NDSU coach sounds fearful discussing Colorado football DC Robert Livingston's schemes

North Dakota State offensive line coach Dan Larson sounded fearful when discussing game-planning for first-year Colorado football defensive coordinator Robert Livingston's schemes after nearly a decade in the NFL.

"It's super challenging," Larson said of the Week 1 preparation for Colorado (h/t The Coloradoan). "The biggest preparation we can do for an opponent is how well do we know ourselves? You have to rely on that aspect of it because you just don't know. Especially when the defensive coordinator comes from an NFL background, there's a lot of intricacies there that you have to get a feel for. He's (Livingston) been a part of a lot of big football games and he's obviously been around a great defensive staff there in Cincinnati for a long time so he's going to have a ton of knowledge in terms of how to make adjustments."

Larson even admitted to worrying about the personnel on the field; something that he feels is slowing his team down. The focus for the Bison, in Larson's eyes, should be on what NDSU does well.

"Then, I think it's just really hard to figure out who the starters are. If you start worrying about all those things from a preparation standpoint, you probably start losing a little bit of focus on the areas we feel comfortable when it comes to NDSU. You can't prepare for the unknown outside of just making sure that your guys are ready to try and handle any situation that gets thrown at them."

NDSU sounds trepidatious about facing Colorado football

Everyone hoped North Dakota State would be a trap game for the Buffs that would have Deion Sanders laughed out of college football. From the sounds of it, though, the Bison may be the ones experiencing difficulties on August 29 in Boulder.

The spread has moved CU's way in recent weeks and Larson sounds straight up mystified about what Livingston's defense may throw at North Dakota State's undersized offensive front. All signs are pointing in the direction of the Buffs handling their business.

Of course, the game still needs to be played. But sometimes you win in the preparation, and Colorado undoubtedly has the edge there right now.