The first College Football Playoff bracket came out on Tuesday and that means the playoffs aren’t too far away.
Unsurprisingly, no Colorado Division I college football teams were in it as none of the four Division I Colorado teams have a winning record. Bowl games are still possible for these teams, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
All four Colorado Division I college football teams are in action this weekend and all four are likely underdogs (Northern Colorado, an FCS Division I school, doesn’t have lines attached to its games.) Here’s a look at what matchups Colorado Division I college football teams have this week:
Where: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia
How to watch: TNT, HBO Max
Records: Colorado is 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 Conference after its 52-17 loss vs. Arizona last Saturday. West Virginia is 3-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12 Conference after its 45-35 win at Houston last Saturday.
Line: West Virginia is a 6.5-point favorite.
Notes: The Buffaloes have had a disastrous last two weeks and have been outscored 105-24. Colorado has lost four of its last five games and its only win in that span against Iowa State was its lone power conference victory of the season.
Last week, the Buffaloes were outgained by 150 yards against Arizona, which doesn’t seem like much when looking at the final score. But, Colorado had five turnovers and allowed two 50+ yard touchdowns.
After the disaster against Arizona, Colorado head coach Deion Sanders decided to make a change at quarterback. Highly-touted freshman Julian Lewis will make his first start for the Buffaloes. He becomes the third quarterback to start this year for Colorado; Lewis played in his second game of the season against Arizona.
West Virginia snapped a five-game losing streak last Saturday against Houston. West Virginia was powered by 53 carries for 246 yards and four touchdowns as a team. The Mountaineers also won the turnover battle 4-0.
Where: CEFCU Stadium, San Jose, California
How to watch: FS1
Records: Air Force is 2-6 overall and 1-4 in the Mountain West Conference after its 20-17 loss vs. Army last Saturday. San José State is 3-5 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West Conference after its 45-38 win vs. Hawaii last Saturday.
Line: The Spartans are either a 5.5 or six-point favorite depending on the sportsbook.
Notes: Air Force’s loss against Army was an especially tough defeat. Falcons quarterback Liam Szarka tied the game at 17 with a 2-yard touchdown run with 1:26 left. The Falcons could not stop Army from advancing the ball into field goal range in the final 1:26 and Army’s Dawson Jones hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired for the win.
Szarka finished the game 13/17 passing for 161 yards and two interceptions. He also led the Falcons on the ground with 29 carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Army quarterback Cale Hellums also did most of the damage for his team. He finished 5/9 passing for 102 yards and a touchdown along with 26 carries for 98 yards and a rushing touchdown.
San José State scored 24 points in the second quarter against Hawaii to help propel it to victory. Quarterback Walker Eget had a phenomenal day and finished 20/40 passing for 458 yards and two touchdowns. About half of those yards were to wide receiver Danny Scudero, who finished with seven catches for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
Where: Canvas Stadium, Fort Collins
How to watch: FS1
Records: Colorado State is 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the Mountain West after its 28-0 loss at Wyoming on Oct. 25. UNLV is 6-2 overall and 2-2 in the Mountain West after its 40-35 loss vs. New Mexico last Saturday.
Line: UNLV is either a four or 4.5-point favorite, depending on the sportsbook.
Notes: Colorado State lost its first game since it fired head coach Jay Norvell, 28-0 to Wyoming. The Cowboys had two touchdowns on the ground and through the air. Colorado State quarterback Jackson Brousseau was benched after three interceptions for redshirt freshman Darius Curry. Colorado State’s loss to Wyoming was the first time the Rams have been shutout this season.
UNLV is on a two-game losing streak after starting the season 6-0. The Rebels lost to New Mexico after they gave up 532 total yards and lost the turnover battle 3-0 with three lost fumbles. UNLV quarterback Anthony Colandrea did have an efficient game through the air with 382 yards and three touchdowns.
It will be the first matchup between UNLV and Colorado State since 2023, when UNLV won 25-23 at home.
Where: J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome, Flagstaff, Arizona
How to watch: ESPN+
Records: Northern Colorado is 3-6 overall and 1-4 in the Big Sky Conference after its 55-7 loss against No. 4 Montana State last Saturday. Northern Arizona is 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Sky after 35-32 overtime loss to Idaho last Friday.
Line: No line
Notes: Northern Colorado has lost three consecutive games and its worst loss of the season was on Saturday against No. 4 Montana State. Northern Colorado trailed 20-0 at the half and could never get back into the game.
Montana State quarterback Justin Lamson had an efficient game and finished 16/22 for 331 yards and three touchdowns. Northern Colorado quarterbacks Eric Gibson Jr. and Peter Costelli could only combine for 157 passing yards.
Northern Arizona was down by as many as 19 points against Idaho before coming back in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Northern Arizona quarterback Ty Pennington finished the game 23/34 passing for 267 yards and a touchdown.
Note: The rankings for the Northern Colorado section and its opponents are different from the first three games because Northern Colorado and its opponents are part of the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.
