Boulder, CU – Karl Dorrel’s Colorado Buffaloes are set to play Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins Saturday, for a nationally televised game on ESPN2, at 5:00 p.m. mountaintime.
The longest off season in Colorado football history is finally starting after 343 days, and it was a crazy one. Not only did Colorado lose its head football coach in February with the departure of Mel Tucker who left for the head coaching job at Michigan State University. But the Covid-19 pandemic caused panic across the world, and until recently, everyone wondered if there’d be a football season.
The Pac-12 made the decision in September to have a condensed season that would begin for all teams in November. This decision was made after several other divisions provided insight into how College Football could be played while taking extensive measures for safety precautions.
Now that both teams have had a month to prepare for this game, as the season finally begins. Here are some storylines to at tomorrow games.
- Today’s game will be Dorrell’s firstas the Colorado head coach, and he is playing against the team that gave him his first head coaching start 17 years ago—it’s been 13 years from when his tenure ended. He said recently that he’s learned a lot since that experience and is more locked into the process of the game than he was the first time around.
- Sam Noyer is the senior Quarterback for Colorado, and this is his first time starting. He was previously behind Steven Montez for the past couple of years, so everything about how he plays will be a surprise for the Bruins.
- Kelly is currently on the hot seat with the Bruins as he heads into his third year as head coach with a 7-17 record. Kelly has been unable to recreate the same success he had with Oregon years ago. But UCLA just recently hired a new athletic director, and the college remains optimistic on the future of this team.
- The Bruins quarterback, Dorian Thompson-Robinson is a gifted athlete that can extend plays with his feet. This may turn out to be an exciting game offensively, if Colorado does not find a way to stop him.
Let’s hope for a great game for both teams tonight, because finally college football is back.
