NCAAF Best Bets: Exciting Kickoff to 2024 College Football Season

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00:00So, the college football season in 2024 is now officially underway.

00:08Week zero though, more of an appetizer for the full damn entree.

00:12That is week number one.

00:14You have heard from Donnie already throughout the hour and a half here on this Monday on

00:19the early line, how pleased he is with the scheduling for week number one in college

00:24football.

00:25Donnie, I've done the math.

00:26Week zero, only four games that featured at least one FBS program.

00:31For week number one, we've got 96 total games starting on Thursday, running through Labor

00:39Day Monday, exactly one week from right now.

00:42And at least one game on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, five consecutive

00:49days of college football action.

00:52That features 21 games on Thursday, six games on Friday, 67 on Saturday, LSU-USC Sunday

01:01night in Las Vegas and Florida State returns to the States trying to look a little bit

01:06better in their second ACC game right out of the gate against Boston College on Monday

01:12night.

01:13But 96 total FBS games come our way this week for week number one.

01:19That's awesome.

01:20It's great to watch it play out.

01:21And, you know, the NFL, I should say, clears out used to be in the past.

01:25This final weekend of the opening of college football coincided with preseason week number

01:29four.

01:30So a lot of times all the money I had to spend on Eagle season tickets, you know, I wasn't

01:34just going to not show up to a game that they charged me a couple hundred bucks for for

01:37a ticket.

01:38But I find myself in the seats trying to find the score of the Miami, Louisiana Tech game

01:42to open up the season.

01:43Now you could just be home, relax and all about your college football action all the

01:48way through.

01:49It is a great appetizer.

01:51I've thrown every single game on Saturday that we only play games on Saturday in college

01:54football season.

01:55The fact that they make this Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday is tremendous.

02:00That's what you're supposed to do with your sport, even if the games aren't fantastic

02:03all the way through, just to have that volume all the way through the weekend.

02:07Awesome stuff.

02:08And what a springboard into next week post Labor Day when you're into the NFL season.

02:13It's the it feels like now is the opening weekend.

02:16It's time to shine.

02:18And the reason we have so many games in week number one and earlier in non-conference action

02:24is because FBS programs schedule FCS schools to get the year started.

02:30That's why you have so many games.

02:31But on Thursday, we've got four ranked teams in action.

02:35Twenty fourth ranked NC State, Kansas ranked 22nd and in the preseason poll for the first

02:41time since 09.

02:42They take on Lindenwood.

02:44Missouri is number 11.

02:46Great outlook this year in Columbia for Eli Drinkwitz and the Tigers, Utah, in an in-state

02:51showdown against Southern Utah, the highest ranked Big 12 team at 12th in the country.

02:56But you see some very, very large numbers.

03:01Another team in the power conference ranks is playing on Thursday against an FCS school,

03:08but it's not a 35 and a half point spread.

03:11Heck, it's not even three touchdowns.

03:14Heck, it's not even double digits.

03:16It's a nine and a half point spread in favor of Colorado entering year number two under

03:22Deion Sanders, taking on the best FCS program we have seen the last 15 to 20 years in college

03:29football.

03:31That's the bison of North Dakota State.

03:33Only a nine and a half point spread in favor of CU.

03:37Now, this game was probably scheduled long before Deion Sanders ever started the prime

03:42era in Boulder.

03:44But regardless of who was the guy responsible for the logistics, I cannot believe CU still

03:51has this game scheduled.

03:53A nine and a half point spread in favor of the Buffs with all of the notoriety and attention

04:00in a national slate on Thursday in a stand-alone, not stand-alone, but a national TV window

04:07for Colorado.

04:09This is how you want year number two of the Deion Sanders era to start in a very difficult

04:14matchup against NDSU.

04:16Oh, it's a referendum game for sure for at least the national public watching the game.

04:22Why do I say that?

04:23Well, if Colorado wins by 14 points, that's what they're supposed to do.

04:26They probably should have won by 20 plus, but if they lose that game, it's you got to

04:29fire Deion.

04:30It's not working out in Colorado.

04:32So there are some interesting matchups, but also shout out college football because it's

04:36the only sport on the earth where you have like, what, 10, 11 games on your slate, but

04:41you have to schedule them 11 years out because some reason there's scheduling conflicts here.

04:46Can you imagine, Ben, if you put in just a unilateral law in college football that says

04:50you can't even schedule into the next year?

