

With a talented and extremely deep receiving core, we can expect to see the ball spread around evenly. With big bodied Juwann Winfree and senior Bryce Bobo returning as well, I see them getting more of the targets in the red zone. This isn't at all a knock to Fields talent, as he has shown his ability to get open by the goal line, but has more to do with the luxury that the coaching staff has to mix-and-match on a situational basis.

Singer: Even.

He caught nine last year, and I think him finishing at eight sounds about right. With all of the weapons on the offensive side of the ball, it can be easy to forget about Fields, but the dude is a rockstar.

Hood: Under.

Ross finished sixth in the Pac-12 last season with an average close to 5 receptions per game. He finished with 69 catches, fifth highest in the conference. So, he should approach the 60 catch level again. However, Colorado has so many options at receiver that Ross is simply one piece to a gigantic puzzle. He’ll have a good year, but might not reach 60 receptions..

Stern: Under.

Although I believe Ross will have less than 63 receptions, I don't think it'll be by much. I definitely see him playing a huge role in the passing attack again this season, but as discussed above, I also expect the ball to be more evenly distributed across the field. It wouldn't surprise me if Ross finished up the year with 55-60 receptions, and fell just short of 63 catches.

Singer: Under.

I have to agree with my colleagues on this one. Last year's group of receivers returns and adds a better Kabion Ento as well as Juwann Winfree. I think that will take away from Ross' receptions. It's not a knock at him at all. It's really just impressive all of the talent that CU has at WR - an embarrassment of riches.

Hood: Over.

Gamboa had 79 tackles in 14 games last season. So, the question is whether Gamboa will be able to take his game to the next level. Easy answer: Yes. He is the heart and soul of the Buffs defense and will right in the middle of things and around the ball a lot. Granted, the pac-12 features a lot of wide-open offenses, so some of his plays will come when he drops into pass coverage. But Gamboa has been around this program for a while. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of the defensive scheme. He won’t make many mistakes.

Stern: Under.

There's no doubt in my mind that Gamboa will anchor the defense unit this year, but with several talented signal callers on the Buffs schedule this season, I see more guys in the backend of the secondary making tackles than just Gamboa playing a mop up role. That being said, I expect him to be in on every play he has a chance to be in on, and be the versatile tackler who can make plays on all three levels that he was a year ago.

Singer: Over.

Olugbode led the team last year with 130 total tackles, and I think that Gamboa will fill in nicely. I'll take the over here. Gamboa was second on the team in tackles last season, and if he stays healthy, he'll be the top guy.

Hood: Over.

Even though most of the attention last season was on the three guys that have moved on to the NFL, Oliver played a lot of snaps in 2016, many in the nickel role. MacIntyre has praised Oliver as one of the best cornerbacks in the country coming into the 2017 season. Frankly, if Oliver is as good as MacIntyre and others believe (Pro Football Focus ranked him No. 8 on its list of top 10 players in the Pac-12 returning in 2017), three interceptions is the floor not the ceiling.

Stern: Over.

Call me crazy, but I really feel the sky is the limit for Oliver, and that he is the most poised for a breakout year. He is big, physical, athletic, has great ballskills, and has that fiery, Jalen Ramsey-esque level of competitiveness. Technique wise, I'd compare him to former Pac-12 counterpart Sidney Jones of Washington from last year. He has a knack for getting himself around the ball, and I see no reason he doesn't get an opportunity to make plays since he'll be consistently matched up against the opposition's number one wide receiver. By midseason, opposing quarterbacks will fear going after him, but I still think he gets the chance to pick off more than three passes.

Singer: Over.

I'll be the first to say that Jack is not crazy, because Oliver is going to have a huge year. If I had to bet, I think Oliver has such a big season that he leaves for the NFL, so I'd imagine he'd need to have more than three interceptions for that to happen.

Hood: Under.

The tight ends combined for 3 receptions in 2016, and considering Colorado’s array of talent at wide receiver, don’t look for that number to increase significantly this season. But don’t confuse a lack of receptions with a lack of production or a lack of a role. The tight ends will simply do other things such as blocking in the run game or running routes to clear out one side of the field for the receivers.

Stern: Under.

Head Coach Mike MacIntyre hasn't been shy about stressing the importance of a space creating, blocking tight end, (which is part of the reason he converted Eddy Lopez to the offensive side of the ball) and with a running back like Phillip Lindsay why shouldn't he? With such a strong emphasis on blocking, and a deep receiving core, I'm lead to believe that the tight ends aren't really going to factor into the passing attack at all aside from setting screens, blocking, etc.

Singer: Over.

It can't be that hard for these guys to catch more than ten balls, right? Maybe Jared Poplawski is the answer?