Buffs reveal underwhelming non-conference football replacement games

The Colorado Buffaloes announced five future home games to their future non-conference schedule on Tuesday, replacing games they lost by joining the Big 12.

Athletic Director Rick George says CU will face Delaware on Sept. 6, 2025, Weber State on Sept. 12, 2026, and Northern Illinois on Sept. 18, 2027. Perhaps the marquee on the list of cupcakes is two matchups with fellow in-state school Northern Colorado on both Sept. 16, 2028, and Sept. 13, 2031.

“With our move to the Big 12 and having some of our existing home-and-home series turn into conference games, we had an opportunity to take a new approach to scheduling,” George said in a news release. “With the expansion of the College Football Playoff, we want to be strategic leading into conference play with some Group of Five and FCS opponents earlier in the season. I am confident this strategy will give us the best chance at a berth in the CFP, an expectation that Coach Prime and I both share.”

Colorado lost three previously announced home-and-home series when they joined the Big 12 earlier this year. The trio of sets were all against about-to-conference foes in Houston for 2025-26, Kansas State for 2027-28 and Oklahoma State for 2036-37.

The five new games replace two existing home games, two existing road games, and one open date, giving CU seven home games in 2025, 2027, 2028 and 2030. With nine conference games scheduled, the Big 12 will be in a similar pattern to the Pac-12 rotating between four and five home and road games every other season.

“Folsom Field is an amazing place for college football and one goal I’ve had is to create opportunities for more home games,” George said in the release. “We haven’t had more than six home games since 1982 and just twice in our 134-year history, so I’m extremely excited to give our fans the opportunity to see us at home more often in the future.”

While the home games are nice, the five new games secure that Colorado will not play a rivalry game between either Nebraska or Colorado State in any of the years with new games. Clearly, the Buffaloes have gone for the easy route over creating a big nonconference clash. And it’s hard to know which strategy will be correct in the changing landscape that is college football, especially with an expanded 12-team playoff going into place next season.

The schedule for next year remains unchanged, Colorado will start with the always-tough lower-division North Dakota State before traveling to both Nebraska and Colorado State. Then they’ll kick off conference play. It’ll be the last time the Buffaloes play a rival until they meet the Rams again in 2029. There is no future dates with Nebraska set, the Buffs have beaten the Huskers every time they’ve played since each left the Big 12 the first time.

The Buffaloes had a few major non-conference matchups on the future slate, with five home-and-home series and 11 overall non-conference games against other Power 4 schools in the next eight seasons. The SEC’s Florida will face CU in 2028-29 and Missouri matches up against their old conference rival for the first time in ages in the 2030-31 seasons. The ACC’s got Georgia Tech against Colorado in 2025-26 and SMU facing the Buffaloes in 2030-31. After the Nebraska series expires next season, the Big Ten will only have Northwestern against Colorado on the future slate, facing off in 2026 and 2027.

Colorado now only has one open date on their future schedule until 2031, coming in the 2029 season. And the Buffaloes have already announced a home-and-home series with North Texas in 2032-33 and continuing games with Colorado State in 2033-34 and 2037-38. It will be interesting to see when the Buffaloes will face their first former Pac-12 school again that isn’t joining them right away in the Big 12.

More home games, easier opponents and perhaps some cheap wins before a strong conference slate is the hope—setting up the best shot at the College Football Playoff. The downside is the loss of some early-season luster in Boulder.