On Thursday, August 29, 2024, the Colorado Buffaloes will host the North Dakota State Bison in the opening game of the 2024 season for Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes. Colorado comes into that game as a 9.5 point favorite according to DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total for that contest set at 60.5. Here, we break down North Dakota State vs Colorado and make our college football predictions for this matchup.
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North Dakota State Playing With House Money
North Dakota State moves from their FCS level to an FBS opponent to open their 2024 season. The Bison have long been a powerhouse in FCS and come into this season ranked second in the FCS top-25 entering their first game. In this contest, they will feel no pressure, as all of the pressure is on their opponent in a game that Colorado is expected to win.
While Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is the quarterback with all of the star power going into this matchup, North Dakota State’s Cam Miller is not to be overlooked. Miller completed over 70% of his passes last season and is one of the best quarterbacks at the FCS level. Against a Colorado roster with a ton of flaws, Miller could have a standout performance in this matchup.
Colorado Looking For Better 2024 Season
The Colorado Buffaloes were more style than substance in 2023, going 4-8 and losing eight of their final nine games. This season, they still have some explosive offensive talent, led by Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. But there are also still a ton of question marks surrounding the remainder of their roster as year two of the Deion Sanders era in Colorado gets going.
Line play is a huge concern for Colorado this year, just as it was a season ago. The Buffaloes were routinely overpowered in the trenches last season and could suffer a similar fate in 2024. This may not be the typical FBS vs FCS matchup, where the FBS team can simply overpower its opponent. If Colorado can’t win at the point of attack with regularity, they could be in for a tough night at home.
North Dakota State vs Colorado Best Bet
We are going to take the points with the North Dakota State Bison in Thursday’s game with Colorado. While the Buffs were very good during their non-conference slate a season ago, it could be argued that they did not face a team as good as North Dakota State in their 3-0 non-conference run a season ago. Look for the Bison to keep this game close, even if Colorado should win when this game wraps up.
