Deion Sanders vs. Matt Rhule - The Battle for the Soul of a Nation: Nebraska - Colorado Game Thread

Welcome to our second Game Thread of the 2023 Nebraska football season. It’s the second one of the Matt Rhule era and it comes against Deion Sanders in his first season at Colorado.

Nate M’s Quick Synopsis: I was wrong last week when I said that Nebraska had nothing to lose. Because Nebraska’s fan base lost its sanity.

I think there will be a lot revealed in this matchup for both Colorado and Nebraska. Will Colorado be able to put up 45 points against Nebraska like it did against TCU? Was Nebraska’s opponent last week better than Colorado’s opponent?

If you are hoping for a win, then you are basing that off the fact that TCU was replacing almost its entire starting lineup from the year before. Nebraska made Minnesota abandon the game plan and they had to throw the ball.

Can Nebraska frustrate Colorado by playing keep away? I think that is the key to the game. Will Nebraska be able to sustain drives and limit possessions for Colorado?

Nate M’s Prediction:

I think objectively, Nebraska should likely win this ball game. However, we are looking for this program to start closing out games and until we see it I think we should not expect it to happen.

If Nebraska gets a double digit lead in the second half I think it should be able to close it out but I’m thinking that Nebraska will have to play catchup from miscues in the first half. Could be a long game for Nebraska.

Nebraska 20 - Colorado 30.

Date: Today!

Location: The Dumpster (Folsom Field) in Boulder, CO.

Time: 11 a.m. Central

TV Broadcast Info: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft)

Radio Broadcast Info: Husker Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning and Jessica Coody)

Internet Radio: Huskers.com

Nebraska-Colorado Series History:
Nebraska and Colorado will meet for the 72nd time on Saturday in Boulder. The Huskers hold a commanding 49-20-2 all-time lead in the series, but the Buffs have won the two most recent meetings in 2018 and 2019.

• Nebraska and Colorado met 63 straight seasons from 1948 to 2010, while members of the Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 Conferences.

• Saturday’s meeting is the third of four meetings between the schools between 2018 and 2024. Colorado is set to visit Lincoln on Sept. 7, 2024.

• Colorado was 10-9-1 in the first 20 games in series history, but Nebraska owns a 40-9-1 edge since 1962, including a 23-1 stretch from 1962 to 1985.

• Nebraska won 15 of the final 19 meetings as conference opponents between 1992 and 2010.

• The series featured a nine-year streak from 1988 to 1996 in which both teams entered the game ranked in the top 20. Six of those games pitted top-10 foes and the 1996 game marked the third-ever top-5 matchup between the schools. The 1992 game marked the first time in modern college football history that both teams entered with the same ranking in the Associated Press poll (tie-8th).

The Matchup from Huskers.com:

Nebraska continues its season-opening road trip with a matchup at Colorado on Saturday. The renewal of a rivalry between long-time conference opponents will kick off at 10 a.m. local time (11 a.m. CT) from Colorado’s Folsom Field. The game will be televised by FOX, which will also originate its Big Noon Kickoff pregame show live from Boulder. Radio coverage will be provided by the Huskers Radio Network.

Nebraska enters Saturday’s matchup looking for its first victory under first-year Head Coach Matt Rhule. The Huskers opened at Big Ten West foe Minnesota last Thursday night and led for nearly all of the second half before Minnesota rallied. The Gophers connected on a game-winning walk-off field goal to post a 13-10 win.

Despite the loss, the Nebraska defense showed its toughness, limiting the Gophers to less than four yards per play and allowing only 55 rushing yards. Nebraska also showed a strong running game against the Gophers, churning out 181 yards on the ground against one of the Big Ten’s top defensive units.

Colorado enters the contest at 1-0 after an impressive 45-42 road victory at No. 17 TCU on Saturday. First-year Coach Deion Sanders’ squad showed an explosive aerial attack in the win, throwing for 510 yards and four touchdowns to outscore the Horned Frogs.

Nebraska is no stranger to Boulder, having played Colorado in the Rocky Mountains on 36 previous occasions, most recently in 2019. The Huskers own a 23-11-2 edge in Boulder and have won seven of the past 10 meetings at CU’s Folsom Field.