How to watch Hornell’s Rayyan Buell play for Colorado Buffs Thursday night on national TV

Red Raider football fans following the collegiate journey of Rayyan Buell should get their first look at the former Hornell star in a Colorado Buffaloes jersey Thursday night in a nationally televised game against FCS power North Dakota State.

Thursday’s game, the season opener for both teams, will be televised live on ESPN at 8 p.m. from Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. Roddy Jones and Quint Kessenich will be on the call for the Worldwide Sports Leader.

Buell, a 2019 Hornell High School graduate, will wear number 47 on a re-shuffled Buffs defensive line that is expected to be challenged by the Bisons, winners of 17 NCAA FCS national championships. This will be Buell's first game playing for a power conference school.

Colorado is coming off a 4-8 season in which it allowed 176.4 rushing yards per game − second worst in the Pac-12.

Improvement in the trenches is considered crucial as the Buffs strive for a turnaround in the Big-12 conference under second-year head coach Deion Sanders.

A 6-3, 280-pound senior transfer from Ohio, Buell is in the defensive tackle mix with an opportunity to earn more of a role with an impressive showing on Thursday night, according to the Fort Collins Coloradoan , a member of the USA Today Network.

Buell was a two-time Section V Defensive Player of the Year while starring for the Red Raiders on both sides of the ball.

He played the past two seasons at MAC stalwart Ohio after previous stops at Rutgers and Northwest Mississippi Community College.

Buell had 30 tackles, including 12 solo stops and 4.5 sacks for the Bobcats last season. He had a solo tackle in Ohio’s 41-21 Myrtle Beach Bowl victory over Georgia Southern, while earning All-MAC third-team honors last season.

Colorado, with a headline generating Pro Football Hall of Fame coach and two legitimate Heisman Trophy candidates in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and two-way star Travis Hunter, is expected to make several appearances on national TV this season.

The Buffs Sept. 7 game at Nebraska is scheduled to be televised on NBC and Peacock at 7:30 p.m.

Email Neal Simon at nsimon@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today .

This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: How to watch Hornell’s Rayyan Buell play for Colorado Buffs Thursday night on national TV