The numbers don’t lie: Colorado football under Deion Sanders is a spectacle.
With the announcement of three more nationally televised games for the 2025 season, the Buffaloes will enter September as one of the most visible teams in the country.
The Big 12 released TV designations and kickoff times for several early-season matchups today and Colorado once again finds themselves front and center.
The Buffs home opener against Delaware on Sept. 6 will air on FOX at 1:30 p.m. MT, followed by a nationally televised Friday night matchup at Houston on Sept. 12 (5:30 p.m. MT, ESPN). Then, on Sept. 27, CU returns to primetime on ESPN for a home showdown against BYU, set for an 8:15 p.m. MT kickoff.
These join the previously announced Week 0 game against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29 (6 p.m. MT, ESPN), bringing Colorado’s total to four nationally televised games to open the 2025 slate.
This is consistent with the trend established since Sanders took over in December 2022. During his first two seasons at the helm, 22 of CU’s 25 games were broadcast on national networks or ESPN’s flagship channel. The Buffs shattered their own school record with 13 nationally televised games in 2024—after setting a new high with eight in 2023.
Prior to Coach Prime's arrival, CU’s single-season high was just seven, set during the 1990 national championship season.
Viewership numbers
Colorado’s transformation under Sanders has been a ratings magnet.
The Buffaloes ranked sixth nationally in total viewers during the 2024 regular season, averaging 3.86 million per game. Twelve of their 25 games under Sanders have drawn at least four million viewers, and last season’s Alamo Bowl matchup with BYU drew a staggering 8 million viewers on ABC, making it the most-watched Alamo Bowl in history and the most-watched non-New Year’s Six bowl game since 2020.
Despite losing Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter to the NFL, CU remains one of the most talked-about programs in the country, largely due to the attention Coach Prime can still bring.
Early season matchups to set the tone
The September schedule offers an intriguing mix of opponents. CU opens with Georgia Tech in yet another Friday night primetime slot to kick off the season. Then comes a home date with FCS Delaware, which provides an opportunity for young players like Julian "JuJu" Lewis to establish solid playing time. The trip to Houston serves as the Buffs Big 12 debut on the road, followed by a marquee home matchup against BYU, who dismantled us 36-14 in the Alamo Bowl.
The only one of CU’s first five games that hasn’t received a national TV designation yet is the Sept. 20 matchup with Wyoming.
More broadcast assignments are expected to be announced throughout the summer as networks finalize their schedules. But the early trend is clear: television executives are still betting on the Buffs to bring viewers.
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