👋 Good Morning!

It’s almost tailgate season. That means now is a great time to check up on all of your essentials.

How are those folding chairs holding up after years of sitting in the heat and being tossed in the car? What’s your sunscreen situation looking like? Those late August / early September games can be scorchers. Maybe it’s time to replace the cooler.

The point here is that a great tailgate setup doesn’t just happen. It’s all in the details and preparation is key in these scenarios.

Whether you’re going to be at Canvas, Folsom or Mile High, whether you’re going to your local high school game or even a youth sporting complex this fall, you don’t want to be the person who drops the ball. Week 1 will be here before you know it.

It’s time to lock in for football.

— Justin Michael

Can the Broncos win the AFC West this season?

The oddsmakers in Las Vegas have Denver with the third-best odds in the division at +325. Los Angeles (+300) is narrowly ahead and Kansas City (-120) is obviously the favorite.

I don’t have any beef with how the teams are set in the preseason. The Chiefs are top dog until somebody finally takes them down. And the Chargers are going to be a playoff team, so they deserve respect too. The Broncos, though, are getting FAR more credit going into 2025 than they did last summer. Remember when the preseason win total was set at 5.5? Denver’s preseason win total is listed at 9.5 right now.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt any real expectations. This season feels different though. It feels like Broncos have the pieces on both sides of the ball to really make a leap as a team. I’m not saying it’s Super Bowl or bust. This division is just too good for the Chiefs to continue to hold the reins forever. Sooner or later somebody else is going to take the crown. It might as well be the Broncos.

It was awesome to see the energy return to the stadium last season. You could feel the magic in Mile High on gameday in a way that was palpably different than recent years. Getting back to the playoffs was a great step in the right direction as well.

The next step is taking back the crown in the AFC West and finding a way to advance a round or two in the postseason.

As I wrote yesterday, it’s great that Deion Sanders will be on the sidelines this season. What that means, though, is we can get back to football.

The great Scott Procter has you covered with everything you need to know.

READ: CU Football camp primer: key position battles & players to watch

Sean Payton’s record with the Broncos (18-16) through two seasons is exactly the same as what it was when he started with New Orleans. The Saints won the Super Bowl in year four. Just saying…

Read about the sky-high bar Bo Nix is setting for himself this season in one of the latest pieces from Zac Stevens.

It’s easy to fixate on the quarterback. The 2015 Broncos are a great reminder of how much of a team sport football truly is though.

Here are three key position groups that will need to shine for CSU to reach its goals this fall.