DENVER — It was The Night Ed McCaffrey Broke His Leg — Sept. 10, 2001, a Monday nighter that saw the Broncos beat the New York Giants in the first regular-season game at Invesco Field at Mile High.

That’s how football remembers it.

CU Buffs coach Karl Dorrell remembers the game itself in much the same way. The Broncos wide receivers coach at the time, Dorrell had McCaffrey in his position group: “We won the game, but it was bittersweet” due to McCaffrey’s season-ending injury shortly after halftime.

Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the Islamic terrorist attacks on New York City. That’s how the world remembers it. Now Dorrell and the CU Buffs host No. 5 Texas A&M at Empower Field at Mile High. Hard to believe it’s been two decades since that awful day.

“I just remember the day after (the game), when you were watching the newscast when it was live,” Dorrell said. “We didn’t see the first plane hit the tower. But we were actually looking live and we saw the second plane out of the background hit the tower. We were in our Denver offices and it was like, ‘Did I just see that?’ That’s where it was very, very emotionally a concern for all of us across the country. We all know what the ramifications of what happened.”

Dorrell comes from a military family. His father was a longtime chief officer for the U.S. Navy.

“We all felt like we were under attack,” he said.

The players who take the field Saturday don’t remember. CU quarterback Brendon Lewis was 3 months old. Star linebacker Nate Landman was 3 and in Africa, where Dad was a rugby star. The Buffs and Aggies last met in 2009 in the Big 12.

“I think the biggest thing for us is to treat it as a game that will put us back on the map and this program back where it used to be,” Landman said.

As a tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11, the crowd at Mile High can expect a moment of silence, shortly after the national anthem, and several recognitions during timeouts or halftime.

Ralphie VI will not be in attendance to make the second run of the young bison’s career.

“We do not want to deviate Ralphie from her normal run pattern this early in her training,” CU announced.

Texas A&M is a 17-point favorite over CU.

The Pac-12 vs. SEC matchup technically is considered a neutral site game and is not part of the CU season-ticket package. Expect a strong showing from Texas A&M fans as well. The school’s Association of Former Students said 3,617 former Aggies live in the Denver area with 6,426 total in Colorado, the kind of numbers that tend grow friends and new family when your squad is ranked No. 6 in the country.

Speaking of, proud Aggie Von Miller (who preferred “Vonnie Football” during the Johnny Manziel years) divulged his pick: “We have to go out there and kill them. We’re an SEC school, ranked No. 6. We have high expectations for our season, and we’re playing the Buffs. I’m a fan of the Buffs, but they’re going against the Aggies this weekend. We just got to go out there and kill them start to finish.”

After the Aggies finished 9-1 and managed to play the bulk of their 2020 season during the COVID-19 response, here’s what Texas A&M thinks of the football program’s trajectory: $90 million. That’s the contract extension awarded to coach Jimbo Fisher, whose deal covers 10 years.

“We have a lot of potential. But again, potential means you haven’t done it,” Fisher said.

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, Dorrell once again will work the home sideline at Mile High — then as a Broncos, now as a Buff.

“This is great to continue to bring this forward and not forget all the people who lost their lives and some that sacrificed themselves to save others,” he said.