Nebraska

Keeler: How can CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders win big at Nebraska? By blocking out the noise, Steven Montez says

Published

1 year ago

September 3, 2024

Keeler: How can CU Buffs QB Shedeur Sanders win big at Nebraska? By blocking out the noise, Steven Montez says

BOULDER — Steven Montez threw up a prayer and turned a Sea of Red into church mice.

“I just remember it being dead quiet in the stadium,” Montez, the ex-CU Buffs quarterbacking great, told me over the phone Tuesday. “That was the thing that stuck out to me the most.”

He remembers Laviska Shenault, the Travis Hunter before Travis Hunter, shifting into fifth gear on a “go” route the last time they played in Lincoln, six Septembers ago, converting a right-shoulder fade into a game-winning TD and a 33-28 Buffs victory.

He remembers Jay MacIntyre getting clobbered on third down to give Montez a second chance at paydirt. He remembers the sweetest silence ever. He remembers talking trash to Nebraska linebacker Dedrick Young II, a pal of teammate and CU lineman Brett Tonz, while sprinting downfield to celebrate.

“What did you say?” I asked.

A pause.

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate for print,” Montez laughed.

“Did Dedrick say anything back?”

“He didn’t say a word to me,” Montez replied. “I could just tell he was absolutely livid.”

Funny thing? Montez considers Young a friend now. Well, except maybe this week. The Color That Shall Not Be Named Week.

“I’d rather be dead,” Montez quipped, “than red.”

The best grudges never die, do they? Since 1964, CU’s played in Lincoln 24 times. They won five of those games. Over the last 60 years, only two Buffs QBs have ever beaten the Big Red twice: Darian Hagan (’89 and ’90) and Montez (’18 and ’19). Shedeur Sanders, whose 1-0 Buffs visit the Huskers on Saturday night, is on the cusp of becoming the third.

“We knew it was going to be loud,” Montez recalled of CU’s last visit to Lincoln. “But then you get there, and especially the last drive of the game, I couldn’t hear when I clapped my hands to get the snap. I just felt my hands touch. I don’t know how (the center) heard me.

“I couldn’t hear any of the offensive line communication. It’s as if the crowd noise is pouring over your body.”

Montez’s pro tip for Sanders: When it comes to Big Red Country, it’s what you do, not what you say. Because as long as the latter is happening between the hash marks, nobody’s going to hear it anyway.

“The secret, first and foremost, I think, (has) got to be dealing with that crowd noise,” Montez said. “I’ve played in a lot of different places — I’ve played at (Oregon’s) Autzen Stadium. I’ve played the Big House (in Michigan). Lincoln is, by far, the loudest environment I’ve played in over my career. So I think if you can deal with the crowd noise, I think you can really have a chance.”

And with what he saw of Shedeur and the Buffs against North Dakota State this past Thursday night, he thinks CU really, really, really has a chance.

“The way Travis (Hunter) is playing, the way Shedeur is playing, the way Jimmy Horn Jr. is playing,” Montez continued, “if they’re able to get those guys the ball, they’re going to be tough to stop.

“Even comparing myself and Shedeur, his level of efficiency has surpassed what I put on tape (at CU). He’s playing some of the best ball that I’ve ever seen from a CU quarterback in shoot, I don’t know how long — at least since I started watching the Buffs. The way (Sanders) played last year, with the protection he got, it was honestly pretty mind-blowing to see him play that well (while) getting hit that many times, getting sacked that many times.”

And that’s coming from Montez, who was a darn tough cookie himself. The El Paso, Texas, native threw for 63 scores as a Buff from 2016-2019, and his 9,710 career yards rank No. 2 an CU’s all-time career passing charts behind only Sefo Liufau (9,763).

Quarterback Steven Montez #12 of the Colorado Buffaloes looks over the line in the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)

At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Montez, who turned 27 in January, was blessed with a prototype NFL QB body, a strong arm and an easy, quick release. But the pro game can be a fickle mistress, and after stints with Washington and Detroit in the NFL and the Seattle Sea Dragons of the old XFL, Montez signed with the CFL’s Edmonton Elks this past January and was added to the Elks’ “retired” list this past May.

This fall, Montez is the QB coach at San Marin High School in Novato, Calif., having dabbled on the coaching side at this time a year ago.

“It bought me a lot of peace and a lot of fulfillment working with these kids, so I really just wanted to do it again,” Montez said. “I had so much fun coaching these kids — I had a blast last year.”

Plenty of tread left on those tires, though.

“I mean, if the situation is right, I feel like I would definitely love to come back and play again,” Montez said. “I still feel young, still feel in my prime.”

He still loves proving doubters wrong. Still loves being the underdog.

And speaking of, the Huskers are seven-point favorites heading into Saturday night. They were three-point favorites six years ago. Ya never know.

“I thought the initial vibe coming into that (2018) game was, they thought we were going to to show up and they were going to just roll us or something,” Montez recalled. “It felt like all the fans were really confident they were going to beat us that day. And it didn’t end up shaking out like that.”

