The Cats return to Boulder for the first time in 14 years.
The last time Kansas State visited Colorado — or faced them at all, in fact — was a wild 44-36 barnburner in 2010 won by the bad guys. After that, the Buffs slunk off to a conference which they would help murder 13 years later by deciding Apple wasn’t offering enough money, and they slunk back home, where they belong.
Welcome back, Colorado. We still don’t like you, but welcome back.
The Game
The 18th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats (4-1, 1-1 Big 12) visit the Colorado Buffaloes (4-1, 2-0 Big 12), renewing a rivalry which was played for 63 consecutive years before Colorado betrayed us all.
Those 63 games, all conference games, went 44-18-1 in the Buffs’ favor. In Big 12 play only, however, the Wildcats hold an 8-7 lead. Unlike most other Big 12 schools, the Wildcats’ longest winning streak against Colorado is relatively short — a four-game streak from 1997-2000. Only once since 2000 has Colorado won by more than one score, though, the 2001 16-6 win in Manhattan. Despite Colorado’s substantial lead in the series, the Buffaloes only hold a 17-15-1 edge in Manhattan.
Colorado has been pretty bad for years now, but with the hiring of Deion Sanders and the nepotistic utilization of his sons, they’ve at least been more entertaining. Last year, the combination still only worked out to a miserable 4-8 season, but they’ve done the job thus far this year aside from getting exposed by Nebraska in week two. Still, their 4-1 record is possibly misleading, as three of those four wins were a last-minute escape against North Dakota State, a somewhat lethargic win over hapless in-state rival Colorado State, and a pretty bad Baylor team. They rolled in their last outing, at Central Florida, but UCF is still a bit of a question mark in 2024 as well.
Is Colorado still just a lot of Prime Time Hype, or are they back? This weekend is their first real chance to answer that question.
Kickoff
Saturday, October 12, 9:15pm CT at Folsom Field (50,183) in Boulder, Colorado.
Tickets
There are tickets available on the secondary market, but you’re going to pay for them. The low end is $170, and some seats are going for over $500; the median price is $260.
Weather
It’s going to be a pretty good day to tailgate, as temperatures will be in the mid- to upper-70s throughout the daylight hours in Boulder, although it’s expected to be a cloudy day. As darkness sets in and game time approaches, that’ll drop to the high-60s, finally dipping below 60° right around game’s end.
Odds
As you’d expect from a game featuring a massive hype machine, the line’s wandered all over the place. The smart guys in Vegas put K-State at -6 to open, but the betting has pushed the line down to just -3.5 at DraftKings with the over at 55.5. That suggests a 30-26 win for the Cats. The money line is -155 for K-State, +130 for Colorado. Oddshark’s computer finally likes K-State, but not much; they’re projecting a 33-32 win.
Television
ESPN with Mark Jones, Roddy Jones, and Quint Kessenich. This is K-State’s fifth consecutive game on a flagship channel.
Radio
As always, Wyatt Thompson, Stan Weber, and Matt Walters will be on hand on the K-State Sports Network as well as via satellite on SiriusXM 119 or 198.
Internet Streaming
The game will stream on ESPN+ (cable/satellite subscription required). Audio available via kstatesports.com. Live stats provided by StatBroadcast.
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