Aug. 29th – North Dakota State – “You ever felt like, you won, but you didn’t win?”

Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and four touchdowns, including three to All-everything Travis Hunter, leading Colorado to a 31-26 win over North Dakota State. The Buffs went for 504 yards of total offense, but surrendered 449 yards of offense to the Bison, who came up just short of an upset, with a final 49-yard Hail Mary completion ending the game at the CU four-yard line.

Jimmy Horn collected seven passes for 198 yards, including a 69-yard touchdown. Travis Hunter also had seven receptions, going for 132 yards and three scores. The Colorado rushing attack, which was 129th in the nation in 2023, opened the 2024 season with a 59-yard effort on 23 carries. The Buff defense gave up points on NDSU’s first four possessions, leading to a 20-17 halftime deficit, but stiffened in the second half, giving up only six points before closing out the Bisons’ final drive with a completion just short of a score.

“You ever felt like you won, but you didn’t win?”, Coach Prime rhetorically asked during his postgame press conference. “Giving up the last touchdown on the run, that bothered me, because we pride ourselves on going to get the quarterback, and we have multitude of young men that can go get the quarterback and we didn’t get that done. But I’m thankful. I think 31 NFL scouts were on hand tonight and I think they saw what they came to see. So let’s move on from there. I’m going to try my best to hold back my anger, but we got the ‘W’ so I’m happy.”

There are times when writing the postgame Essay is easy, with the game story writing itself.

Had Colorado pulled away from North Dakota State in the second half (and, for one or two fleeting moments, you felt that might actually happen), and had the Buffs beaten the Bison by a score of say, 41-20, instead of by the actual final of 31-26, the headline might have read:

— “Shedeur Sanders: MVP” (Sanders did have 445 yards passing and four touchdowns, and could have had five but for a tipped pass interception in the end zone); or, simply,

— “Travis Hunter: OMG”

And it wasn’t as if the 2024 season opener wasn’t exciting. There were five lead changes and almost 1,000 yards of total offense. Compare the CU/NDSU game to the only other featured game on the first Thursday of the college football season, Minnesota v. North Carolina. Both games came down to the final play, but that is where the similarities end. In Minneapolis, the Tar Heels emerged with a 19-17 victory over the Golden Gophers when the Minnesota kicker missed a 47-yard field goal as time expired, while the NDSU bid for an upset fell four yards short on the game’s final play.

Big 12 goes 14-2 in Week One (Houston only upset loss) … 25:1 CU the most bet on team to win the Big 12 conference … Big 12 announces “Big 12 Radio” available on TuneIn …

Neill Woelk’s Takeaways from Game One … Nick Saban on CU after Game One: “Are they improved enough to have a winning season? I hope so” … CU/NDSU draws 4.8 million viewers (best ESPN Thursday opener since 2017) …

CU’s record in season openers … 2024 Rule changes … Buffalo v. Bison … Lopsided weekend: Half of the Big 12 are at least four-touchdown favorites (one Big 12 underdog) …

Game One: 1994 … The 1994 team was one of the best in school history … Game One was against Northeastern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana-Monroe) … 649 yards of total offense later, the Buffs opened with a 48-13 victory …

CU has more talent than does North Dakota State, but which team will be more motivated? … Will CU try and establish the run, or take advantage of the Bison losing their All-American safety? … Which stats will determine the outcome? … Let’s find out …

Welcome to our first game preview of the season! … Will NDSU, with the nation’s fourth-best rushing attack, be able to play keep away from the CU offense? … Will the CU offensive and defensive lines show their improvement? … Can CU take care of business against the Bison? … Let’s find out …