Game headlines
- CU Buffs vs. Nebraska quick hits: Fire up the Shedeur Sanders hype machine. This guy’s the real deal.
- Nebraska humbled by fumbles, blunders and Shedeur Sanders after getting clobbered by CU Buffs
- Citing Huskers’ “extreme disrespect,” CU Buffs wanted to “run the score up” in demolition of Nebraska
- Nebraska fans’ latest Big Red invasion attempt fizzles at CU’s Folsom Field: “I get tired of seeing all those bastards in red”
- PHOTOS: Best action shots from Colorado Buffaloes vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers
FINAL: CU Buffs 36, Nebraska 14
BOULDER — In his first rivalry game, Coach Prime didn’t call off the dogs. Or the dawgs.
CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders threw for two scores and ran in for another with 4:54 left in the game to lead the No. 22 Buffs to a historic — and emphatic — victory over Nebraska in the first meeting between the two programs since 2019.
It was the Buffs’ largest margin of victory in the rivalry since the old, beloved mark of 26 points set in 2001, when CU hammered Nebraska 62-36 in one of the iconic victories in modern Buffs football history.
The Buffs have won three straight over the Big Red for the first time since 1956-58.
In its last 10 visits to Boulder, dating back to 1993, Nebraska averaged 33.2 points per game.
Despite some bumpy moments, the Buffs took a 23-7 lead into the fourth quarter. It’s the first time CU led Nebraska by double digits with a stanza to play since — yup, 2001. — Sean Keeler
FOURTH QUARTER
SHEDEUR TAKES IT HIMSELF is running away with this one 🔥
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(1:17 p.m.): The Shedeur Sanders Heisman Campaign continues to gain early steam. His six-yard rushing TD with 4:54 left makes it 36-7. So far, there is nothing No. 2 can’t do. — Kyle Newman
NEEEED a closer 👀 at that ձٶٳ🙌
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(12:58 p.m.): Make that 29-7 CU. Replay officials reviewed the conversion and ruled that Anthony Hankerson dropped that bullet Shedeur Sanders just threw … after shedding a would-be tackler … twice. IMO, they should give the Buffs the two points just on principle. — Matt Schubert
Dawson for the TD is starting to pull away in the second half 💪
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(12:55 p.m.:) Shedeur Sanders bails out CU on third-and-long once again. Four plays later, Tar’Varish Dawson is skipping into the end zone on a 8-yard reverse. This thing is done. 31-7 CU with 10:45 to go. — Matt Schubert
(12:53 p.m.): This looks like a 9-win or 8-win team whuppin’ up on a 4-8 or 5-7 one. And I can tell you which one CU ISN’T. — Sean Keeler
(12:48 p.m.): Nebraska offense: Four fumbles, three lost fumbles. The Huskers’ four fumbles were two dropped snaps by Jeff Sims, a snap that hit a man in motion, and a botched handoff. Hard to beat anybody playing like that.
THIRD QUARTER THOUGHTS
Matt Schubert, sports editor: This game should probably be over already. But with the Buffs unable to cash in on first-and-goal at the NU 3 on their last drive, they’re going to have to earn it over the next 15 minutes. Keep Jeff Sims in the pocket, and that probably isn’t a problem.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: 3rd quarter takeaway: The Buffs can’t run the ball, they committed some dumb penalties early, they’ve been “meh” in the red zone and fit wrong on a bunch of big Huskers runs today. It’s been kind of a B-minus-to-B grade performance (not effort, performance). Yet they’re up 16 on Nebraska at home and haven’t been felt threatened for like an hour. Now the Big Red ain’t … well, they ain’t good. At 23-7 against a QB who can’t throw, this one’s probably over with a quarter to play. But hitting 30 on the scoreboard would make that near-certainty a done deal.
