Colorado and Arizona State’s reported Week Zero matchup to kick off the 2023 season has been scrapped, according to 247Sports. The news was confirmed by The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach, who also reported that the waiver requested to go forward with the game was denied by the NCAA.
The report comes just two days after Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders reportedly leaked the news of the matchup to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.
With five minutes left in the College Football Playoff championship, Herbstreit made the announcement that Arizona State and Colorado would face off and cited Sanders as his source.
“On [College] Gameday with us he actually gave us some news. This is for you,” Herbstreit told Chris Fowler during the broadcast. “Breaking news from Prime… Colorado’s gonna open up with Arizona State in their first game and then they’re gonna play TCU in their second game.”
Officially, Colorado is scheduled to face TCU in Week 1 on Sept. 2 before hosting Nebraska and Colorado State for Weeks 2 and 3, respectively. Sanders’s move to Colorado was major news for college sports, and Arizona State jumped at the chance to play his squad in Week Zero, per 247Sports.
Sanders, 55, joins the Buffaloes after going 27–6 in three seasons with Jackson State.
