Football season is right around the corner, and Deion Sanders’ Colorado Buffaloes will have its hands full when the North Dakota State Bison come to Boulder on Thursday.
This will be a pivotal year for the Buffs, now in the second year of the Prime era, as they look to at least reach a bowl game for the first time since 2020.
Last season ended with the Buffs going 1-8 in the final year of the traditional Pac-12 conference, and there were glaring holes everywhere on the roster. Coach Prime addressed many of those needs through the transfer portal, and the spotlight is on him and the Buffs as they continue to be at the forefront of national headlines surrounding college football.
Colorado faced six ranked teams last season, and this season they are slated to square off against five ranked teams (and the No. 2 ranked FCS team in NDSU) on top of two rivalry games on the road. The Big 12 welcomed the Buffs back with open arms, but it will be challenging to succeed within the conference as it did in the early 2000s, when CU reached the conference title game four times in five years.
So, what does 2024 look like for Colorado? To make a bowl game, it has to win at least six games. To make the conference championship, there’s not a set number of games it has to win, but if it loses more than one conference game, its chances of making it plummet.
Each week will feature a small outlook in this article, with a more in-depth look at each specific game at the beginning of each game week.
Vs. No. 2 (FCS) North Dakota State: Thursday, Aug. 29
No team in a major conference wants to start its season against a team like North Dakota State. This powerhouse of a program has won nine national championships since 2010, with its most recent victory coming in 2021.
The Bison are returning its quarterback from last season, senior Cam Miller (#7), but only one of its top-four receivers will be back in the green and gold this season, senior Raja Nelson (#3). The Bison had the third most rushing yards in all of Division I football last year, and are returning three of its top four rushers from a year ago, one being Miller, and the others being QB Cole Payton and running back Barika Kpeenu.
Colorado was in the bottom 20% in the FBS last year in terms of rushing defense, and one of the big storylines of the offseason was how Prime upgraded the line on both sides of the ball so the Buffs could hang with the big boys up front. They are going to have to be disciplined when filling the run, and they have to be in shape. NDSU had five players with at least 79 carries last year and expects to spread the wealth again this season with new faces.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bison return all of its top four tacklers from a season ago, with three of those players also being the team leaders in interceptions last year. Those three are senior Cole Wisniewski (#31), junior Logan Kopp (#43), and senior Sam Jung (#35), who will make their presence felt around the line of scrimmage.
However, to Colorado’s advantage on Thursday, Wisniewski will not be suiting up as he recently underwent foot surgery. Wisniewski is an All-American safety, and many think that he will get drafted to the NFL in 2025 despite coming from an FCS school. His presence on the field makes the Bison a tough team to score on, and even though no one wants injuries in this sport, it’s not a question that Colorado let out a sigh of relief when the news came out.
On the defensive line, senior Dylan Hendricks (#95) is a name to watch, as the second-leading pass rusher from 2023 will be a challenge for the Buffs to contain. Pass protection was Colorado’s Achilles’ heel a year ago, and even though they added a plethora of new offensive linemen through the portal, Hendricks and the Bison will be an early indicator of whether or not the offseason resulted in the promised improvement.
The majority of returning defensive production for North Dakota State comes from its front seven. In the secondary, it returns its two starting corners and one of its safeties, but after those three, there will be many new faces on the back end. If Colorado can attack early and often to create mismatches deep, that could be the key to success for the Buffs.
Offensively, this Bison team wants to run the ball. They are big, they are physical and they aren’t afraid of Colorado. NDSU had three games in which it ran for more than 300 yards last season, and its season-low was only 148 yards. Its ability to run the ball with great efficiency puts a lot of pressure on the opposing team’s linebackers to not overcommit to the run. If that happens to CU’s linebackers, NDSU will be able to utilize play-action concepts such as this to exploit them.
The creativity behind a powerful running offense is why the Bison have been an FCS powerhouse for so long. If CU comes out flat, expect this game to be a dogfight in the trenches. Colorado’s revamped front seven on defense, featuring transfer senior B.J. Green, graduate student Dayon Hayes and more, will be the X-factor on Thursday night, and the key for this program to take the next step in the Prime era.
At Nebraska: Saturday, Sept. 7
Everyone knows the bad blood between Colorado and Nebraska dating back to 1898. Seeing Memorial Stadium and Folsom Field split with red and gold takes viewers back to the epic battles between the two sides in the late 20th century, and Sept. 7 will be no different.