Kyle Newman, sports reporter: It’s going to take a Big Red Miracle for Nebraska to erase the 16-point deficit they face heading into the final frame. Credit CU’s defense, after getting torched by TCU, they’ve been mostly solid today. On the other side, one more TD for Shedeur & Co and this one’s on ice.
Mark Kiszla, sports columnist: This game is over. Have a safe journey home, Huskers.
(12:37 p.m.): Another drive with a procedural penalty for the Buffs, and it almost doesn’t matter. Shedeur Sanders marched the Buffs down to the NU 3, but the Buffs had to settle for a field goal, It’s 23-7 with 1:20 left in the third quarter. The Buffs refuse to put this game away. — Matt Schubert
Yes, Colorado’s offensive line has been questionable today. But Sanders can’t take that sack. If he throws it away, the Buffs can try again on fourth-and-goal from short distance. Instead a field goal isn’t enough to make this a three-score game. — Bennett Durando
What a response by ⚡️
Shedeur Sanders finds Xavier Weaver for the TD 🦬
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(12:24 p.m.) Shedeur Sanders throws an absolute dart to Xavier Weaver for a 12-yard touchdown. That drive was pretty much all Shedeur making plays. As sloppy as this game has been, it’s hard to place much blame on him. — Matt Schubert
JEFF SIMS TO THE HOUSE scores its first TD of the game 💪
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(12:14 p.m.): Sims (also very Brendon-Lewis-esque) takes off up the middle and outruns the CU defense to the end zone for a 57-yard TD. If Matt Rhule wanted to Wildcat this bad boy the rest of the way, I wouldn’t blame him. — Sean Keeler
That sounds you just heard was all the air being taken out of the CU crowd … and going directly to the Huskers. Seemingly in a good position after pushing Nebraska back with a sack, Jeff Sims found daylight and ran untouched 57 yards to the end zone. It’s 13-7 CU, and that lead feels awfully tenuous with 9:50 left in the third quarter. — Matt Schubert
(12:08 p.m.): Weird fourth-down call from the Buffs there, going with a jet sweep on fourth-and-3 at the NU 33. The Buffs simply refusing to take over this game. A window has been left open for Nebraska. 13-0 with 12:00 left in the third quarter. — Matt Schubert
(12:06 p.m.): That throw — while Sanders was rolling! — went 45 yards in the air. — Bennett Durando
(12:05 p.m.): Travis Hunter is like if Frankenstein stitched Ja’marr Chase to Sauce Gardner. — SK
WOW 😳
Shedeur Sanders scrambles and finds Travis Hunter for a huge first down 🔥
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
HALFTIME
"It's only 13-0. We should be up much more than that."
Coach Prime checks in with at halftime ⬇️
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
Matt Schubert, sports editor: If not for DeShon Singleton, CU leads this thing is 17-0 at halftime. He was the only thing in the way of Xavier Weaver taking that crossing route to the house. Excellent open-field tackle. Instead, it’s 13-0 Buffs. Feels like it should be MUCH more.
Ralphie struggled to make it to midfield on his second time out. Gotta say, I feel you, buddy. Outside of a couple of big plays, this has been a sleepy affair.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: First-half/2nd quarter takeaway: If Nebraska had, I dunno, an actual QB, would this be a game? Because unless Matt Rhule has a lot of faith in backup signal-callers (and we are not making up these names) Heinrich Haarberg and Chubba Purdy, the Big Red might not crack double digits in this game. While Shedeur Sanders has looked mortal again against a Big Ten front (insert TCU “Big 12” defense), his Husker counterpart, Jeff Sims, looks like ex-Buffs QB Brendon Lewis — 1-2-take off! But if you’re chasing 2-0 and a (also can’t believe I’m typing this) top 15 national ranking, an ugly win beats a pretty loss, baby.
Ralphie, poor girl, looks as sluggish as the Nebraska passing game.
