The Colorado Buffaloes enjoyed a dream start to the 2023 college football season as they stormed out to a 3-0 record, but reality has hit as they’ve lost their next two games.
After beating TCU, Nebraska, and arch-rivals Colorado State, it looked like the Buffaloes could primed for a shock year. The team only won one game last season but gave head coach Deion Sanders a record-breaking $29.5 million contract to transform the team.
He’s certainly done so, as through the first five weeks the Buffaloes have been one of the most relevant football teams in America — as evidenced by their game against Colorado State breaking ESPN viewing records. But they were humbled 42-6 by Oregon in Week 4 and lost 48-41 to USC last week.
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Now they face Arizona State University who are 1-4 for on the season with their only win coming against Southern Utah on the opening weekend. Both ASU and the Buffaloes are 0-2 in Pac-12 and could use a win.
It already feels as though it’s a must-win game for “Coach Prime,” whose team is 1-1 away from home field. Below, get all the information on when Colorado and ASU begins, how to watch it, and which team is predicted to win…
The game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. ET and 3:30 p.m. local time in Tempe, Arizona, at Mountain America Stadium.
The Buffaloes are slight favorites heading into Saturday, currently listed as -175 to win the game on FanDuel. The handicap is set at a generous 3.0 for the game, but bookmakers aren’t too sure how to price the game as the odds for winning margins suggest.
For Colorado to win by 1-6 points the odds are +300. However, for the Buffaloes to win by 13 points or more, the same +300 price has been applied.
Sanders was unsurprisingly upset after the Buffaloes narrowly lost to USC, and ranted after the game as he wants his team to find their purpose. “What’s our identity? I don’t know who we are. I don’t know what we gonna do.
“From practice to practice, I do, but we’ve got to translate that into the games. So we’re still searching for our true identity.”
The return of the Rocky Mountain Showdown headlines on Saturday in Week 3 as No. 18 Colorado plays host to in-state rival Colorado State. Saturday’s matchup marks the first meeting between the two neighbors since 2019 despite the two schools being within an hour’s drive of each other. This game also marks the first on-campus battle between the two since 2009. The Buffs and Rams played 10 straight neutral site games at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High from 2010-19.
Colorado has a five-game win streak against Colorado State dating back to 2015. The Buffaloes won each game in that span by at least 14 points with a combined scoring margin of 158-54. Colorado also dominates the all-time series with a 67-22-2 record. Colorado State actually won the last time it played Colorado in Boulder, though the Rams are 2-10 since.
The Buffaloes are heavily favored to add to that tally in Saturday’s contest. First-year coach Deion Sanders has his CU squad off to a blazing-fast start with wins against TCU and Nebraska in the first two weeks. Excluding the all-Pac-12 schedule during the COVID-19 campaign in 2020, this is Colorado’s first time in 30 years that it’s opened the season with two Power Five wins.

Colorado State opened its 2023 season with a 50-24 loss to Washington State. The Rams had a bye in Week 2, to they’ll close the season with 11 straight games.
Shedeur Sanders could be in for another huge day: Sanders is thriving at Colorado. During his team’s 2-0 start, he became the first Buffs quarterback since Koy Detmer to throw for at least 350 yards and three touchdowns in consecutive games. Sanders has a really good chance at making it three weeks in a row. In Colorado State’s season opener against Washington State, the Rams allowed Cougars QB Cameron Ward to throw for 451 yards and three touchdowns.
CSU struggles against ranked teams: Colorado State has not beaten a ranked team since 2002 when it — ironically — picked up a win against No. 6 Colorado in the second game of the season. In the 21 years since, the Rams are 0-24 against top-25 opponents. Colorado State is 13-37 all-time against ranked opponents since 1993. That record gets a lot better when considering foes ranked outside the top 10 as the Rams are 4-3 in such contests.
Tune-up before conference play: Colorado’s schedule thus far has been far from a cakewalk, so this Colorado State game, in which the Buffaloes should cruise without too much exertion, comes at a great time. Next week, Colorado travels to Eugene, Oregon, to take on No. 13 Oregon before hosting No. 5 USC the week after that. That two-week stretch is the most important of Colorado’s season and Sanders’ squad should be able to fine-tune some more issues against the Rams.
Colorado has hit the ground running under Deion Sanders. The Buffaloes have had a more impressive start than almost any team in the entire nation, opening with a ranked win against TCU before dismantling Nebraska. More importantly, for a picks segment at least, Colorado is 2-0 against the spread and the Buffaloes should cover again Saturday. Colorado State’s secondary got picked apart in its season opener, giving me good reason to believe that Shedeur Sanders and his potent cadre of offensive weapons should have no problem getting whatever they want offensively.
Which college football picks can you make with confidence in Week 3, and which underdogs will win outright? Visit SportsLine to see which teams will win and cover the spread — all from a proven computer model that has returned more than $2,500 in profit over the past seven-plus seasons — and find out.
Dylan Edwards will lead the Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) into their struggle versus the Colorado state Rams (0-1) at Folsom area on Saturday at 10:00 PM ET.

The Buffaloes beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 36-14 of their most latest day trip. The Rams’ ultimate sport become a 50-24 loss to the Washington nation Cougars. In that matchup with the Cornhuskers, Shedeur Sanders had 393 yards on 31-of-42 passing (seventy three.8%) for the Buffs, with touchdowns and no interceptions. He also carried the ball 11 times for -30 yards and one speeding landing. Edwards carried the ball nine instances for 55 yards (6.1 yards according to deliver). He introduced three receptions for 8 yards. Xavier Weaver hauled in 10 receptions for a hundred and seventy yards (averaging 17.zero in line with capture), whilst scoring one landing in opposition to the Cornhuskers. Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi went 13-for-20 with 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for the Rams in opposition to the Cougars. Avery Morrow prepare an 11-deliver, 29-yard recreation (2.6 yards per try), whilst tacking on one reception for -four yards . Justus Ross-Simmons accrued five catches for 123 yards (on seven goals), with one landing.
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Former Jackson state soccer coach Deion Sanders and Colorado will appearance to get again heading in the right direction in opposition to Arizona country on Saturday.
The Buffaloes are coming off returned-to-again percent-12 losses to No. nine Oregon and No. 7 USC with the aid of ratings of 42-6 and forty eight-forty one, respectively. Sanders, who fostered a entire roster overhaul after taking on as head teach, added in former Tigers quarterback Shedeur Sanders (his son) via the transfer portal, in conjunction with former No. 1-ranked recruit Travis Hunter.