Thousands of University of Colorado football fans took in all the sights and sounds of in Boulder at the home field season opening game and the team's first season since joining the Pac-12.
Jake Ludwigson, a junior at CUsaid he and his friends started their day at 7 a.m. at the Fox network鈥檚 鈥淏ig Noon Kickoff鈥� pregame an Fest at Farrand Field. It was here where fans from both teams gathered for your typical tailgating fare, such as bratwurst and hamburgers off the grill as well as some friendly chatter amongst their respective fanbases.
Some fans went the extra mile making it no surprise to find someone in a buffalo costume that mimicked the Colorado team's mascot, Ralphie wandering around. By contrast one woman dressed in red and white from top to bottom in Nebraska gear made no secret whom she was rooting for.
"Go Big Red! Go Big Red!" she shouted to a chorus of fellow Nebraska fans cheering around her.
Nonetheless,Ludwignson predicted that fans watching the national televised broadcast would witness a huge Buffs victory.
"I鈥檝e been a Colorado fan for my whole life," said Ludwigson. "I鈥檝e been waiting for this for so long. I鈥檓 so excited for this game. It鈥檚 going to be great. It鈥檚 going to be a blowout. We鈥檙e going to destroy Nebraska.鈥�
Colorado did just that in a 36-14 win over the Huskers in front of a sold-out crowd of 53,241 people. According to the university, the game marked the biggest attendance at Folsom Field in 15 years.
Colorado football has seen a resurgence led by new head coach and NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders. They began the season with a huge upset of last year's national runner-up, Texas Christian University.
"It's been a long time coming," said Nathan Wittenburg, a junior at CU. "Last year it was pretty quiet because they were really bad. But with "Coach Prime" here, the excitement is back. We couldn't be happier."
The Buffs are now 2-0 on the young season and moved up four spots in this week鈥檚 AP Top 25 poll to number 18.
Saturday promises to be another huge crowd in Boulder when the Buffs face off with in-state rival Colorado State at 8 p.m. The game will be featured on Fox Sports' pregame show andESPN's "College Gameday" will be on location.