Bennett Durando, sports reporter: The first half is best summed up by Colorado’s last play of offense: muddled and unaware, nearly a disaster but instead only a mild headache. The Buffs got their 3-point result after nearly running out the clock on themselves, and they got to the locker room with a 13-0 lead despite shooting themselves in the foot a handful of times.
Kyle Newman, sports reporter: Up 13-0, CU just needs another score or two in the third quarter to put this game way out of reach. The Nebraska offense is Bad.
Mark Kiszla, sports columnist: Buffs played slopping football. Nebraska coach Matt Rhule had nice game plan. And it’s still 13-0 in favor of CU at intermission? Pack some snacks and drive home safely, Huskers.
TOUCHDOWN COLORADO 🦬f
Shedeur Sanders picks up his fifth TD pass of the season and extends 's lead 🙌
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(11:29 a.m.): Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. had only three catches for nine yards in last week’s record-setting passing performance. But his TD catch on a great corner route is the Buffs’ first major offensive strike today, and finally has the Black & Gold crowd feeling a little comfortable. — Kyle Newman
(11:29 a.m.): Jeff Sims, thy name is Brendon Lewis. — Sean Keeler
(11:28 a.m.): Sudden change after Cam’Ron Simon-Craig’s interception, and CU doesn’t squander it this time. Shedeur Sanders feathers in a perfectly thrown deep ball to Tar’Varish Dawson for a 30-yard touchdown, and Folsom Field has come alive. 10-0 Buffs. Cue up Seven Nation Army. — Matt Schubert
(11:25 a.m.): Sims: 6 turnovers in 6 quarters as a Husker. Amazing. — SK
IT'S GOOD scores the first points of the game 🦬
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
(11:18 a.m.): Nebraska is gift-wrapping the Buffs this game, and they refuse to take it. A field goal feels like a loss there. You cannot go three-and-out with that short of a field. — Matt Schubert
(11:16 a.m.) The Nebraska offense is turning in a pitiful performance. Another fumbled snap sets CU up at their own 20. –Kyle Newman
Nebraska can’t even snap the ball. CU has to capitalize now. — Matt Schubert
(11:14 a.m.): Annnnnd the crowd is back asleep, with Buffs wasting the Mo from the Doink via an ugly three-and-out. CU lineman getting punked around right now. Meanwhile, TCU is looking more and more overrated. — Kyle Newman
(11:13 a.m.): Penalties. Leaky offensive line. Players not on the same page. This is what people expected to see from CU in Fort Worth. Now that expectations have risen sky-high? Just as shocking. — Matt Schubert
(11:09 a.m.) Does anyone want to win this game? Both teams cannot get out of their own way, as Nebraska fumbles a snap on the CU side of the field for the second time this game. And then … doink. Lots of mistakes. Lots of stoppages in play. A stadium that was once electric with energy desperately needs something to happen. — Matt Schubert
(11:08 a.m.) Huskers doink a 44-yarder off the right upright. And the Buffs crowd is right back into this bad boy again after a nice nap. — Sean Keeler
#Doink. — Bennett Durando
(11:05 a.m.): How to take Travis Hunter out of a game: 1. Run the ball; 2. Never throw his way; 3. Run the ball some more. — Sean Keeler
(11:01 a.m.): A Folsom Field crowd that started the game ready to explode has quieted down. The Buffs had an opportunity to land a haymaker early and whiffed. This is about to get scary with the Huskers now at midfield. — Matt Schubert
(10:56 a.m.): 3 CU drives. Zero CU points. And the visitors are gettin’ lippy. For the first time today after that stop, we could hear: “Go Big Red! Go Big Red!” — Sean Keeler
The Huskers have four sacks after three Buffs drives. Shedeur Sanders is running fort his life. — Matt Schubert
FIRST QUARTER THOUGHTS
Matt Schubert, sports editor: That was not pretty. For either side. If you’re the Buffs, you have to clean up the penalties. If you’re the Huskers you have to clean up … everything. It’s 0-0, and it feels like CU should be leading.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: First-quarter takeaway: Sloppy, ugly and scrappy. Just the way the Huskers wanted it coming in. The Buffs have 3 penalties today, a couple being drive-killers. CU totaled just six all of last week. Punter Mark Vassett punts: Week 1 — three for the game. Week 2 — three after one quarter.
