Colorado–Iowa State set for midday kickoff

It’s time to celebrate, Buffs fans. The Colorado Buffaloes will not have their next home game kick off in the latest TV window. Instead of the dreaded 8:20 p.m. MDT kick, they’ll take on the Iowa State Cyclones at 1:30 p.m. at Folsom Field on Oct. 11.

Throughout the first two and a half years of the Coach Prime era, it’s seemed that the Buffs only play home games at 10:00 a.m. or after the sun goes down, and rarely get an opportunity to play in the middle of the day. Buffs fans looking to watch a game have not gotten a whole lot of opportunities to cheer on the black and gold at home at a normal hour, but they’ll get another rare opportunity to do so soon.

The kickoff time for Colorado’s Week 7 matchup against Iowa State was revealed on Monday, and fans got the good news that they won’t have to wake up early or stay up late to watch the game. It will kick from Folsom Field at 1:30 p.m. MDT and be televised on ESPN.

Week 7️⃣ Gametime Announcement

1:30PM (MT) Kickoff 🆚 Iowa State pic.twitter.com/k4QkRrdfmK

— Colorado Buffaloes Football (@CUBuffsFootball) September 29, 2025

This will be the second day kickoff in five home games for the Buffaloes to start the season. The other one was the 31-7 victory over Delaware in Week 2 that started all the quarterback controversy that has taken over the team in the following weeks.

For those who are wondering why the Buffs kick off in the late-night window so often, it’s simply because of TV ratings. They are still one of the most-watched teams in the entire country, and the TV networks put them in the late window because they know people will watch them — to cheer for them and to hate on them — when there’s no other good games to compete with them.

The Buffs are 4-3 in mid-day games (12:00 p.m. local to 2:30 p.m. local kick time), but have played just two of those seven at home. The window was friendly to them in 2023, as they went 3-1 amidst a strong run that yielded a berth in the Alamo Bowl, and they will need to channel the same energy they had in those games last season this time around. The Cyclones are one of the toughest opponents on the schedule, but if the Buffaloes want to make a bowl game, this might be a must-win contest.

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