The Buffs got the best of Nebraska a year ago, blowing them out in the second half en route to a 36-14 victory in Coach Prime’s first home game as Colorado’s head coach. One of the keys to CU’s victory was the defense’s ability to force turnovers, as they had three fumble recoveries and one interception.
The biggest difference this year is that Matt Rhule’s Huskers have a quarterback. Dylan Raiolo (#15) is a five-star, true freshman quarterback who has a lot of buzz surrounding him and can take over a game on his own with throws like this.
Raiola will also have two new targets to throw to on the outside, as Jahmal Banks (#80) and Isaiah Neyor (#19) are two senior transfers who have a healthy amount of experience coming from Wake Forest and Texas, respectfully.
The defense for the Huskers will feature the same 11 faces that the Buffaloes saw a year ago, a rarity in college football. Despite the poor showing against Colorado early, the Husker defense allowed 24 or fewer points in seven of the final eight games last season.
At Colorado State: Saturday, Sept. 14
As everyone saw last year, the Rams are no pushover, especially when it comes to the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Especially having to play on the road this year, expect Colorado to be in yet another dogfight for the third straight week. This CSU team is mostly the same as it was a year ago, with quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi (#16) and receiver Tory Horton (#14) both returning to lead the offense.
The one difference this year is that Colorado won’t have to worry about tight end Dallin Holker, who torched the Buffs for 109 yards and two touchdowns last year. Holker’s replacement will still be someone that CU has to worry about in Jaxxon Warren (#0). Warren is a JUCO transfer who is still very raw as a route runner but is a tough cover. Standing at 6-foot-7, 245 pounds, Warren’s build will be difficult for the Buffs defense, or any defense, to handle.
The Rams also lost receiver Louis Brown IV from last season, who tallied 10 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown in last year’s Rocky Mountain Showdown. With Colorado being able to shift most of its focus to Horton defensively this year, Colorado State will need help from other players, one possibility being Donovan Ollie (#6), a graduate transfer from Cincinnati who has put up solid numbers in years where he’s been healthy.
This game was an aerial shootout last year, and it should be more of the same this season. Fowler-Nicolosi threw for 367 yards, while Shedeur Sanders tallied 348 yards through the air. This is a must-win game for CU, but it won’t be easy.
Vs. Baylor: Saturday, Sept. 21
The Bears of Baylor will the the first game for the Buffs in the Big 12 in over a decade, and once again is a must-win if Colorado is serious about making a bowl game. The Bears return its three leading rushers from 2023, and its top three wide receivers, and are adding an explosive dual-threat quarterback.
Dequan Finn (#7) is a grad transfer from Toledo who has thrown for over 7,000 yards in his career and racked up 1,836 yards on the ground during his career. He can be a bit careless with the ball, throwing 23 interceptions in the past two years, but his Lamar Jackson-like ability to extend plays creates headaches for every single defense, from UMASS to Ohio State.
Other than Finn, this Baylor team is returning the majority of its squad on both sides of the ball, a squad that won a mere three games a season ago. Of its nine losses, only three were within one score. Especially with this game being at home, Colorado needs to win this one if they want to avoid the 2024 season looking like 2023.
At UCF: Saturday, Sept. 28
Here’s a fun one for Colorado, and a brand-new foe! The Buffaloes have never faced off against the Knights in football, and have to travel down to Orlando and the “Bounce House” to take on UCF in a humid, and loud environment.
The Knights made a bowl game last year, finishing its first year in the Big 12 with a 6-7 record, but suffered a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season. The big difference between last year’s and this year’s team is that KJ Jefferson (#1) will be under center for UCF. The Auburn transfer spent the past three years as the starting quarterback and is another dual-threat quarterback that will be a headache for Colorado’s defense. He will – barring injury or a wild change of events – reach the 8,000/2,000 yard threshold this season, a club that some of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football history are a part of.
UCF head coach Gus Malzahn is no stranger to coaching elite dual-threat quarterbacks. As the head coach of the Auburn Tigers, he coached both Cam Newton and Nick Marshall, two prolific QBs who attacked defenses both through the air and on the ground. Is KJ Jefferson as good as Cam Newton? No. Can KJ Jefferson be a threat when put in the right system? Absolutely. And Colorado is going to have to take what they learned from defending Dequan Finn the week before and use it to stop Jefferson.