Kyle Newman, sports reporter: The Huskers are getting push in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and are playing heavy zone in the secondary to try to limit Shedeur Sanders and his weapons. Nebraska’s right in it, but their offense isn’t showing signs it can uncork the big play. That means there’s a huge onus on the Huskers defense through these middle quarters to continue to make this game a defensive stalemate and not a shootout, the latter of which would great benefit the Buffs.
(10:40 a.m.): Well, the Buffaloes are winning the field position battle … but a field position battle is the bread and butter of the Big Ten. After Colorado’s second punt from Cornhuskers territory, this first quarter looks a lot more like Nebraska-Minnesota than Colorado-TCU. — Bennett Durando
(10:33 a.m.) Deion forgoes a 52-yard field-goal attempt and channels his inner Kirk Ferentz, punting it away early to pin the Big Red back. But the Buffs force a 3-and-out. (Author immediately regrets leaning the ‘over’ today.) — Sean Keeler
(10:32 a.m.): The Buffs had three penalties on their first drive. And it’s probably why they had to punt. A week ago? They didn’t get their first penalty until midway through the second quarter. — Matt Schubert
(10:19 a.m.) Savion Washington invoking Coach Prime’s rule: “One fight, we all fight.” And the Buffs convert to — guess who? — Travis Hunter on third-and-10. — Sean Keeler
Travis Hunter has 12 catches as a Buff. Eight have accounted for first downs. — Sean Keeler
(10:18 a.m.): Arden Walker comes out with the ball, and that’s four giveaways for Nebraska QB Jeff Sims in his first 5 quarters as a Husker. — Sean Keeler
What didn’t happen last week (dumb penalties) rears its ugly head on CU’s first drive. You simply cannot do that — regardless of what happened to Shedeur Sanders. That said, Coach Prime did encourage fighting during the preseason. — Matt Schubert
(10:15 a.m.) The Buffs are clearly selling out against the run on defense. That’s worked so far. The pass defense? Work in progress.
Welp, that’s the Nebraska that Husker fans have come to love over the past decade. A drive that once looked promising ends with a fumbled snap. Never change, Nebraska. Never change. — Matt Schubert
The ball is loose and comes up with it!
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
Packed house (10:12 a.m.): I’m putting the crowd at 70% Buffs fans. And I’m good at counting. — Matt Schubert
Game predictions
Matt Schubert, sports editor: This place is ready to explode. Will the Buffs deliver in Coach Prime’s debut? That probably boils down to this: stopping Nebraska’s run game. Given what happened last week against TCU, that’s not a given. But … Colorado 27, Nebraska 21.
Kyle Newman, sports reporter: It comes down to the wire and the Huskers physicality is all the Buffs can handle. But ultimately, the Colorado defense shows some backbone in the second half and Shedeur Sanders’ late TD pass to Xavier Weaver is the difference. CU 28, Nebraska 27.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Ralphie runs wild, Huskers don’t. CU 30, Nebraska 27.
