North Dakota State vs Colorado picks, predictions: Who wins Week 1 college football game?

The North Dakota State Bison and the Colorado Buffaloes play in a college football Week 1 game on Thursday, Aug. 29, in Boulder, Colorado.

Which team will win the game?

Check out these picks and predictions for the game, which is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. MST and can be seen on ESPN (stream with this free trial from FUBO).

Colorado is coming off a 4-8 season. North Dakota State went 11-4 last season.

Colorado is a 9.5-point favorite in the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Buffaloes are -350 on the moneyline. The Bison are +270.

The over/under for the game is set at 59.5 points.

ESPN: Colorado has a 71.3% chance to beat North Dakota State

The site gives the Bison a 28.7% shot at defeating Colorado in Thursday’s game.

Sports Chat Place: Bet North Dakota State with the points vs Colorado

Shane Mickle writes: “Give me North Dakota State here and give me on the money line. College football is a team game, and NDSU is the best team. Sure, Colorado might have the better individual players, but I don’t think the Colorado defense is going to be making many stops in this game. This is an elite NDSU run offense, and they are going to have no issue running up the score here. This Colorado offense will have a couple of bad turnovers and NDSU is going to pull it out late. Back North Dakota State against the spread.”

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Troy Perlowitz writes: “Yes, North Dakota State is not like other FCS programs. Yes, Colorado is probably still a work in progress in terms of competing for national championships. But the elite talent level — especially on offense — should favor Colorado significantly.”

Matthew Postins writes: “Yep, I’ll take the underdog. Look — I’ve seen the Bison in person plenty of times. When one perceives they’re “down,” trust me — they’re not. Hostile environments don’t intimidate them in the slightest. Sanders acknowledged that he knew a challenge was coming when he talked about NDSU during Big 12 Media Days. The Bison aren’t sneaking up on the Buffaloes. But their style of offense can shorten a game and neutralize Colorado’s big-play offense.”

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Pick Dawgz: Take North Dakota State with the points against Colorado

Randy Chambers writes: “The Colorado Buffaloes are getting the benefit of the doubt for obvious reasons and are the more talented team. You’re rarely going to get an FCS team favored over an FBS team. However, there’s a lot of roster turnover with Colorado, especially on the offensive line and on defense. It’s going to take time for Colorado to really get rolling. Also, the North Dakota State Bison are the best FCS program by a long shot, with 9 titles since 2011. North Dakota State is the Alabama of the FCS ranks and certainly will not enter this game intimidated. In fact, I guarantee North Dakota State believes it can win this game outright. This is a dangerous game for Colorado. Give me North Dakota State and the points.”

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STREAM THE GAME:Watch North Dakota State vs Colorado live with FUBO (free trial)

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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