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00:00So, the college football season in 2024 is now officially underway.
00:08Week zero though, more of an appetizer for the full damn entree.
00:12That is week number one.
00:14You have heard from Donnie already throughout the hour and a half here on this Monday on
00:19the early line, how pleased he is with the scheduling for week number one in college
00:24football.
00:25Donnie, I've done the math.
00:26Week zero, only four games that featured at least one FBS program.
00:31For week number one, we've got 96 total games starting on Thursday, running through Labor
00:39Day Monday, exactly one week from right now.
00:42And at least one game on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, five consecutive
00:49days of college football action.
00:52That features 21 games on Thursday, six games on Friday, 67 on Saturday, LSU-USC Sunday
01:01night in Las Vegas and Florida State returns to the States trying to look a little bit
01:06better in their second ACC game right out of the gate against Boston College on Monday
01:12night.
01:13But 96 total FBS games come our way this week for week number one.
01:19That's awesome.
01:20It's great to watch it play out.
01:21And, you know, the NFL, I should say, clears out used to be in the past.
01:25This final weekend of the opening of college football coincided with preseason week number
01:29four.
01:30So a lot of times all the money I had to spend on Eagle season tickets, you know, I wasn't
01:34just going to not show up to a game that they charged me a couple hundred bucks for for
01:37a ticket.
01:38But I find myself in the seats trying to find the score of the Miami, Louisiana Tech game
01:42to open up the season.
01:43Now you could just be home, relax and all about your college football action all the
01:48way through.
01:49It is a great appetizer.
01:51I've thrown every single game on Saturday that we only play games on Saturday in college
01:54football season.
01:55The fact that they make this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday is tremendous.
02:00That's what you're supposed to do with your sport, even if the games aren't fantastic
02:03all the way through, just to have that volume all the way through the weekend.
02:07Awesome stuff.
02:08And what a springboard into next week post Labor Day when you're into the NFL season.
02:13It's the it feels like now is the opening weekend.
02:16It's time to shine.
02:18And the reason we have so many games in week number one and earlier in non-conference action
02:24is because FBS programs schedule FCS schools to get the year started.
02:30That's why you have so many games.
02:31But on Thursday, we've got four ranked teams in action.
02:35Twenty fourth ranked NC State, Kansas ranked 22nd and in the preseason poll for the first
02:41time since 09.
02:42They take on Lindenwood.
02:44Missouri is number 11.
02:46Great outlook this year in Columbia for Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers, Utah, in an in-state
02:51showdown against Southern Utah, the highest ranked Big 12 team at 12th in the country.
02:56But you see some very, very large numbers.
03:01Another team in the power conference ranks is playing on Thursday against an FCS school,
03:08but it's not a 35 and a half point spread.
03:11Heck, it's not even three touchdowns.
03:14Heck, it's not even double digits.
03:16It's a nine and a half point spread in favor of Colorado entering year number two under
03:22Deion Sanders, taking on the best FCS program we have seen the last 15 to 20 years in college
03:29football.
03:31That's the bison of North Dakota State.
03:33Only a nine and a half point spread in favor of CU.
03:37Now, this game was probably scheduled long before Deion Sanders ever started the prime
03:42era in Boulder.
03:44But regardless of who was the guy responsible for the logistics, I cannot believe CU still
03:51has this game scheduled.
03:53A nine and a half point spread in favor of the Buffs with all of the notoriety and attention
04:00in a national slate on Thursday in a stand-alone, not stand-alone, but a national TV window
04:07for Colorado.
04:09This is how you want year number two of the Deion Sanders era to start in a very difficult
04:14matchup against NDSU.
04:16Oh, it's a referendum game for sure for at least the national public watching the game.
04:22Why do I say that?
04:23Well, if Colorado wins by 14 points, that's what they're supposed to do.
04:26They probably should have won by 20 plus, but if they lose that game, it's you got to
04:29fire Deion.
04:30It's not working out in Colorado.
04:32So there are some interesting matchups, but also shout out college football because it's
04:36the only sport on the earth where you have like, what, 10, 11 games on your slate, but
04:41you have to schedule them 11 years out because some reason there's scheduling conflicts here.
04:46Can you imagine, Ben, if you put in just a unilateral law in college football that says
04:50you can't even schedule into the next year?
