How to watch Colorado vs. North Dakota State football: FREE live stream, time, channel

Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes kick off their 2024 football season with a Thursday night home matchup against North Dakota State. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET with TV coverage on ESPN and streaming on-demand.

• Watch: Live streams of the Colorado vs. North Dakota State football game are available with offers from FuboTV (free trial), SlingTV (low intro rate) and DirecTV Stream (free trial).

North Dakota State Bison (0-0) at Colorado Buffaloes (0-0)

NCAA football matchup at a glance

When: Thursday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT)

Where: Folsom Field, Boulder, Colo.

TV channel: ESPN

Live streams: FuboTV (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate) | DirecTV Stream (free trial)

Colorado surged early in the 2023 season with three straight wins over TCU (45-42), Nebraska (36-14) and Colorado State (43-35 OT) and fizzled late with six straight losses to finish Sanders’ tumultuous first season in Boulder with a 4-8 record. The nation’s 16th-best passing offense does return star quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way standout Travis Hunter as the Buffaloes transition from the Pac-12 to Big 12 with pressure and hope and attention. Colorado is an imperfect team with high roster turnover and major questions, but should also be a constant source of entertainment and occasional brilliance.

How to watch Colorado vs. North Dakota State live: FuboTV (free trial) | DirecTV Stream (free trial) | SlingTV (low intro rate)

North Dakota State remains an FCS powerhouse and comes off an 11-4 season that ended with a 31-29 double-overtime loss to Montana State in the FCS Championship Game. The Bison are more established in areas where the Buffaloes could be vulnerable, namely in the trenches, but also faces the tall task of trying to slow down Shedeur Sanders, Hunter and company from throwing it around the field. The clash of styles could mean an onslaught of points on Thursday night.

The Buffaloes and Bison are set for an 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. MT) start on ESPN. Live streams are available from FuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and SlingTV (low intro rate).