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Thursday night scores Columbine 35, Fossil Ridge 21 Grand Junction Central 34, Eagle Valley 0 Kennedy 62, Lincoln 0 Mountain View 45, Mountain Range 3 Roosevelt 42, Ponderosa 24 The Academy 43, Alameda 0 Vista PEAK Prep 49, Lakewood 0 Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

Bo Nix earned the right to start. And it won’t be long before coach Sean Payton is forced to defend his decision. Hear me out. Six quarterbacks were drafted in the first round last spring. Nix was the last. Three started on opening weekend. You know how many will face four straight head coaches who were former defensive coordinators?

BOULDER,CO SEPTEMBER 16: Colorado’s Shilo Sanders scores on an interception return against Colorado State’s Tory Horton during the game in Boulder on September 16, 2023.(Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer) Leading up to the latest edition of the Rocky Mountain Showdown, the Colorado Buffaloes have kept the peace, publicly avoiding any bulletin board material for their opponents. Two of the Colorado State Rams’ biggest stars, however, chose a different path weeks ahead of Saturday’s matchup in Fort Collins (5:30 p.m., CBS). Nearly a full year after CU’s 43-35 double overtime win against the Rams at Folsom Field, which included some rivalry-level trash talking and chippy play on the field, CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi and receiver Tory Horton haven’t forgotten that night. During an interview, which took place during the preseason, with CBS4 in Denver, Horton said revenge has been on the Rams’ minds. “We owe them one and that’s just something that’s been sitting on everybody’s minds since we came back from break,” Horton said.

Denver Post reporters Parker Gabriel and Ryan McFadden break down the Broncos’ Week 1 loss to Seattle, evaluate what rookie quarterback Bo Nix did well and what he struggled with and then look forward to Week 2’s home opener against Pittsburgh. The Broncos welcome back former QB Russell Wilson, but the now-Steelers QB may not play due to a calf injury.

It’s far too early in the process to have clarity on the value of a media rights deal for the rebuilt Pac-12. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State were approved for membership hours ago; the structure of the conference is not complete; and the media ecosystem is highly fluid. But we know one of the measuring sticks for a new deal: $11 million per school per year. That’s the approximate amount Cal and Stanford are set to earn from the ACC’s media rights contract for the next seven years, based on their partial-share membership. The Bears and Cardinal would not reverse course if the Pac-12 matched or exceeded that amount.

Washington State and Oregon State, left behind in the realignment game, are charging forward with their plan to rebuild their 109-year-old conference. The Pac-12 made the first step official on Thursday, announcing the additions of Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State for the 2026-27 competition year. But that only brings the Pac-12 to six schools. The conference must have at least eight by the summer of 2026 to comply with NCAA rules. It could expand beyond eight, of course.