Getty Steven Montez leads Colorado against rivals Colorado State in the 2019 season opener on Friday.
As is tradition, Rivalry Week comes early in The Centennial State, as in-state foes Colorado and Colorado State meet for a Week 1 Rocky Mountain Showdown on Friday night in Denver.
The game is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Hulu With Live TV comes with Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies and 60-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Colorado vs Colorado State on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Hulu credentials.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Sling TV’s “Sling Orange” bundle comes with 25-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can start a free seven-day trial of Sling TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Colorado vs Colorado State on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the Sling TV app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your Sling TV credentials.
If you can’t watch live, cloud DVR is available as an add-on.
YouTube TV comes with 70-plus live TV channels, including ESPN.
You can sign up for YouTube TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Colorado vs Colorado State on your computer via the YouTube website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or other compatible streaming device via the YouTube app. You can also watch the game on the ESPN app if you sign in using your YouTube TV credentials.
If you can’t watch live, YouTube TV comes with included DVR.
Colorado State vs Colorado Preview
After a trip to the Pac-12 Championship game in 2016, it has been two disappointing 5-7 seasons in a row for Colorado. Last year’s was especially difficult to swallow, as they started the year 5-0 but proceeded to lose seven straight. As such, the Buffs decided to make a change at head coach, replacing Mike MacIntyre with Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
Tucker brings with him not only strong SEC ties that should help recruiting in Boulder, but a defensive background that includes time in the NFL and experience coaching under Nick Saban. He takes over a fairly inexperienced defense, as Colorado returns just four starters on that side of the ball, but it wouldn’t be surprising if someone with his background helps the Buffaloes immediately improve defensively after they finished 71st in the country in scoring defense last year.
But where Colorado is especially intriguing is in the passing game. They have a fifth-year senior at QB in Steven Montez, who could potentially have an NFL future, and they have a junior wide receiver in Laviska Shenault Jr., who is one of the best receivers in the country and has Top-10 pick potential.
The Montez-Shenault connection, which is one of the most dangerous QB-WR combos in the nation, has likely been keeping Colorado State head coach Mike Bobo up at night. In last year’s meeting, Shenault began his breakout year by putting up 11 catches, 211 yards and a touchdown against an overmatched Colorado State secondary.
That was the start of a trend for the Rams, who were one of the worst pass defenses in all of college football last year. Though teams didn’t pass against them a lot, they easily moved the ball when they did, as CSU finished the year 123rd in opponent yards per pass attempt and 116th in opponent completion percentage.
That said, the Rams return just four defensive starters from that team, while several freshmen and sophomores who played last year will step into bigger roles. And now they’re ready to put last year behind them.
“It’s important focusing on moving forward, not worrying about last year,” linebacker Dequan Jackson said. “We want to go into the season with confidence that we’re going to be able to make plays, we’re going to be able to stop people and get our offense the ball so they can score.”
The Buffalos, who lead the Rocky Mountain Showdown with a 66-22 all-time record and have won each of the last four matchups, including a 45-13 drubbing last year, are being pegged as 13.5-point favorites.