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A sold-out national TV spectacle: What to know about Colorado football's spring game

chris abshire, fort collins coloradoan
·4 min read
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New ballgame in Boulder: Takeaways from Deion Sanders' electric Colorado football spring game debut

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The Deion Sanders era's first Folsom Field game action comes Saturday with the Colorado football spring game.

Black & Gold Day is the hottest ticket in Boulder, with the spring game being sold out for weeks now.

Sanders, a pro and college football Hall of Famer, left Jackson State to coach CU in December and has rapidly remade the roster via a top-rated transfer portal class.

With 28 transfer additions already and the "Prime Time" hype train, this isn't just a spring game. It's a nationally televised spectacle for the program.

Here's what to know about the Colorado spring game:

When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday, April 22 at Folsom Field

Tickets: The game is sold out. As of Wednesday, tickets on the secondary market start at $53 on sites like SeatGeek and Vivid Seats.

Parking: A limited number of parking passes on Main Campus are available for $10 each, on a first-come-first-served basis. Additional parking is available for $10 on East Campus. A shuttle will be provided from East Campus lots to Folsom Field.

Format: Colorado has not announced a spring game format. Schools often use alternative game styles or modified scrimmages for spring games.

How to watch: The CU spring game will be televised on ESPN and streamed via the ESPN app or at WatchESPN. It is the only spring game this year to be broadcast on ESPN, with even back-to-back defending champion Georgia's spring game appearing on ESPN2.

CU alumnus Chris Fowler (ESPN's lead college football play-by-play announcer) and 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III will be on the call.

Weather forecast: Saturday's forecast in Boulder is mostly cloudy with a high of 51 degrees. There's a 40% chance of precipitation, including rain or snow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and rain after 1 p.m.

Folsom Field is sold out for a spring game for the first time in Colorado football history.
Folsom Field is sold out for a spring game for the first time in Colorado football history.

Record-setting attendance: The 45,000-plus expected for a sold-out game smashes CU's previous spring game attendance record of 17,800 in 2008. CU said this year's spring game crowd will be larger than its last nine combined.

The Buffaloes also announced this week that they have sold out their season ticket packages for the 2023 season. It's the first time CU has sold out of season tickets since 1996.

In-state rivals: What to know about the Colorado State football 2023 spring game and surrounding festivities

Roster overhaul: CU has already brought in nearly 30 transfers, though it's also lost more than a dozen. More transfers (in and out) are expected in the coming weeks, but CU's transfer class is ranked No. 1 by 247 Sports.

Here are five transfers (all among 247 Sports top 100) to watch during Colorado's spring football game:

  • Travis Hunter (CB, Jackson State): The former No. 1 overall recruit in the Class of 2022 followed Sanders from Jackson State and will instantly be one of CU's most talented players ever.

  • Shedeur Sanders (QB, Jackson State): Deion's son also followed him to Boulder, and he's expected to be the Game 1 starter under center. Expect him to get plenty of playmaking opportunities Saturday.

  • Seydou Traore (TE, Arkansas State): The four-star transfer and England native was a first-team Sun Belt selection last season. He looks the part at a lanky but broad 6-foot-4.

  • Demouy Kennedy (LB, Alabama): The Alabama cachet is real. Kennedy is expected to be an anchor for the Buffs defense right away, with SEC-caliber speed, range and physicality at linebacker.

  • Jimmy Horn Jr. (WR, South Florida): While listed at only 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, Horn Jr. is an absolute burner with the ball. Expect him to be a favorite target for Shedeur Sanders on Saturday and a possible special teams game breaker.

The Deion Effect: Boulder is the place to be Saturday. CU already announced that more than 20 current and former NFL players from CU will be in attendance, including David Bakhtiari, Laviska Shenault Jr., Mason Crosby, Nate Solder, Michael Westbrook, Kordell Stewart and more.

More than two dozen highly touted recruits are also expected on hand, plus there have been hints about some surprise celebrity sightings.

Festivities: Pregame festivities include a Field Day, a volleyball alumni game, a soccer match vs. Nebraska and a Buffs Legends autograph session.

More information on CU's spring game is available at: cubuffs.com/feature/black-gold-day

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: How to watch Colorado football's first spring game with Deion Sanders