Pre-game updates
Here come the Buffs (10:02 a.m.): The Ralphie Run just went off, the crowd went nuts, and that tradition remains part of the beautiful pageantry and tradition of college football. Buffs take the field to roaring ovation, Huskers come out to a chorus of boos. The Black & Gold faithful are drowning out the Huskers fans, who are vastly outnumbered. — Kyle Newman
THE FIRST RALPHIE RUN OF THE SEASON 🦬
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
Back in Boulder (9:50 a.m.): Ran into our old pal Phil Lindsay at Farrand Field, where was doing promotional work for the Discover Card, posing for pics and signing autographs. The Prime Effect blows his mind, too. “It’s crazy what this man has done in one game,” the former Broncos and Buffs tailback said. “I’m kind of scared to see what he’s gonna do when they continue to win. The biggest thing is, we’ ve got to go 3-0 (when we) get to Oregon and USC. We got to go 3-0 We gotta win today.” — Sean Keeler
Coach Prime in the HOUSE🔥
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX)
TV 📺 (9:27 a.m.): The only thing better than signs on Fox’s “Big Noon” telecast? The confiscated ones. From one of the volunteers at Farran Field, her faves: “CORNF—–S” // “Nebraska eats corn (expletive) (expletive).” // Volunteer: “There were a lot of ‘daddy’ ones that (we took).” — Sean Keeler
Fashion critique (9:08 a.m.): Love CU’s black jerseys, but are we sure this was the game to break them out for? The sun is absolutely baking. Feels like white would’ve been the way to go today. — Matt Schubert
(9:01 a.m.): Historically the Buffs have been the little brother to Nebraska, who owns a 49-20-2 mark against Colorado including 23-11-2 in Boulder. But CU has won both meetings since both teams left Big-12 in 2010, the last one 34-31 in OT in 2019. — Kyle Newman
(8:50 a.m.): Matt Schubert is “guaranteeing” that the Folsom Frenzies will storm the field if CU wins today, by blowout or by last-second dramatics. I would probably also put money down on that prop. — Kyle Newman
College rules (8:46 a.m.): The student section is roughly 75% full … and they are IN A LATHER more than an hour before kickoff. Over/under on hours slept over the last day: 0.5. And I’m taking the under. — Matt Schubert
Early arrival (8:16 a.m.): As of 7:20 a.m. US 36 westbound was already backed up slow-and-go 10 miles outside of Boulder. Gonna be a packed day at Folsom Field and the land surrounding. — Kyle Newman
CU Buffs vs. Nebraska: Must reads
BOULDER — Only one man in the free world can stop Travis Hunter. And thatap Deion Sanders.
“He gets upset,” Sanders, coach of the No. 22 CU Buffs and king of the college football world, said Tuesday. “Like I told he and (CU running back) Dylan (Edwards), ‘I don’t want to see (you) practicing until Wednesday.’ So they’re gonna start work (Wednesday), which gives them a few days off to get their body recuperated.”
TH12 set college football back years in Week 1. And by years, we mean decades. According to ProFootballFocus.com charting, the lithe, smooth, 6-foot-1 sophomore celebrated his Buffs debut by kicking it old-school, logging 144 snaps for CU — 80 at cornerback and 64 at wide receiver.
Context: The NCAA record for FBS team offensive plays a game is 118. The FBS mark for combined plays, by two teams, is 209. Read more…
They here: Deion Sanders’ CU Buffs football ranked No. 22 in AP poll, 25 in coaches’ poll
BOULDER — The Prime Effect just crossed another line off the bucket list. Because the Buffs are officially back.
Back in the top 25, at any rate.
CU is ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press national ranking released this afternoon following a 45-42 win at then-No. 17 TCU last Saturday. The Buffs were also part of the AFCA coaches’ poll released Monday, at No. 25.
Itap the Buffs’ first appearance in the AP Top 25 since Dec. 6, 2020, when Karl Dorrell’s team opened their campaign 4-0 in a COVID-shortened season. Read more…
Tom Brady to CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders after TCU win: “Don’t be satisfied”
BOULDER — Shedeur Sanders is even more careful about his phone number than he is with passing windows. But of all the congratulatory texts the CU’s new QB 1 landed after piloting the Buffs to a 45-42 win at then-No. 17 TCU, one stood out.
“Don’t be satisfied,” it read.
The sender?
Tom Brady.
“It (was) cool,” the CU quarterback said Tuesday when asked about getting a shout from the NFL icon, who retired earlier this year. “It was cool hearing from him, knowing he’s still watching and stuff like that.” Read more…
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