Arizona opens as one-score underdog for road contest at Colorado

Colorado is winless against FBS opponents this year and has lost its last three games by an average of 25 points. Despite that, oddsmakers like the Buffaloes to beat Arizona when the two struggling Pac-12 South programs square off in Boulder on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. MST.

Arizona (0-5, 0-2 in Pac-12) has opened as a 6-point underdog with Colorado, according to Circa Sports. It’s the smallest road underdog they’ve been since Oct. 26, 2019, when the Wildcats were 3-point underdogs at Stanford and lost 41-31.

The last time Arizona was a road underdog and won? That came against the Buffaloes on Oct. 5, 2019, when UA entered as a two and a half-point underdog and won 35-30.

That game was also the last time Arizona has won, period.

Since then, the Wildcats have lost 17 in a row, now the longest active skid in the country.

Arizona may have entered the Colorado game as a favorite if not for the injury to quarterback Jordan McCloud Saturday night against UCLA. After the game, Arizona coach Jedd Fisch indicated McCloud’s injury is likely to keep him out long-term.

The Wildcats have won four games in a row in Boulder, including 2017 when they were a seven-point underdog and came away with a 45-42 victory in Khalil Tate’s breakout game.

Tate won’t be walking out that door this time, of course.

Fisch intends to start Gunner Cruz at quarterback, which may be reason for some to bet the under—the O/U is 43.5 points.