Random Thoughts – CU Nationally Televised Games Edition

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Random Thoughts –  CU Nationally Televised Games Edition – Volume XXVII

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Buff Trivia Question of the Week … Colorado has a five-game winning streak against Air Force. Against what team does CU own its longest current winning streak?

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Five nationally televised games out of five (okay, four out of five) … 

Five of CU’s 12 regular season kickoff times have been announced, and, as stated in the CU press release, “All five games are slated for national television broadcasts.”

Pretty good for a team with one winning season since 2005, a team which enters the 2019 season on a seven-game losing streak.

In case you missed it, we now know the following game times:

• Game One – Friday, August 30th, Colorado v. Colorado State (Denver) … 8:10 p.m., MT, ESPN
• Game Two – Saturday, September 7th, Colorado v. Nebraska … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox
• Game Three – Saturday, September 14th, Colorado v. Air Force … 11:00 a.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks
• Game Six – Friday, October 11th, Colorado at Oregon … 8:00 p.m., MT, FS-1
• Game Eight – Friday, October 25th, Colorado v. USC … 7:00 p.m., MT, ESPN2

Glass half empty … 

— The cynics in the Buff Nation would remind everyone that three of the five games which were announced this week are to be played on Friday nights. The Oregon and USC games were destined to be on national television, anyway, as part of the Pac-12 contracts with corporate partners ESPN and Fox, so nothing newsworthy here.

— The Colorado State game, the final Rocky Mountain Showdown to be played in Denver, had to be moved to Friday in order to make it attractive to broadcast. Otherwise, a matchup between the 3-9 Rams and the 5-7 Buffs would not have generated anything in the way of national attention; and

— The Air Force game will be nationally televised … on the Pac-12 Networks. Considering the majority of the nation’s televisions do not carry the Pac-12 Networks, it’s hard to consider the game “national”. Add to that the fact that most of the televisions which do have the Pac-12 Networks are on the west coast, with the CU/Air Force game kicking off at 10:00 a.m., Pacific Time, and the idea of a “nationally televised” game becomes even less impressive. You may need a microscope to find the ratings numbers on this game.

Glass half full … 

— It is a boon to have the Colorado State game on ESPN. The game will be on Friday night on the first full weekend of college football. There will be many football-starved fans across the nation who will be at least curious about a rivalry game to open Labor Day weekend, and ESPN will surely play up the “First game of the Mel Tucker era” and/or “Battle of former Georgia coordinators” angles in the week leading up to the final RMS to be played at Mile High stadium;

— While Colorado fans are excited about Nebraska’s return to Folsom Field (the game is already a sell-out, unless you are willing to buy a three-game package … which is part of the “Keep the Red Out” campaign), there isn’t the same buzz nationally about the rivalry renewal. On a weekend with premium non-conference games like Texas A&M at Clemson, LSU at Texas, Cincinnati at Ohio State, and Stanford at USC, it was not a sure thing that the CU/Nebraska game would be a nationally televised game (or, if it was, not be relegated to an 8:00 p.m., MT, kickoff). That the Buffs and Cornhuskers will face off on a Saturday afternoon, in September, at 1:30 p.m., MT, is a boon not only for national exposure … it will be ideal for those of us attending the game to enjoy the rivalry at a time of day when big time football is supposed to be played;

— Playing the Oregon game on a Friday night is not a bad thing for the Buffs. First, the Buffs represent a trap game for the Ducks, coming in the middle of a Pac-12 North gauntlet of: at Stanford; Cal; Colorado; at Washington; Washington State. If Oregon can get past the Bay area schools, games against hated rival Washington and nemesis Washington State (believe it or not, the Cougars have won four straight in their series against the Ducks) will be on the immediate horizon. The Colorado game represents a classic “look ahead let-down” game for the Ducks … and a prime opportunity for the Buffs. Plus, there are many Oregon fans who make the two-hour drive from Portland to Eugene for games. Traffic is a pain in the ass going down I-5 on game days (trust me), and some Duck fans may not want to bother to fight Friday rush hour traffic for a game against the lowly Buffs.

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A little love for Boulder … 

Lindy’s preseason magazine had its list of lists, with CU making two of the lists:

“Five Best Stadiums to Take a Selfie”:

1. Memorial Stadium – Cal
2. Michie Stadium – Army
3. Folsom Field – Colorado … If the elements cooperate, one of the most spectacular game-day views in the game. the Flatirons overlook the the quaint 95-year old stadium
4. Michigan Stadium – Michigan
5. Darrell K. Royal Stadium – Texas

“Five Best Live Mascots”:

1. Ralphie – Colorado … Colorado’s 1,200-pound female bison is “controlled” by four handlers as she sprints at speeds up to 40 mph down the field at home games
2. Mike the Tiger – LSU
3. Bevo – Texas
4. UGA – Georgia
5. Traveler – USC

But … Some Lindy’s “lists” which CU was not represented … “Five Top Quarterbacks for the NFL Draft” (no Steven Montez) and “Five Best Coaching Hires” (no Mel Tucker).

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Buff Trivia Question of the Week … Colorado has a five-game winning streak against Air Force. Against what team does CU own its longest current winning streak?

Answer … Trick question. CU’s longest win streak against any team is five, against Air Force (1970-74). That streak could be matched before the Falcons travel up I-25, as the Buffs currently have a four-game winning streak over Colorado State (the Buffs also have a four-game winning streak over San Jose State, with three-game winning streaks over Minnesota, Utah State, and Wyoming).

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This post, about the Spring/Summer game, from the 2019 Season, is filed under Article.
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