Colorado announces Ralphie VII will debut on Saturday for Wyoming game
Exciting news hit the cycle for Colorado on Friday. The program announced that its latest live mascot, Ralphie VII, will debut on Saturday ahead of this week’s Wyoming game.
“The illustrious line of buffalo representing the best mascot in all of sports is gaining another member with the addition of Ralphie VII, who will make her debut in front of a packed house of adoring fans when the Buffaloes take on Wyoming on September 20,” a press release from Colorado read.
“The one-year-old American Bison currently weighs in at 700 pounds and is a gift from the Beauprez Family, multigenerational University of Colorado alumni and owners of Eagle’s Wing Ranch outside of Steamboat Springs, Colo.”
Kickoff against the Cowboys is scheduled for 10:15 p.m. ET on Saturday. Colorado noted that fans are encouraged to get to their seats by 10 p.m. ET to make sure they don’t miss the inaugural gallop of Ralphie VII.
“Ralphie’s run is iconic and our fans, students, faculty, staff, and alumni take an incredible amount of pride in this tradition which transcends sports,” Taylor Stratton, Director of the Ralphie Live Mascot Program, said. “We’re excited to be adding a new Ralphie to the lineage of incredible buffalo that have represented the University of Colorado and have elevated the fans’ passion for our student-athletes.”
After Ralphie VII gets the party going, Kaidon Salter will be looking to keep it rolling. He’ll be the starting quarterback for this weekend’s game against after the Buffaloes played all of their quarterbacks in Week 2 against Delaware before Ryan Staub was their starter in Week 3 against Houston.
Salter started the first two games of the season versus Georgia Tech and Delaware, but then didn’t appear at all last week against Houston. He, in essentially just over a game of play as he didn’t appear for the duration against the Blue Hens, is 30-44 (68.2%) for 261 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 67 yards and two scores.
Staub was the one who took over for Salter, coming off a breakout performance against Delaware in Week 2, being 7-10 (70%) for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He earned the nod in their conference opener at Houston, but struggled against the Cougars, though, being 19-35 (54.3%) for 204 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions to pair with 36 rushing yards.
Julian Lewis also played, as expected, against the Blue Hens in Week 2. It was his first, and currently only to this point, collegiate appearance as the true freshman completed two of four pass attempts for eight yards.
Time will tell how Salter and Colorado fare in their final non-conference game on Saturday. League play opens the following weekend in the Big 12, and it’s bound to be competitive.
— On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.
