The excitement of Deion Sanders taking over at Colorado is making the Buffaloes an unlikely favorite of bettors for this college football season. Colorado has a win total of 3 1/2 at FanDuel Sportsbook and other books for its final Pac-12 Conference season. The Buffaloes are a big hit with casual bettors. The professional gamblers are the reason why that number isn’t higher. They’re the ones who carry the most influence when determining lines. USC also is attracting notable attention. 

The Supreme Court's 2018 ruling in Murphy vs. NCAA ushered in a new era of legalized sports betting in the U.S., allowing states to establish their own sports wagering laws and operations. The high court overturned the federal Professional Amateur Sports Protection Act that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states. With it came a new approach to how the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL associate with the industry. Each league prohibits its employees and players from betting on their own games. But there are variations in how they operate in this new world.