Best College Football Prop Bets for Cincinnati vs. Colorado in Week 9 (Brendan Sorsby Prediction)

Reed Wallach | 2 Hours Ago

Oct 12, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats quarterback Brendan Sorsby (2) looks to pass during the first quarter against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images / Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Cincinnati will try to stop the Colorado hype train in Boulder on Saturday night.

With a high scoring affair on deck, can Brendan Sorsby show out with star wide receiver Xzavier Henderson? Further, with Colorado set to have Travis Hunter at full strength, how will that impact Will Sheppard's usage to generate a prop bet in this Big 12 showdown?

Here's the full player prop preview for Cincinnati vs. Colorado.

Best College Football Prop Bets for Cincinnati vs. Colorado in Week 9

• Brendan Sorsby OVER 248.5 Passing Yards
• Xzavier Henderson OVER 65.5 Receiving Yards
• Will Sheppard UNDER 57.5 Receiving Yards

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Brendan Sorsby OVER 248.5 Passing Yards

This may be a high-end outcome for Sorsby, who has gone over this number in only three of seven games on the year, but some context is necessary. 

The Indiana transfer went over in both losses, which is expected by oddsmakers with the Bearcats being six-and-a-half point underdogs at Colorado on Saturday. 

In an expected neutral or more likely negative game script, Sorsby has been forced to pass more often. The Colorado secondary grades out as fine, but isn’t without flaws, as the team has allowed a national average passing yard total per game. 

The strength of the Buffaloes defense is against the run, and is incredibly reliant on getting in the backfield, top 20 in both sacks and tackles for loss, but with a mobile Sorsby able to extend plays and push the ball down the field, he can get over this pedestrian mark. 

Xzavier Henderson OVER 65.5 Receiving Yards

In a similar way of playing on Sorsby, I’ll back this alternative way of investing in the Cincinnati passing game. 

Henderson is the top target in the Bearcats offense, garnering double digit targets in five of seven games this season. As well, he has cleared this number in five of seven matchups, including going over 100 in three contests. 

The Colorado secondary has been formidable, but with the expectation that the Bearcats opt to go to the air, and that Henderson can get a handful of targets, I’m going to bank on an above average receiving yard mark. 

Will Sheppard UNDER 57.5 Receiving Yards

With Travis Hunter set to play his full complement of snaps, he hasn’t played the last two games in the second half due to a shoulder injury, I’ll fade Sheppard, who is a bit inflated after those two games. 

Sheppard has gone over in two of the past three games, but only has more than five targets once. Overall, he has gone over five targets twice on the year and cleared this total in four of seven games. 

He has more of a boom-or-bust profile with more than half of his targets coming more than 10 yards down field. Cincinnati is a fine defense at limiting explosive passes, 39th in the country, so with a healthy Hunter, this can be a subdued effort from the Colorado pass catcher. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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