The Colorado Buffaloes and TCU Horned Frogs do battle Friday night in week 1 college football action from Folsom Field. TCU managed to go 5-7 last year, finishing near the bottom of the Big 12 standings. As for Colorado, they posted a disappointing season in 2021 as well, finishing just 4-8 overall.

TCU couldn’t equal their win total from 2020 (six) last season, skidding to a 5-7 overall record and a 3-6 mark in Big 12 play. That result left the Horned Frogs two spots out of the basement in the conference standings, ahead of only Texas Tech and Kansas.

The Frogs posted wins in their first two games last year, then hit a rough 1-5 stretch. TCU posted a huge win over Baylor on November 6 which was definitely the bright spot. After a loss to Oklahoma State and a win over Kansas, TCU finished off the season with a loss to Iowa State.

Over on the Buffaloes’ side, they had a similarly disappointing season in 2021 after going 4-2 in 2020. Colorado posted a 4-8 run last year, going 3-6 in the Pac-12. The Buffaloes finished ahead of only Arizona in the South Division standings.

Colorado beat Northern Colorado in their first game of the season, but then won just one game in their next seven outings. The good news is that the Buffaloes finished off on a 2-2 run, beating Oregon State and Washington while otherwise falling to UCLA and Utah.

The Frogs are 1-4 ATS in their last five Friday games and 1-6 ATS in their last seven overall. TCU is 0-4 ATS in their last four road games. 

Meanwhile, the Buffaloes are 4-1 ATS in their last five overall and 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10 versus the Big 12. The under is 5-2 in Colorado’s last seven at home. 

PICK: I’m going to take a stab on TCU, but probably staying away. There are plenty of question marks surrounding both teams here, and a bowl game appearance would be a huge victory for both as well. TCU in particular gets a new head coach in Sonny Dykes. He should be able to get the parts working on offense, but there are some major question marks on the other side of the ball. Still, with Colorado losing most of their big contributors from last season—and struggling on offense—the state is set for a TCU win. It may not be by a huge number, though.