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ESPN College GameDay heading to Boulder for Rocky Mountain Showdown

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh09/09/23griffin_mcveigh
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Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The early story of the 2023 college football season has been the Colorado Buffaloes. Head coach Deion Sanders has two statement wins against TCU and Nebraska. It’s an unprecedented time for the program and now, ESPN College GameDay is getting into the equation.

Boulder will be the site for next week’s show, with Colorado hosting in-state rival Colorado State for the Rocky Mountain Showdown. College GameDay has not been there since 1996, breaking a nearly three-decade drought for the Buffaloes.

“Colorado get ready, WE’RE COMIN’,” a tweet said on Saturday afternoon. “For the first time since 1996, we’re headed to Boulder as Coach Prime and 2-0 @CUBuffsFootball host the Rocky Mountain Showdown with rival Colorado State!”

Colorado-Colorado State may not have the biggest on-field implications of the Week 3 slate. The SEC will have multiple conference games played, while an old rivalry such as Mizzou–Kansas State is getting renewed in Columbia, MO. A likely top-10-ranked Washington heads to East Lansing to play Mel Tucker’s Michigan State.

But what Sanders has done through two games is too big to ignore. Heading into the season, nobody would have expected Colorado to have a 2-0 record heading into the Colorado State game. ESPN has covered the story from afar thus far but wants to get up close and personal next weekend.

ESPN will not be the only pregame program in town. FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff will be there as well, marking the second weekend in a row. However, kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. local time, with ESPN having the broadcast.

More on Colorado, Colorado State rivalry

Despite the recent program struggles, Colorado is on a five-game winning streak against Colorado State. However, there has not been a Rocky Mountain Showdown since the 2019 season. It’s a rare Power Five vs. Group of Five in-state rivalry but still has a lengthy history.

The first matchup between the two took place in 1893 but Colorado State was known as Colorado Agriculture back then. Colorado leads the all-time series 67-22-2, dominating throughout the three centuries it has been played.

Boulder and Fort Collins are where the two respective campuses are located but in recent matchups, Denver has been the location of the Rocky Mountain Showdown. Beginning in 1998, all but three of the 22 matchups have taken place at Mile High Stadium.

The series will shift back to Folsom Field for what should be another energized Colorado crowd.