Colorado coach Deion Sanders called the Matt Rhule-Nebraska matchup a year ago “personal,” breathing new life into an old Big 8 rivalry. When Coach Prime and Colorado football face the Cornhuskers again on Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, their fans across the country will be watching on a largely unknown channel this time.
The Buffaloes are scheduled to appear in their second game on NBC. The broadcast will highlight an unusual feature that is the byproduct of the Big Ten’s conference realignment and media rights agreements that have gone into effect in recent years. This will be only the second time Colorado has played a regular season game on NBC, and it will be the first game the broadcast has aired on the channel since the 1995 Fiesta Bowl.
Colorado, which left the Big 12 for the Pac 12 before the 2011 season and returned to the Big 12 before this season, went 4-8 in Sanders’ first season and won its 2024 season opener against North Dakota State last week. Nebraska finished the 2023 season 5-7 under Rhule and began this season with a 41-7 win over UTEP.
So why will Sanders and Colorado get rare airtime on Saturday against one of their old Big 12 opponents? Here’s how the media rights agreements work for the Big Ten and Big 12, how to watch Colorado-Nebraska and who the favorites are in Week 2:
SPLIT: The Prime Show once again features lots of bling and no bang as Colorado struggles past North Dakota St.
Why is Colorado vs. Nebraska on NBC?
The Big Ten became the first conference to sell its media rights to three broadcast networks when it signed seven-year deals with FOX, CBS and NBC in 2022 with total revenues of more than $7 billion. The deals took effect starting last season.
Fox will broadcast 24 to 32 football games per season during the term of the agreement, while NBC will broadcast 14 to 16 games on its linear network and eight games per year on Peacock. Starting this year, CBS will broadcast 14 to 15 Big Ten games per season as its long-standing partnership with the SEC ends. At least 55 conference football games will be broadcast on the broadcast networks in the fall, with the goal of having a nationally televised Big Ten game throughout the day.
That means FOX, which is still the league’s primary rights holder, gets to broadcast a Big Ten game at Big Noon Kickoff. CBS also gets to broadcast an afternoon game. NBC, on the other hand, gets a Big Ten game in prime time every week.
As part of the Big Ten’s media rights deals, the three networks agreed on a selection order that has not been publicly announced. FOX was allowed to pick the first three games this season, as the Big Ten’s primary rights holder selected the Michigan-Ohio State game on Nov. 30 and the Michigan-Texas game on Saturday, according to the Seattle Times and The Athletic.
It would make sense that NBC had the second pick of Big Ten games this week, considering Colorado-Nebraska was one of three games featuring Sanders and Colorado that ranked among the 15 highest-rated regular-season broadcasts of the 2023 college football season. Since Nebraska hosts Colorado, it will be televised as part of the Big Ten’s media rights package. Last year’s game was televised on FOX. The Big 12 has a seven-year media rights deal with FOX and ESPN totaling nearly $2.3 billion to broadcast its home games.
CBS, meanwhile, will broadcast this week’s rivalry game between No. 21 Iowa and Iowa State on Saturday afternoon.
How to watch and stream Colorado Buffaloes vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers
- Date: Saturday, September 7
- Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
- Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV: ABC
- Streaming: Peacock, Fubo
Saturday’s game between Colorado and Nebraska will be televised nationally on NBC and can be streamed on Peacock or through Fubo, which you can subscribe to with a free trial.
Watch Week 2 College Football Games on Fubo
College Football 2024: Colorado vs. Nebraska odds, lines
According to BetMGM’s college football odds, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are the favorites to face the Colorado Buffaloes.
Odds as of Thursday afternoon.
- Spread: Nebraska (-7.5)
- Money lines: Nebraska (-275); Colorado (+225)
- Over/Under: 56.5
Want to bet? Check out the best college football betting apps in 2024 that offer the best NCAA football betting promotions and bonuses in 2024.
Colorado Football Schedule 2024
- August 29: North Dakota State (W, 31-26)
- September 7: in Nebraska
- September 14: at Colorado State
- September 21: Baylor
- September 28: at UCF
- October 5: Bye
- October 12: Kansas State*
- October 19: in Arizona*
- October 26: Cincinnati
- November 2nd: Bye
- November 9th: at Texas Tech*
- 16 November: Utah*
- 23 November: in Kansas*
- November 29: Oklahoma State*
- December 7: Big 12 Championship Game
*- Big 12 game
Nebraska Football Schedule 2024
- August 31: UTEP (W, 41-7)
- September 7: Colorado
- September 14: Northern Iowa
- September 20: Illinois*
- Sept. 28: at Purdue*
- October 5: Rutgers
- October 12: Bye
- Oct. 19: in Indiana*
- October 26: at Ohio State*
- November 2: UCLA*
- November 9: Bye
- November 16: at USC*
- November 23: Wisconsin*
- 29 November: in Iowa*
- December 7: Big Ten Championship Game
*- Big Ten game
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