The college football regular season kicks off a week before Labor Day in 2017, and very first game will take place in Fort Collins, Colorado, as Oregon State Beavers out of the Pac-12 will open against Colorado State in its new 41,200-seat, on-campus stadium.
Oregon State is coming off a 4-8 campaign but closed strong with consecutive Pac-12 wins over Arizona and Oregon. Colorado State is fresh off a 7-6 season and a trip to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Viewing information
Date: Saturday, Aug. 26
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Colorado State Stadium -- Fort Collins, Colorado
TV: CBS Sports Network
Live stream: CBS Sports Network is available via OTT streaming service providers YouTube TV, fubo TV and Hulu. Additionally, a live CBS Sports Network stream is available through CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports App by authenticating with select providers. For more information, including a full programming schedule, go to CBSSportsNetwork.com.
Storylines
Oregon State: Coach Gary Andersen kicks off his third season with the Beavers with junior college transfer quarterback Jake Luton -- formerly of Idaho -- taking the snaps. The big 6-foot-7, 234-pounder set Ventura College records with 3,551 yards and 40 passing touchdowns a year ago. Leading rusher Ryan Nall returns to help the transition to Luton in an offense that should resemble Andersen's more traditional ground-and-pound offenses at Wisconsin in 2013 and 2014. Andersen challenged his defensive linemen to become more physical at the start of fall camp, and the Rams should provide a good test for a Beaver defense that gave up 429.2 yards per game last year.
Colorado State: It'll be a raucous atmosphere as the coach Mike Bobo's crew cuts the ribbon on their new digs. Quarterback Nick Stevens earned the starting job last season when he threw 19 touchdowns and five picks. All 19 touchdowns came over the last seven games, during which time he only threw three interceptions. Dalyn Dawkins (919 yards, four touchdowns) and Izzy Matthews (734 yards, 13 touchdowns) provide a very solid 1-2 punch in the backfield. Defensively, the linebacking corps should be one of the strengths of the Rams in 2017.
Prediction
It might seem a bit shocking at first to see a Mountain West team favored by 3.5 points over a Pac-12 team, but these Rams have earned it. Bobo has had time to mold this team in a way that suits his more traditional style, which is one that is somewhat foreign to Pac-12 teams who are accustomed to more exotic offenses. It'll be a fun one in Fort Collins with the homestanding Rams edging out Oregon State by a touchdown in a game that will certainly please the home crowd at the new stadium. Pick: Colorado State -4
Be sure to check out SportsLine's expert simulation for the OSU-CSU game and every other college football contest this season.