The University of Colorado Boulder’s Football team celebrates a turnover during the game against Nebraska at Folsom Field on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. (Rachel Glazer/CU Independent)
Over the past two weeks the country has examined every moment of the Coach Prime era of University of Colorado Boulder football with scrutiny, polarized opinions and excitement. What started as an interesting narrative is now a national sensation.
In the final moments of Colorado’s 36-14 win over the University of Nebraska Lincoln Saturday, a game that drew 8.73 million viewers, the second highest viewership of any college football game that day, ESPN’s College GameDay made a huge announcement. Not only will Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff return to Boulder for the Buffaloes game against Colorado State University, but, for the first time since 1996, ESPN’s College GameDay will also be in town.
“Well, we expect it. I know it sounds kind of boastful. At the risk of sounding arrogant, we truly expect that and that’s why those kids come [to Colorado],” said Head Coach Deion Sanders when asked about ESPN coming to Boulder. “And the numbers justify. What numbers did we have last week? Over 7 million on Fox.”
While Colorado’s shocking victory in week one against Texas Christian University barely swung their way following a competitive shootout, the Buffaloes left no doubt in week two against Nebraska. After a slow start, Colorado opened up a 29 point lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter off the backs of another stellar performance from quarterback Shedeur Sanders and a breakout game from wide receiver Xavier Weaver. Sanders had 393 passing yards and three touchdowns and Weaver made ten receptions and had 170 yards.
Sanders now sits at +2600 odds to win the Heisman trophy, which is tied for eighth in the country. He was +15000 to win the award at the start of the season.
CSU Head Coach Jay Norvell gave Shedeur Sanders props for his performance so far this year,.
“TCU and Nebraska outplayed CU in a lot of areas of the game: special teams, rushing the football, not giving up minus yards plays in sacks. The one difference in the game is the play of the quarterback, in both of those games,” he said.
CSU enters its game against CU, also known as the Rocky Mountain Showdown, with an 0-1 record after a 50-24 loss to Washington State University two weeks ago. The announcement that Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi will start at quarterback for the Rams above week one starter Clay Millen will be something to monitor on Saturday. Fowler-Nicolosi entered the game against Washington State in the third quarter and led the offense to 21 of its 24 points, all coming in the fourth quarter. Even though he played one half of football, Fowler-Nicolosi still ended the game with a stat-line of 210 passing yards and two touchdowns.
The Rams offense runs the air raid system, which focuses on passing plays rather than running plays, and will be looking to get the ball to their star wide receiver duo of Justus Ross-Simmons and Tory Horton. Ross-Simmons began his sophomore campaign with a five reception and 123 yard game and Tory Horton is coming off a 1,000 yard season in 2022.
“Trust me,” said Deion Sanders when asked about the importance of the Colorado versus Colorado State rivalry. “This isn’t my first rodeo when it comes to [rivalries]. I think the Falcons and the Saints were quite a showdown as well as the Cowboys-49ers… it’s always some type of adversity that you have with someone with close proximity to you.”
The key to a Buffs win on Saturday will be consistency. Not much needs to change. Colorado State finished last season 3-9 and despite an overhauled roster full of transfer additions, the Rams defense allowed 450 passing yards in their first game of 2023. Colorado, one of the most prolific passing teams in the country, need only stick to the game plan from weeks one and two to avoid the upset.
While the rivalry between Colorado and Colorado State remains competitive, the Buffaloes comfortably hold the all-time advantage of 67-22. Saturday night’s game should continue the trend, so expect a blowout win as the Buffaloes advance to 3-0 in the Prime era. The game will be at Folsom Field at 8 p.m. MST on Saturday, Sept. 16, and will air live on ESPN.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Charlie Hewitt charlie.hewitt@colorado.edu
