Ahead of this weekend's highly anticipated Rocky Mountain Showdown in Fort Collins, Colorado State football head coach Jay Norvell offered his early thoughts on the Colorado Buffaloes during his game week press conference on Monday.

Norvell praised many of the Buffs' top playmakers and spoke on the excitement surrounding the rivalry coming to Canvas Stadium. The Rams' third-year leader didn't have much to say about Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, but it was obvious that this rematch has long been circled on his team's calendar.

Kickoff between the Buffs and Rams is set for 5:30 p.m. MT on Saturday (CBS).

Here's what Norvell had to say about Colorado ahead of the 2024 Rocky Mountain Showdown (h/t 9News Denver):

Jay Norvell talks rivalry

"It's always a special thing to play in a rivalry game and this is certainly one of those. Our kids know how important it is to play in a game like this."

Analysis of Colorado

"As far as CU is concerned, very similar to last year in their personality of their team and the strengths of their team. Everything starts with their offense and their quarterback. They're very, very capable of being very explosive. They have a lot of speed at wide receiver with (Travis) Hunter and (Jimmy) Horn and (LaJohntay) Wester. They mostly attack through the air and everything goes through the quarterback, through (Shedeur) Sanders."

On Colorado offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur

"They have a new (offensive) coordinator, Pat Shurmur, who's a very experienced coordinator. I've known Pat a long time, so he's got a very diverse scheme that we've got to be prepared for."

Thoughts on Colorado's defense

"Defensively, they have a new defensive coordinator, Robert Livingston. (He's) very experienced, comes from the National Football League. They've really built this defense to rush the passer and play man coverage, and that's what they do. They play a lot of man."

Praise for Travis Hunter

"Obviously, I'm very impressed with Travis Hunter and was impressed with him last year. A really dynamic player playing at a high level."

Nod to LaVonta Bentley

"I really am impressed with No. 20, their inside linebacker LaVonta Bentley. I think he's a fabulous player. Plays downhill and very explosive."

Respect

"We have a lot of respect for Colorado. We have a lot of respect for what they're capable of doing as a team. They have a lot of talented players and experienced coaches."

Revisiting last year's game

"We had a team meeting today and we kind of framed the game and talked about last season. We lost a double-overtime game where we had 18 penalties. We had four turnovers, two in the red zone. We had three touchdowns called back. You just can't win games that way. It was still a double-overtime game and a game that we should've won."

Expecting a great Canvas Stadium crowd

"I think we'll have a great environment in Canvas. I thought last week was great. I think this week will be even better because of the nature of the opponent and the game."

More on last year's game

"We learned a lot from last year's game. We have a bigger sample size on them, too. We know what they are, we know who they are and what they're trying to do. That's better understanding for us."

More praise for Colorado's wide receivers

"They might have faster wide receivers than Texas. The kids can all run. We've got to do a good job of playing good, solid pass defense. They haven't really hurt people much with the running game."

This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Jay Norvell gives early thoughts on rematch with Deion Sanders' Buffs