Sep 9, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) throws a pass in the fourth quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field.
A large portion of the college football world will be watching the Colorado football team square off against Nebraska on Saturday night.
Players from both teams traded jabs in the media this week and anticipation for the latest edition of a rivalry that dates back to 1898 is at an all-time high. The Cornhuskers lead the all-time series 49-21-2 but the Buffaloes have won three straight against Nebraska, including a 36-14 win in Boulder last season.
Nebraska true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola had an impressive college football debut last week. The former five-star recruit completed 17 of 28 passes (70.4%) for 238 yards and two touchdowns in the Cornhuskers’ season-opening win over UTEP. He also had the highest-graded (79.5) debut by a true freshman QB in Week 1 since 2018, according to Pro Football Focus.
There’s no denying Raiola’s supreme arm talent (after all, he chose Nebraska over Georgia and Ohio State). He throws with incredible accuracy, touch and can deliver the ball from different platforms and arm angles. That was all evident in Week 1.
The challenge (and key) for Colorado defensive coordinator Robert Livingston will be to disguise different pressures and coverages to confuse the freshman QB pre-snap. Last week vs. North Dakota State, the Buffs played man coverage on more than 70% of their defensive snaps. Expect a more exotic game plan this weekend to force Raiola into a turnover (or two).
“You attack weaknesses, I don’t know if you attack inexperience,” Colorado head coach Deion Sanders said of Raiola this week. “If that’s a weakness, then so be it, but the kid (Raiola) made some darn good throws, some pretty good plays.
“I love what he showed in his first college game ever. I love what he showed.”
Despite 504 total yards of offense for Colorado in its Week 1 win over NDSU, the Buffs’ running game had shades of 2023. The Pac-12’s dead-last rushing attack a year ago has completely different personnel this fall, but similar results through one week.
Colorado’s top two running backs to open the 2024 season — Charlie Offerdahl and Dallan Hayden — combined for just 35 rushing yards on 14 carries (2.5 yards per attempt). Quarterback Shedeur Sanders had the Buffs’ longest rush of the game (11 yards).
Whether it’s Offerdahl (a former walk-on turned scholarship player), Hayden (an Ohio State transfer) or even true freshman Micah Welch, Colorado must find some semblance of a rushing attack on Saturday, especially if Nebraska comes out with a light box to prevent deep passing plays. Dylan Edwards and Anthony Hankerson combined to rush for 81 yards on 15 carries (5.4 yards per attempt) in the Buffs’ 36-14 win over the Huskers last year. It’ll take a similar effort to earn a similar result.
“Our running backs are good,” Deion Sanders said after the win over NDSU. “We have to do a better job of using them a lot more and getting more yardage but we have to take what they gave us. I mean, I don’t think anyone is upset with that. (Dallan) Hayden showed you what he can do. Charlie (Offerdahl) is Charlie.
“We were getting ready to throw 29 (Micah Welch) in at the conclusion of the game but then they scored. I wanted you guys to see him because he was going to put that game away running as physical as he does. I’m not overly satisfied with how we ran the ball, especially with the yardage, but we can do much better.”
Turnovers played a massive role in last year’s matchup between these two rivals. Nebraska turned the ball over four times (Colorado did just once) and was unable to survive the extra possessions given to the Buffs’ explosive offense.
A Dante Dowdell lost fumble was the Cornhuskers’ only turnover in Week 1 and an unlikely interception from Shedeur Sanders is Colorado’s lone giveaway of the season. Both sides will have to play a relatively clean game once again to earn a win on Saturday night.
The team (or quarterback) that makes the costly mistake might not be able to recover from it.
“I love it,” Deion Sanders said this week of the Colorado-Nebraska rivalry. “I think that’s what college football is all about, whether we’re in the same conference or not. This is a tremendous rivalry and I look forward to it.”
Colorado vs Nebraska football prediction
Shedeur Sanders was sacked seven times by Nebraska last season and still managed to throw for 393 yards and two touchdowns. Colorado’s offensive line is improved (by just how much remains to be seen) and allowed Sanders to be sacked just once in Week 1.
If the projected first-round NFL draft pick stays protected and upright, there’s plenty of reason to expect a similar performance, especially with how Travis Hunter (132 receiving yards, three touchdowns) and Jimmy Horn Jr. (198 receiving yards, one touchdown) looked to open the season.
The environment at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night will be raucous, but Sanders’ four years of college experience will win out over a team with a true freshman QB (although talented) making his second career start.
Colorado wins 31-27.
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