04:52Like if the NFL goes, hey, we've got to have our schedule out eight years in advance to

04:57make sure that Philadelphia can open up against the Jets in 2029.

05:00Stop the madness here.

05:01But I do find it funny.

05:02And you're right.

05:03I talked to Deion Sanders and he said as much in the offseason and he's technically correct.

05:07Look, when you are in a power five conference at home, you are supposed to just get a layup

05:12like that's your preseason scrimmage before you get into your regular slate.

05:16Yeah.

05:17Hammer a team 42 to seven.

05:18The vibes are there.

05:19The quarterback's ready.

05:20The defense is there.

05:21The dress rehearsal is over and you're going to get a punch right out of the gate from

05:25a team you are supposed to beat, but still would be embarrassing if you lose to that

05:29game and you're going to get no credit for all you beat North Dakota State, who we know

05:33is a quality fine football team, but you're supposed to play Delaware State, Colorado

05:38in this game to start your season off.

05:41And when you look at what Colorado had a year ago, they were terrible defensively, could

05:46not stop the run.

05:47One of the worst scoring defenses in the country that needs to be better now for CU.

05:53But Travis Hunter should be fully healthy.

05:55The best two way player in college football.

05:58He played 144 total snaps in that week.

06:02One crazy upset against the defending national runner-ups in TCU that of course were not

06:07to the level that they had played at in 2022 last year in 2023, but see you want outright

06:14as a three touchdown dog.

06:17Travis Hunter should be there the entirety of this season should or Sanders, one of the

06:22best quarterbacks, not only in the big 12, but all of the nation is back.

06:26His passing yards prop is 303 and a hook, but North Dakota State is darn good up front

06:34on the lines, running the football, a lot of returning talent, including quarterback

06:39Cam Miller.

06:40But North Dakota State made some headlines earlier this off season DRS because their

06:44head coach Matt Ence, who had led NDSU to national championships before, and of course

06:50to a national championship game runner up appearance last year against South Dakota

06:55State made headlines when he left his head coaching spot at the best FCS program, at

07:01least the last 20 years to become a linebackers coach at USC under Lincoln Riley.

07:08So it's a new head coach.

07:09Tim Polisek takes over for the Bison as they enter their season opener against the Buffaloes.

07:15Yeah.

07:15And again, there's a lot of moving parts going through because also take a look at North

07:19Dakota State.

07:19They haven't played a regular season game.

07:21So you're both showing up here at Colorado expecting big things from both sides.

07:25But I do love the fact that this is going to, it's not really, it's not fair to say

07:28it's a standalone game.

07:29It's not.

07:29This is the 8 p.m.

07:30primetime game for primetime that we are going to be watching all the way through because

07:35you are going to get an electric atmosphere, not necessarily in the building, but on social

07:40media, both good and bad.

07:42This is the times that we live in.

07:44I'm glad opening up with this type of game.

07:47Absolutely.

07:47So right.

07:48Deion Sanders has always said you want to come find me.

07:52I am here unless your name is Sean Keeler and you work in Denver and you ask too many

07:56hard hitting questions to Deion Sanders.

07:59But outside of that, you want all of the attention.

08:03You want all the eyeballs.

08:04You want that notoriety nationally.

08:07Here you have it on the first Thursday night of week number one in the best game of the

08:12evening.

08:12One of my favorites early on here in this college football season and the reactions

08:18will be swift if North Dakota State wins outright.

08:22Oh boy.

08:22If Colorado wins a close one, are we going to argue about what the bus might be able

08:27to do here in year number two under Deion Sanders?

08:31But hey, if they do something like they did last year and stunned the nation, it wouldn't

08:35be a stunning upset this year.

08:37But if Colorado looks dominant, wins by two touchdowns, three touchdowns, will we start

08:42to build the Boulder hype train once again?

08:45Last year in September, Colorado was rightfully the talk of the country.

08:49They won their first three games.

08:51Four of their first six did not win again in their final six games of the year to finish

08:56four and eight.

08:57But September was key on August 29th.

09:01Will Colorado dominate national headlines once again?

09:04I believe so.

09:05Yeah, and I think they will also.

09:07And that's why you have this game opening night because it will be, as I said, a referendum

09:11game, both good or bad for Colorado, fair or unfair.

09:14It's going to happen here and I can't wait to watch it.

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