This weekend’s college football on FOX: Deion Sanders-led Colorado battles No. 17 TCU in season opener

FORT WORTH, Texas - A new season of college football kicks off this weekend on FOX with the debut of Deion Sanders as the new head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes, who play their opener on the road against 17th-ranked TCU, last season’s national championship game runner-up.

Coverage begins with Big Noon Kick Off at 10 a.m. ET Saturday on FOX, followed by TCU vs. Colorado at noon ET, and then Rice takes on No. 11 Texas at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Coach Prime inherits a team with 87 new players and only three returning starters. 

One of the new players is quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who came with his father from Jackson State after throwing for 6,983 yards with 70 touchdowns and only 14 interceptions in 26 games the past two seasons, the Associated Press noted. 

Another weapon on Colorado’s roster this year is Travis Hunter, who also came over with Coach Prime from Jackson State. Hunter was a top recruit and will play offense and defense for the Buffaloes. 

Colorado hired Sanders last December after Jackson State won its second consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championship. That was about a year after Sanders had interviewed for the job at TCU that went to Sonny Dykes.

FILE-Texas Christian head football coach Sonny Dykes and the Horned Frogs won the Fiesta Bowl and advanced to the national championship game last season. (Amanda McCoy/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The Frogs had an undefeated regular season, which began with a 38-13 win at Colorado, and they matched their school record with 13 victories to compete in the National Championship.

But TCU had a disappointing end to their season with a blowout loss to Georgia as the Bulldogs captured their second consecutive national title. 

TCU’s Chandler Morris heads into the opener as the starting quarterback, just like he did in 2022 before spraining his left knee in the second half of the opener against the Buffaloes. Max Duggan, the starter he had replaced, became the Heisman Trophy runner-up after returning to the field. 

The Buffaloes return to the Big 12 next season. Colorado was among the original 12 teams in the conference but left for the Pac-12 after the 2010 season. TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012 and before last season had never played Colorado, the AP reported. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  This story was reported from Washington, D.C.