On top of Jefferson, UCF has two running backs who rushed for 1,400 yards each (!!) last season. RJ Harvey (#7) is returning to the Knights this year after rushing for 16 touchdowns in 2023, and Peny Boone (#13) is a transfer from Toledo who tallied 15 touchdowns. This offense ranked fourth in the nation last year in terms of rushing offense, and it won’t be a surprise if they rank higher at the end of 2024.
Vs. No. 18 Kansas State: Saturday, Oct. 12
Here’s where the real fun starts for Colorado. Five of the final seven games of the season are against very talented ranked teams, and Kansas State is arguably the best of the five. This team was 9-4 in 2023, with all four losses coming in one-score games.
Avery Johnson (#2) will be the name to watch for the Wildcats. He is a bright, young quarterback who is very talented and started the team’s bowl game last season. He will make mistakes as he continues to learn how to command an offense in his first full year as the starter, but if Colorado gets too aggressive in defending him, he will make them pay. Here’s a perfectly placed back-shoulder fade from Johnson to win the Pop-Tarts Bowl in 2023
The Buffs will have to deal with a familiar face as well when Kansas State comes to town. Dylan Edwards, the star of last year’s victory over TCU, is lined up to be the Wildcats’ second-string running back to start the year. It’s no secret that he is the fastest player on the field when he plays, and the Buffs need to be ready for him and his predecessor, DJ Giddins (#31).
Giddins is a powerful back who rushed for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023. He is a perfect pair with Edwards and is a name that more people in the Big 12 need to be aware of as one of the top backs in the conference. He doesn’t have the blazing speed that Edwards possesses, but his 5.59 career yards per carry is good for the third-best mark in Wildcat history.
At No. 19 Arizona: Saturday, Oct. 19
The Colorado-Arizona game in 2023 was one of the most entertaining games of the season despite the loss for the Buffaloes. Arizona ran for 207 yards and added another 214 through the air, while the Buffs had 262 passing yards. Arizona will have a whole new running back room this season, but the two-headed monster of Noah Fifita (#11) and Tetairoa McMillan (#4) are back and have Heisman trophy aspirations.
McMillan is a projected first-round pick and is a freak of nature lined up on the outside. Standing at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, he will catch any ball thrown in the vicinity of him, as he showed in the Colorado game last year. In total, he had 90 receptions for 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023.
The Wildcats also return the heart and soul of its defense from 2023 in Jacob Manu (#5). Manu had 105 tackles and an interception last year, including nine tackles and a sack against Colorado. He was arguably the best linebacker in the Pac-12 last season and could be one of the best in the nation in 2024 as he was named to the Butkus Watch List earlier this month.
A not-very-good Buffaloes team took the Wildcats to the final second last year. With a better team taking the field this year, and a defense that has seen this team once, this could be one of the ranked games the Buffs can pull off the upset in.
Vs. Cincinnati: Saturday, Oct. 26
Another must-win. No question.
This Cincinnati team won just a single conference game last year in its first taste of the Big 12. This team is retooled, with six new starters on defense and a new quarterback in Brendan Sorsby, who was the quarterback at Indiana in 2023. Sorsby didn’t have a truly memorable game at Indiana and had three games where he threw for under 100 yards.
The one player that the Buffs need to keep an eye out for is running back Corey Kiner (#21). Kiner rushed for over 1,000 yards on 5.5 yards per carry last season, two very good numbers. If it can contain him and the Bearcat running game, there shouldn’t be any issues.
If Colorado is serious about taking the next step under Deion Sanders, this game needs to be a convincing win. If for any reason, this game is close, that might be a sign that the Buffs didn’t take that much of a leap from 2023 to 2024.
At Texas Tech: Saturday, Nov. 9
The Red Raiders of Texas Tech are an interesting team. Coming off a 7-6 season bowl appearance in which it won last season, Texas Tech is returning the majority of its starting defense, and seven of its 11 offensive starters. Again, this game needs to be a win for the Buffs, despite being on the road, to give it more room for error against the ranked teams on its schedule.
Ben Roberts (#13) is the lifeline of this defense, while strong safety C.J. Baskerville (#9) is a force on the back line who can make his presence felt in both the run and pass games. These two combined for 182 tackles last year, and having almost another year of experience under their belt by the time CU comes to town will mean that this will be one of the most ferocious LB-DB duos in the country.
