2024 Colorado Buffaloes schedule

A quick history of the Rocky Mountain Showdown

Can the Buffs continue their dominance over the Rams?

In my breakdown of Colorado football’s history against the Nebraska Cornhuskers, I had to mention a not-so-fun 39-year period that Buffs fans had to endure. Because it hurt me to write about CU’s struggles against the Huskers, let’s look at a different 39 games. Since 1953, the Buffaloes are 29-10 against in-state rival Colorado State.

While some CU fans will bristle at using the word “rival” when it comes to our friends in Fort Collins, there’s no denying that CSU has been and always will be a despised opponent. It’s undeniable that Colorado has dominated the Rocky Mountain Showdown since its inception. The Buffs sport a 68-22-2 all-time mark against the Rams going back to the series’ first game in 1893.

The Buffaloes will roll into Fort Collins on Sept. 14 riding a six-game winning streak aided by a double-overtime thriller at Folsom Field last season. Will the Rams get payback at Canvas Stadium or will the Buffaloes continue their dominance?

Check out the TV broadcast from the last time Colorado faced the Rams in Fort Collins:

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Looking back at Colorado’s history against rival Nebraska

Colorado could make some history this fall in Lincoln

You can understand why Colorado football fans are basking in the fact that the Nebraska Cornhuskers haven’t beaten the Buffs in nearly 5,000 days.

Historically, the rival Cornhuskers have had CU’s number more often than not, leading the series with an all-time record of 49-21-2. From 1962 to 2000, Colorado beat Nebraska only four times in 39 total meetings.

Since then, the series has been very close, with Colorado winning 7 of the last 13 games, including a current three-game winning streak dating back to 2018. If Colorado can beat Nebraska at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 7, the Buffs will set a new record for their longest winning streak in the series. And with no future matchups currently scheduled, they can keep the Big Red stewing in frustration for even longer.

Check out the highlights from Colorado’s infamous 62-36 win over Nebraska in 2001:

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Looking ahead to Colorado’s first-ever meeting with North Dakota State

Don’t overlook the North Dakota State Bison

The Colorado Buffaloes’ season opener against the North Dakota State Bison scares me, maybe even more than CU’s other two nonconference games.

The Bison have been the class of the Football Championship Subdivision ranks for a long time, claiming nine national championships since 2011. NDSU has also taken care of business when it decides to play Football Bowl Subdivision opponents, going 9-4 all-time with upsets over teams like Colorado State, Wyoming and Kansas State. Most notably, the Bison scored an upset over the then-No. 13 Iowa Hawkeyes in 2016.

Some Buffs fans have tried to convince me that NDSU should be ripe for the taking as the Bison will be breaking in a new head coach this season with Tim Polasek taking over for Matt Entz. Polasek is no stranger to Fargo, however. He coached within the program as a position coach from 2006-12 before taking over as NDSU’s offensive coordinator from 2014-17.

Polasek knows what it takes to win big at the FCS level and will have the Bison ready for their first-ever game against Colorado on Aug. 29.

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Looking back at Colorado’s history against Oklahoma State

Colorado will battle Oklahoma State this fall for the first time since the 2016 Alamo Bowl

Colorado football will soon have an opportunity to get some revenge against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who soured “The Rise” by beating the Buffs in the 2016 Alamo Bowl.

The Buffaloes mostly held their own against the Cowboys dating back to their first meeting in 1920, compiling an all-time record of 26-19-1. This included an impressive eight-game winning streak during the golden period of Buffs football from 1989 to 1996.

Colorado was coming off 10 straight losing seasons when everything finally came together in 2016. The Buffaloes ran through their schedule, posting a 10-2 regular season record and a Pac-12 South title. They couldn’t overcome the Washington Huskies in the Pac-12 Championship Game, but the Cowboys awaited in San Antonio.

Colorado never gained a foothold in the game, with the Cowboys taking a 17-0 halftime lead en route to a 38-8 final. CU has only made a bowl game once since 2016, but 2024 represents a great opportunity for the Buffs to end that streak and gain some revenge against OK State now that the two teams are back in the Big 12 together. Colorado will host the Cowboys at Folsom Field on Nov. 29 in the regular season finale.

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Examining Colorado football’s lengthy history with Utah

The Big 12 marks the fourth conference Colorado and Utah have shared

The Utah Utes represent a great “what if” regarding the history of the Colorado Buffaloes. While Utah and CU were tabbed as rivals when they joined the Pac-12 together in 2011, it never took hold quite like the Buffs’ beef with the Colorado State Rams and Nebraska Cornhuskers. But if things had gone differently, Colorado could have viewed Utah with a similar disdain.

Colorado football historians can tell you that the Buffs and Utes were once conference foes long before they joined the Pac-12. The teams shared two conferences before that, and their game history stretches back to the early 1900s. CU played Utah six times as nonconference opponents from 1903 to 1908, with the Buffs winning four of those games.

Starting in 1910 and ending in 1947, Colorado and Utah faced off as conference rivals, first in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and then in the Mountain States Conference. Even though CU moved on to the Big 7 in 1948, the teams continued to play each other annually until 1962.

The teams would not meet again until 2011 when both joined the Pac-12. During those Pac-12 years, Utah dominated to an 11-2 record to bring the overall series standings to 35-32-3 in favor of the Utes. Will the move to the Big 12 turn the tides back in CU’s favor?

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Writer names the most difficult game on Colorado’s 2024 schedule

Who is the most challenging opponent on Colorado’s schedule?

Heading into their welcome-back season in the Big 12 Conference, the Colorado Buffaloes are staring at another grueling schedule. Head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffs have a challenging opener against Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse North Dakota State, two nonconference road games against rival opponents and a brutal month of November.

On Monday, Ralphie Report writer Rylan Scholes took a crack at ranking the most difficult games on CU’s upcoming schedule. Just ahead of Utah at No. 2, Scholes tabbed the Oklahoma State Cowboys as the Buffs’ toughest regular season opponent. Oklahoma State, which went 10-4 last season with a loss in the Big 12 championship game, comes to Folsom Field on Nov. 29.

Here’s some of what Scholes wrote on Colorado’s regular season finale against longtime head coach Mike Gundy’s Cowboys:

Fresh off an appearance in the Big XII championship game, the Cowboys are trying to establish themselves as the conference’s top dog. They returned ten starters on both offense and defense, making them the most experienced team in the Big XII. The Pokes are gearing up for one of their most important seasons in program history, but they’ll have to go through Boulder.

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