The kickoff for the Oct. 2 Colorado game, previously set for 4:30 p.m., has been moved back 2 1/2 hours to 7:00 ET (5:00 for those of us heading out there). FSN will still televise the game. Why the change? From the UGA release…

The change came about after CU’s and the Big 12’s television network partners re-examined an earlier but tentative decision to allow the game to be televised inside an exclusive ABC telecast window.

ABC has only one time slot for a Big 12 Conference game that day, and has already committed to televising the Oklahoma-Texas game in its afternoon window (1:30 p.m. MDT). The kickoff adjustment allows the Colorado-Georgia game to be televised in the later prime time window and afford ABC its full exclusivity in the afternoon.

Telecasts after the third week of the season are generally made public on either 12-day or 6-day advance notice, but ABC relinquished the rights to the FSN, the Big 12 cable partner, early to afford CU the opportunity to better promote the game time.

The later time isn’t the best of news – many Georgia fans have booked early morning return flights on Sunday. With a game likely ending closer to 9 PM local time now, you might as well just stay awake. Any fans watching on TV that had it planned for Georgia-Colorado to lead into Alabama-Florida are screwed too.

You can also bet that the coaches aren’t happy – the earlier the start, the better when it comes to getting back into Athens, resting, and bouncing back for a huge game the next week with Tennessee. Those few extra hours make the difference between getting home closer to dawn than midnight on Sunday morning. There’s also a weather factor and a huge difference between a mid afternoon and early evening game there. The average high in Boulder over the past 5 years on October 2 was about 76 degrees. The average low was under 53 degrees…and the wildly variable October weather in the high plains has seen temps range all the way from 86 in 2005 to 28 degrees last year.