Colorado (1-0) at Nebraska (1-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
BetMGM College Football Odds: Nebraska by 7.
Series record: Nebraska leads 41-29-2.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Colorado’s Deion Sanders and Nebraska’s Matt Rhule both are in their second seasons, and both are tasked with bringing their programs back to prominence. This will be a good test to check the progress of the old Big Eight/Big 12 rivals. Nebraska fans have been anticipating this game since the Buffaloes won in Boulder last year. Memorial Stadium will be juiced.
KEY MATCHUP
Offensive lines vs. defensive lines. It would be premature to say Colorado’s offensive line, which gave up 52 sacks last season, is much improved. North Dakota State of the FCS had Shedeur Sanders on the run last week but sacked him just once. The Huskers’ pass rushers have the speed to get home. Chunk plays have been a problem for the Buffs’ defense and its pass-rush is middling. Nebraska’s offensive line clears the way for a running back stable that runs four-deep and Dylan Raiola was kept clean against UTEP except for one sack.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado: Two-way star Travis Hunter will be on the field for most, if not all, of the game. As a receiver, he proved too much to handle for NDSU. He will test Nebraska’s secondary as a potential top-five NFL draft pick, but he won’t be able to impose his physicality like he did against North Dakota State. As a cornerback, Hunter will be dealing with bigger and stronger Nebraska receivers.
Nebraska: Raiola was really good in his college debut. He threw a pretty ball and was on point with his decision-making. But that was in a blowout against UTEP. Let’s see how he responds if he finds himself in a high-scoring and close game.
FACTS & FIGURES
This game ends a four-game, home-and-home series. The Buffs won the first three games — 33-28 in Lincoln in 2018, 34-31 in overtime in Boulder in 2019 and 36-14 in Boulder last year. Colorado has never won four in a row in the series. Nebraska last beat the Buffs in Lincoln in 2010, a 45-17 victory that clinched a spot in the Big 12 championship game in the Huskers’ final year in the conference. … Shedeur Sanders threw for 445 yards and averaged 17 yards per completion against NDSU. He threw for 393 yards but was sacked seven times by Nebraska last year. … Huskers’ 33-point win over UTEP was its most lopsided in three years.
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