Plans for Pac-12 opener between Arizona State and Colorado in Week 0 hit snag

New Colorado football coach Deion Sanders popped off a little too early when he leaked to ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit that his team was going to square off against Arizona State in a Week 0 Pac-12 opener. The revelation came during Monday night's telecast of the College Football Championship game between TCU and Georgia and took ASU officials by surprise.

That would have been the plan, but talks to make that official have hit a snag as a waiver by the Pac-12 to play a conference game that early was nixed by the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, according to Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, which didn't approve of the potential that the teams could possibly play two months without a bye week.

The matchup no doubt would have garnered considerable national attention and resulted in a prominent time and network television slot.

Sanders was a splashy hire, leading Jackson State to a 27-6 mark in three years there. That was highlighted by a 12-1 showing the past season in which his team defeated Southern 43-24 to win the SWAC. It was dealt its lone loss of the season by North Carolina Central 34-31 in overtime in the Cricket Celebration Bowl. He then departed for Colorado for a five-year deal worth a reported $29.5 million.

The last winning season for Colorado came in 2016 when it was 10-4. The Buffaloes are 5-19 over the past two seasons, including a 1-11 showing the past season. Karl Dorrell was fired late in the season with offensive coordinator Mike Sanford finishing out as interim coach before Sanders' appointment.

Colorado and ASU have a lot in common, a new head coach being the prominent theme as the Sun Devils parted ways with Herm Edwards after the third game of a season in which they went 3-9. Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham was appointed his replacement, making him the youngest head coach at a Power 5 program. That move has seemed to energize the ASU fanbase much like the situation with Sanders in Colorado.

For subscribers: Tracking Arizona State football players in and out of the transfer portal

Both ASU and Colorado have reloaded via the transfer portal. ASU has 24 Division I transfers, most of any school, while Colorado stands at 20, seven of whom are following Sanders from his former school.

The conference was due to release a schedule in December but that did not come off, with the possibility of this potential change likely being a key reason.

ASU will play eight home games this season, including all three non-conference games. If the Colorado game were played in Week 0 that would have also meant four home games in August-September when it is traditionally still hot, particularly if the games were to be played early.

The game against Colorado, whenever it is played, will be at Sun Devil Stadium since ASU played in Boulder last season. ASU's home opponents also include popular draws in rival Arizona, as well as USC.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Potential opener between Arizona State, Colorado football hits snag