Colorado football to open season vs. North Dakota State on national TV
Colorado will play its first two games of the 2024 season on national television.
The Buffs open year two of the Deion Sanders era with a 6 p.m. MT kickoff against North Dakota State on Thursday, Aug. 29. ESPN will broadcast the game nationally.
This will be the first meeting between Colorado and the Bison. North Dakota State is one of the nation's best FCS programs, with 17 national championships (nine since 2011) and 37 conference championships in its history. The Bison have a new head coach in Tim Polasek, who was recently the offensive coordinator and QB coach at Wyoming (2021-23).
Colorado also knows the time and TV information for its Week 2 matchup against rival Nebraska on Sept. 7. That game will air on NBC at 5:30 p.m. MT.
It'll be just the eighth time in program history that a game was nationally broadcast on NBC, with six of the other seven being bowl games (1962, 1977, 1990 and 1991 Orange Bowls and the 1993 and 1995 Fiesta Bowls). The Buffs have not played a game on NBC since the 1995 Fiesta Bowl.
Shedeur Sanders (31-of-42 for 393 yards and two touchdowns) led Colorado to its third straight win over Nebraska last season, a 36-14 beatdown. The Cornhuskers own the series lead (49-21-2), but the Buffs are 3-3 at Memorial Stadium since 2002.
Colorado’s first two games will air on network television for the second consecutive season and just the seventh time in program history (1990, 1995, 2003, 2019, 2022, 2023).
The Buffs were the third-most watched team in college football last season and were on network television five times. They could add another one in Week 3 for the Rocky Mountain Showdown.
The start time and television for Colorado vs. Colorado State on Sept. 14 is expected in late May.
Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on X.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado football opens 2024 season vs. North Dakota State on ESPN
