North Dakota State @ Colorado Matchup Preview

Game Preview: NDSU @ Colorado

Intro: The Colorado Buffaloes were the most hyped team in college football last year, but after a 4-8 finish, it’s up to Deion Sanders and his staff to take the next step in rebuilding the program. Their first obstacle comes to Boulder in the form of the FCS legends North Dakota State (NDSU). The bison may have fallen off a bit as of late, but are still extremely dangerous. Let's get into the matchup.

Spread: Colorado favored by 10

Why Colorado will win: Shedeur Sanders is projected to be one of the best QB’s in college football this season and will have capable receivers to throw it to. NDSU’s secondary is unlikely to be able to consistently stop him from slinging the ball downfield to receivers such as Travis Hunter. Colorado is also a much more talented team than NDSU due to them being a Power 4 team and having the pull of Deion Sanders to draw in many gifted players through the portal. After the offensive line issues of last year, the Buffaloes brought in many transfers as well as five-star recruit Jordan Seaton to shore up the position group.

Why NDSU will win:

NDSU has returned 9 All-conference players from last year, which gives them experience and cohesion in their team. This should mean that they get off to a quick start and be able to effectively run plays. Colorado has 43 incoming transfers this year, which is more than half of their entire team and the most incoming transfers from any team in college football. This means that team cohesion might be a big issue for them as all of the new players on the team may struggle to get on the same page. NDSU also had a solid defense last year, and one of the returning pieces is LB Logan Kopp, who had 3 INT and 85 tackles last year. He should be able to heavily disrupt Colorado’s offensive output. Lastly, NDSU is no stranger to the big stage, as they have won 9 FCS championships since 2010, and have knocked off Kansas, Iowa, and Iowa State recently. 

My Prediction: 35-31 NDSU. Team cohesion will be a big problem for this Colorado team in the early season, and NDSU will have no such problem with their level of returning talent. Shedeur Sanders will sling the ball and score a lot, but NDSU will be able to score and defend just a bit more effectively than Colorado, and thus win in a shootout.