Report: ASU-Colorado Week 0 game a no-go after consideration
Jan 11, 2023, 10:36 AM | Updated: 2:37 pm
The Arizona State Sun Devils will not face the Colorado Buffaloes for a Week 0 game to debut coaches Kenny Dillingham and Deion Sanders after holding talks to move around the schedule, according to an update provided by 247 Sports on Wednesday.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports that the football oversight committee denied the request that said the team did not want to play nine straight weeks, but that was overturned because many teams play such schedules.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit revealed on Monday night’s College GameDay show that Sanders had told him Colorado was expected to open the season against ASU, pitting the two new coaches against one another.
“(Sanders) was on GameDay with us and he actually gave us some news … breaking news, from Prime,” Herbstreit said on the broadcast. “They’re actually not going to be opening up with (TCU). Colorado’s going to open up with Arizona State in their first game, and then they’re going to play TCU in their second game. Looks like they’re sneaking around there a little bit, but that was just told to me from Coach Prime tonight.”
While 247 Sports confirmed that idea was in the works on Tuesday, it reported Wednesday that Pac-12 officials “stepped in and halted progress before the programs could ask for a waiver to move the game.”
The website added the conference approached other teams with an opportunity to face Colorado and Sanders, the energetic former NFL star who is making the jump after coaching at Jackson State over the past three seasons.
“Arizona State jumped at the opportunity,” sources told 247 Sports.
ASU is set to host Colorado in Tempe this coming season.
With the Week 0 considerations nixed and the Sun Devils presumably keeping with the current schedule, they will open the year at Sun Devil Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 31, against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. A Week 0 game would have likely pushed that game back two days into a Saturday slot.
Colorado is currently scheduled to open the year Saturday, Sept. 2, against the national champion runner-up TCU Horned Frogs.
The Pac-12, which usually releases its conference football schedule in December, has yet to release the full slate for 2023.