04:52Like if the NFL goes, hey, we've got to have our schedule out eight years in advance to
04:57make sure that Philadelphia can open up against the Jets in 2029.
05:00Stop the madness here.
05:01But I do find it funny.
05:02And you're right.
05:03I talked to Deion Sanders and he said as much in the offseason and he's technically correct.
05:07Look, when you are in a power five conference at home, you are supposed to just get a layup
05:12like that's your preseason scrimmage before you get into your regular slate.
05:16Yeah.
05:17Hammer a team 42 to seven.
05:18The vibes are there.
05:19The quarterback's ready.
05:20The defense is there.
05:21The dress rehearsal is over and you're going to get a punch right out of the gate from
05:25a team you are supposed to beat, but still would be embarrassing if you lose to that
05:29game and you're going to get no credit for all you beat North Dakota State, who we know
05:33is a quality fine football team, but you're supposed to play Delaware State, Colorado
05:38in this game to start your season off.
05:41And when you look at what Colorado had a year ago, they were terrible defensively, could
05:46not stop the run.
05:47One of the worst scoring defenses in the country that needs to be better now for CU.
05:53But Travis Hunter should be fully healthy.
05:55The best two way player in college football.
05:58He played 144 total snaps in that week.
06:02One crazy upset against the defending national runner-ups in TCU that of course were not
06:07to the level that they had played at in 2022 last year in 2023, but see you want outright
06:14as a three touchdown dog.
06:17Travis Hunter should be there the entirety of this season should or Sanders, one of the
06:22best quarterbacks, not only in the big 12, but all of the nation is back.
06:26His passing yards prop is 303 and a hook, but North Dakota State is darn good up front
06:34on the lines, running the football, a lot of returning talent, including quarterback
06:39Cam Miller.
06:40But North Dakota State made some headlines earlier this off season DRS because their
06:44head coach Matt Ence, who had led NDSU to national championships before, and of course
06:50to a national championship game runner up appearance last year against South Dakota
06:55State made headlines when he left his head coaching spot at the best FCS program, at
07:01least the last 20 years to become a linebackers coach at USC under Lincoln Riley.
07:08So it's a new head coach.
07:09Tim Polisek takes over for the Bison as they enter their season opener against the Buffaloes.
07:15Yeah.
07:15And again, there's a lot of moving parts going through because also take a look at North
07:19Dakota State.
07:19They haven't played a regular season game.
07:21So you're both showing up here at Colorado expecting big things from both sides.
07:25But I do love the fact that this is going to, it's not really, it's not fair to say
07:28it's a standalone game.
07:29It's not.
07:29This is the 8 p.m.
07:30primetime game for primetime that we are going to be watching all the way through because
07:35you are going to get an electric atmosphere, not necessarily in the building, but on social
07:40media, both good and bad.
07:42This is the times that we live in.
07:44I'm glad opening up with this type of game.
07:47Absolutely.
07:47So right.
07:48Deion Sanders has always said you want to come find me.
07:52I am here unless your name is Sean Keeler and you work in Denver and you ask too many
07:56hard hitting questions to Deion Sanders.
07:59But outside of that, you want all of the attention.
08:03You want all the eyeballs.
08:04You want that notoriety nationally.
08:07Here you have it on the first Thursday night of week number one in the best game of the
08:12evening.
08:12One of my favorites early on here in this college football season and the reactions
08:18will be swift if North Dakota State wins outright.
08:22Oh boy.
08:22If Colorado wins a close one, are we going to argue about what the bus might be able
08:27to do here in year number two under Deion Sanders?
08:31But hey, if they do something like they did last year and stunned the nation, it wouldn't
08:35be a stunning upset this year.
08:37But if Colorado looks dominant, wins by two touchdowns, three touchdowns, will we start
08:42to build the Boulder hype train once again?
08:45Last year in September, Colorado was rightfully the talk of the country.
08:49They won their first three games.
08:51Four of their first six did not win again in their final six games of the year to finish
08:56four and eight.
08:57But September was key on August 29th.
09:01Will Colorado dominate national headlines once again?
09:04I believe so.
09:05Yeah, and I think they will also.
09:07And that's why you have this game opening night because it will be, as I said, a referendum
09:11game, both good or bad for Colorado, fair or unfair.
09:14It's going to happen here and I can't wait to watch it.