:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61229795/1025859780.jpg.0.jpg)
Nebraska will take its second shot at opening the 2018 season on Saturday afternoon by welcoming a a familiar foe to Memorial Stadium. Nebraska and Colorado were conference rivals for more than 60 years in the Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 Conferences, before moving to the Big Ten and Pac-12, respectively, before the 2011 season.
Saturday’s meeting is the first of four matchups between the two schools between 2018 and 2024.
Colorado stands at 1-0 after an impressive season-opening victory over in-state rival Colorado State on Friday in Denver. The Buffs opened a two-touchdown lead midway through the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 45-13 victory. CU showed an explosive offense, with 596 yards, including 338 yards through the air and 258 rushing yards.
Date/Time: September 8, 2018 at 2:30 pm CDT
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE Capacity: 85,458
Surface: Field Turf
Opposition Blog: Check out the Ralphie Report for everything Colorado
Series Record: Nebraska leads the all-time series 48-19-2. The Huskers won 18 straight games between 1968-1985. The largest margin of victory was a 59-0 Husker win in 1981.
TV: The game will be televised on ABC with Bob Wischusen on play-by-play, Brock Huard, analyst, and Allison Williams on the sideline. It can be streamed on WatchESPN/ESPN3.
Radio: Look for your local radio station on the Huskers sports radio network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at huskers.com The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, and Ben MacLaughlin.
More streaming options: The official Husker app is available on iTunes as well and Google Play. The game can be streamed on the TuneIn app for free (search for the Husker IMG Sports Network.
Weather: At kickoff, the temperature will be 68 degrees with a [curently] 0% chance of precipitation (whew!). The wind will be 10 mph from the northeast.
Odds: Nebraska is favored by 3.5 to 4 points depending on the source.
Trivia
With the cancellation of last week’s game against Akron, Nebraska will open the 2018 season on Sept. 8. That is the latest date for a Husker season opener in 29 seasons, dating back to the Sept. 9, 1989, opener against Northern Illinois.
Seven Cornhusker greats will be inducted into the Nebraska Athletics Hall of Fame this weekend. The group is led by Hall of Fame coaches Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne and 1983 Heisman Trophy winner Mike Rozier. Also being inducted are Darin Erstad (BSB), Sarah Pavan (VB), Peaches James (SB) and Tom Schlesinger (MGYM).
Quotables
Scott Frost on how his team has prepared for Colorado.
”Our practice this week was way better than last week and you’d expect that if we had the experience of the game. We didn’t get the experience of the game, but I think the level of our team rose despite that, so I was thrilled to see that happen,” Frost said. “I still think there’s a lot of room for improvement, there’s a lot of ways to get better, but I saw a huge jump from last week to this week.”
Frost also commented on Colorado quarterback Steven Montez and his versatility.
”Montez is a good player, had a great first game,” Frost said. “He can run it, he can throw it, he obviously has experience and knows what he’s doing, and I think he has some good weapons to get the ball to. It will be a challenge for our defense and our offense. It will be a good game.”
Frost on Nebraska’s season captains – Jerald Foster, Luke Gifford, Stanley Morgan Jr. and Mick Stoltenberg – who were announced late last week.
”You know I think it was a pretty easy choice,” Frost said of selecting the captains. “We had the players vote on it offensively and defensively, and those four guys got the majority of the votes, so obviously the team recognizes them as leaders. But we could’ve told you guys that as coaches, those are the guys that are stepping forward and making sure everybody’s accountable and doing the right things. I think it’s an awesome first group (of captains) for this team. Three of the four are from Nebraska, which I think is cool as a Nebraska kid, but all four kids are doing a good job stepping out front and making sure they lead the way.”