The Red Raider offense returns both of its starting quarterback, Behren Morton (#2), and its starting running back, Tahj Brooks (#28). Morton had a fine season in 2023 but was nothing to write home about. However, Brooks ran for over 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns, with his only two games rushing for under 95 yards coming in the first two games of the season. Brooks averaged 5.3 yards per carry and carried the ball north of 30 times in four games. This man is the definition of a workhorse, and can easily wear a defense down.
Almost every week, Colorado’s defense will be tasked with stopping a great running back. Health will be a big key this late into the season as the front seven will have to deal with so many bruising fronts en route to possibly making a bowl game.
Vs. No. 12 Utah: Saturday, Nov. 16
Many people have the Utes winning the conference and having a first-round bye in the new format of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Quarterback Cam Rising (#7) is back for his seventh season of college football, but this will only be the third season he’s started, along with 2021 and 2022. Injuries should’ve derailed his career, but his will and perseverance have kept the career a great one.
Rising will have Dorian Singer (#3) as a new weapon for him this year. Singer had a fairly quiet year last season at USC, but exploded in 2022 with Arizona, totaling 1,105 yards and six touchdowns. Damien Alford (#9) is a transfer from Syracuse who is also a threat standing at 6-foot-6, while Money Parks is a great complement to the two who have been impactful in the offense the last two seasons.
For defense, the Utes' versatile rover, Karene Reid (#21) is back for his senior year. He was second on the team in tackles while also tallying an interception and four defensed passes in 2023.
This team is hard to judge based on its 2023 performance, a season that was thrown off by injuries. But with its veteran leader back under center, the Utes are coming for a Big 12 championship and more in 2024.
At No. 22 Kansas: Saturday, Nov. 23
The Kansas Jayhawks are one of the most interesting teams in all of college football in 2024. A university that has been known as a “basketball school” for a long time finally has a football program, and not just a good one, but one that can make noise in a talented conference.
Jalon Daniels (#6) is yet another talented dual-threat quarterback in the Big 12 and is accompanied by running back Devin Neal (#4), who put up nearly 1,300 yards to go with 16 touchdowns last season. The Jayhawks also return their top three receivers from last year, so this group will be firing on all cylinders in Week 1, especially this late in the season when Colorado comes to Lawrence.
Jeff Grimes, Kansas’ new offensive coordinator as of December 2023, comes over from Baylor, where he was the mind behind one of the nation’s best offenses in 2021. Taking over this offense that is loaded with talent in 2024 could create a perfect storm that could take this squad to the top of the conference. Colorado’s defense will have its hands full in every facet. This will be one of the most fun games of the season if both sides are healthy and has the potential to be one of the most high-scoring games of the season.
Vs. No. 17 Oklahoma State: Friday, Nov. 29
Colorado got a tough timeslot on this one, kicking off at home, at 10 a.m. local time, against another very talented team the day after Thanksgiving. This team went 10-4 a season ago, with two poor losses to South Alabama and Iowa State early in the season that changed the outlook of the year for them. This team ran through the second half of its schedule last year, only losing to Texas in the conference championship and UCF in November.
Ollie Gordon (#0) is the name to watch, as one of the best running backs in the country returns to the Cowboys after a prolific season in which he scored 21 touchdowns while running for over 1,700 yards. Gordon eclipsed 270 yards rushing twice (!!!) in 2023 during the team’s five-game winning streak, but was the X-factor for the team’s success. Oklahoma State won every game he had more than 20 carries in, and all four of its losses came in instances where he didn’t eclipse 20.
If Colorado can get ahead of the chains and force second and third and long situations, forcing the Cowboys to throw the ball, that will be a major key in stopping this offense. When Oklahoma State needs to pass, Alan Bowman will be the man under center for his seventh year of college football. His two most prolific seasons came in 2018 and 2023, the latter being a 3,000-yard season with Oklahoma State. Bowman will also have his two favorite targets from last year to throw to Rahod Owens (#10) and Brennan Presley (#80).
Weather could play a big factor in this game because of how late in the season it is, but it is a winnable game due to the home-field advantage the Buffs have. If they can’t stop the run like in 2023, they will have trouble with not just this game, but almost every game on the schedule.
Six games and a bowl appearance is a doable feat for Colorado in the second year of the Prime era, but nobody will give it to them. Colorado's first year in the new Big 12 will be filled with challenging opponents, but this revamped team has the artillery to fight it. Starting with one of the most challenging Week 1 opponents in the country, in a game that many think could be a trap for the Buffs, Prime will need to have his men ready and up for the challenge after the disappointing end to last year.
The season opener against North Dakota State kicks off at Folsom Field on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
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