Will Nebraska and Colorado’s rivalry fade away?

For me, my first game in Memorial Stadium is a core memory.

It’s Nebraska-Colorado 2008. Yeah, that one.

As an eighth grader, I took it all in from Section 32 in North Stadium — insisting on staying until the bitter end instead of beating traffic back to the family farm near Funk.

I’m forever glad I did.

I still get goosebumps when I think back to the feeling of collective jubilation when Alex Henery’s 57-yard, record-setting kick split the uprights. The feeling gets stronger when I think back to the roar that set off hours of tinnitus with Ndamukong Suh’s pick-six.

Of all the Nebraska-Colorado memories from over the years, the clash in 2008 is an oft-cited favorite memory from folks.

So, too, is Halloween Night 1992. No. 8 vs. No. 8. Freshman quarterback Tommie Frazier starting his first game in Memorial Stadium. Cold. Cloudy. Rainy. Supposed to be a slugfest. Instead, Nebraska bulldozed Colorado, 52-7. For the Nebraska fans who braved the drizzle, that night remains the loudest they’ve ever heard Memorial Stadium.

The 1994 game stands out, too. No. 3 vs. No. 2. No Frazier due to blood clots, so Brook Berringer took the reins. Nebraska’s run game, led by Lawrence Phillips and Cory Schlesinger, eclipsed 200 yards. And in the words of former Colorado defensive tackle Darius Holland, Nebraska “totally and honestly just whupped our ass” in the 24-7 contest.

For those of an older generation, there’s the 1966 contest. Nebraska was on the ropes in Boulder, down 19-7 before storming back in the fourth quarter to win 21-19 after touchdowns from Dennis Morrison and Pete Tatman.

The 2005 game is an obvious one, as well. But that’s because Colorado’s entire student section was ejected early in the fourth quarter after throwing water bottles and other trash onto the field rather than the 30-3 Nebraska win.

But whether it’s any of those or the 48-point third quarter in 1983 or the 59-0 win in 1981 or the 1995 blowout victory where Ahman Green scored on the first play from scrimmage or the infamous 1991 tie, every person in this state who grew up a Nebraska fan has a story about a Colorado game.

Come Saturday — the rivalry’s 73rd edition — new memories will be formed. Whether they’re good or bad remains to be seen. But on paper ahead of time? This one could be one for the ages, too.

Matt Rhule v. Deion Sanders II. Dylan Raiola v. Shedeur Sanders. The Blackshirts v. Shedeur Sanders II. Tommi Hill v. Travis Hunter.

At night. On NBC. On a week where only one other game — Texas at Michigan — is commanding much national attention.

This oughta be good. At least, you hope it will be. Because there’s no telling if we’ll get this game again. Or, if we do, who knows when exactly that will be?

As it stands, Colorado isn’t on the docket moving forward. As it stands, the future nonconference slates are as such:

2025: vs. Cincinnati in Indy, vs. Akron, vs. Houston Christian

2026: vs. Ohio, vs. Tennessee, vs. North Dakota

2027: vs. Northern Illinois, at Tennessee, third opponent TBD

2028: vs. UTEP, vs. South Dakota State, vs. Arizona

2029: at Oklahoma, other opponents TBD

2030: vs. South Dakota State, vs. Oklahoma, third opponent TBD

2032: vs. Cincinnati, other opponents TBD

And Nebraska isn’t filling those slots right now.

Due to the expanded College Football Playoff, college football scheduling is in a holding pattern.

“We’re just kind of sitting here and observing, if you will,” Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen told the Journal Star. “When the Big Ten went from eight to nine games, essentially one of your marquee nonconference games is now a Big Ten Conference game. What the playoff committee says, by the way they view nonconference games as a seeding tool for those last couple of at-large spots, that will give a lot of us clues and cues about how we should look to schedule nonconference moving forward.”

Some teams athletic directors will have their eyes on this December: LSU and whichever team loses between Texas and Michigan this weekend.

If a nonconference loss to a power team, like LSU’s to USC, is viewed in a more negative light than a team with a nonconference schedule full of vanilla cupcakes, then schools are going to take the vanilla cupcake route.

And why would they not? Teams are always looking for a competitive advantage where they can get it. If beating struggling teams is a better path to the playoff, then schools vying for the CFP will do what they have to in order to better their chances.

But that could mean the end of Nebraska-Colorado, for example. Once a mighty conference rivalry. Now a nonconference rivalry. Hopefully not headed for the “Remember When” dustbin.

The sheer notion of that — from a historical perspective — is heartbreaking.

“Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, look at their series, right?” Dannen said. “Is it the end or is it not? It’s not a question anybody can answer.”

However, if the CFP values strength-of-schedule as far as the nonconference slate is concerned, then expect to see more heavy hitters early in the season down the road once advance scheduling is resumed.

“If most of the fanbase that I’ve talked to had their druthers, our nonconference would involve Big Eight schools whenever possible,” Dannen said. “Such a big part of the history and the legacy of our program. You’d like to not let that go past, if possible. Hopefully that and these optimal scheduling for at-large selection into the CFP, those two things intersect.”

Either way, Dannen doesn’t want this weekend’s Nebraska-Colorado game to be the rivalry’s curtain call. But, he hasn’t yet talked to Colorado athletic director Rick George about the rivalry’s future either.

“I wouldn’t commit to it, but I certainly wouldn’t say this is a series that isn’t going to happen again,” Dannen said. “There will be a time when this game will come back.”

He continued: “It’s not lost on me how much that game means to people.”

Hopefully, this game does come back. Sooner rather than later.

College football is at its best when there’s emotional investment and meaning attached to games.

And around these parts, few games mean more than Nebraska-Colorado.