Heck, yeah, he misses it. We’re all going to miss it.

“Nebraska’s not going to renew that contract, are they?” Montez asked me.

“Not anytime soon,” I said.

Another pause.

“After going 0-3 (in the first three games),” Montez chuckled, “I wouldn’t want to play us, either.”

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Nebraska

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

Published

10 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

‘Best we’ve played all year.’ Trent Perry scores 20 points as UCLA routs No. 9 Nebraska

The UCLA men’s basketball team made Senior Night one to savor Tuesday, dominating No. 9 Nebraska 72-52 at Pauley Pavilion for its 20th victory of the season and third over a top-10 ranked opponent.

The Bruins improved to 20-10 overall and 12-7 in the Big Ten with one regular season game remaining, Saturday at crosstown rival USC.

Trent Perry scored 20 points, Eric Dailey Jr. had 14 and three players — Tyler Bilodeau, Skyy Clark and Xavier Booker — each added eight points.

“Nebraska’s got a great team,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said. “This is the best we’ve played all year — they brought out the best in us. We went from our worst defensive effort to our best. They outhustle everyone they play, but not us. Tonight we were great, but I love the way they play. If we had their attitude we’d have their record.”

Eric Freeny had four points, five rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes for UCLA, which got 26 points in the paint and 17 second-chance points.

“Effort is what it takes to win in March,” Freeny said. “It was our last home game. Coach keeps on pushing me to be better everyday.”

Sam Hoiberg had 12 points to lead Nebraska, but Pryce Sandfort, who began the game leading the conference in three-pointers made per game, was held to nine points.

“Sandford has been unbelievable so to hold him to nine points is amazing,” Cronin said. “Brandon Williams was the unsung hero.”

Williams had six points and three rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.

The Bruins were in control from the opening tip-off and never trailed the Cornhuskers (25-5, 14-5). UCLA improved to 10-3 in all-time against Nebraska and the win greatly strengthened its resume for the NCAA tournament as the Bruins also beat then-No. 4 Purdue 69-67 on Jan. 20 and then-No. 10 Illinois 95-94 in overtime on Feb. 21 on Donovan Dent’s layup with one second left.

“We have to take attitude we came with tonight, bottle it up and take it on the road,” Dailey Jr. said. “We’ve got so much left. The season’s not over… we’re only as good as our last game. It’s all about how you respond. I love the fight that we played with tonight.”

This is the fifth time in Cronin’s seven seasons that the Bruins have won 20 or more games. They are 17-1 at home (their only loss in overtime to Indiana on Jan. 31).

“Since I’ve been here we don’t lose much at home.” Cronin said.

UCLA went ahead by 15 points, 37-22, on Perry’s three-pointer with 2:41 left and led 37-24 at intermission. The Bruins shot 50% from the field in the first half (15 for 30) while Nebraska was only 31% (nine for 29).

The Bruins increased their advantage to 18 points on Dailey’s dunk less than five minutes into the second half and the visitors got no closer than nine the rest of the way.

Prior to pregame introductions the Bruins honored seniors Bilodeau, Dent and Clark; fifth-year player Jamar Brown; redshirt seniors Steven Jamerson II, Jack Seidler and Anthony Peoples Jr; and redshirt junior Evan Manjikian. In a media timeout, midway through the first half, former coach Jim Harrick (who led UCLA to its 11th national championship in 1995) was honored and got a loud ovation.

“I’m happy for our seniors, I didn’t want them to lose their last game at Pauley,” said Perry, who reversed a subpar performance at Minnesota, where he was 0-for-7 from the field with one rebound and one assist in 26 minutes. “I had to come out here tonight and bounce back for my team. I play for something bigger than myself and I’m fortunate to have the type of guys I do around me.”

UCLA guard Skyy Clark looks to pass while under pressure from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg and forward Berke Buyuktuncel in the second half.

(William Liang / Associated Press)

Over the last four games, Dent has 46 assists and just two turnovers.

Bilodeau has scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games played, totaling 20 points or more nine times.

Dailey moved to within five points of reaching the 1,000-career point milestone.

UCLA has now made at least one three-pointer in 887 of 888 games dating to February 2000.

“We had one practice this week, that’s it,” Cronin said. “We watched film, had a heart-to-heart talk and a shoot around today but that’s it.”

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Nebraska

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

Published

22 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

4.1-magnitude earthquake hits south-central Nebraska

People across Nebraska and Kansas reported feeling an earthquake Sunday afternoon.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a quake measuring 4.1 on the Richter Scale struck around 1 p.m. about 3 miles east of the Webster County village of Cowles, which is in south-central Nebraska near the Kansas border.

A quake of that magnitude is considered “light” and not likely to cause damage.

But the USGS received dozens of reports from people who said they felt the quake, some as far away as Omaha and Manhattan, Kansas. Numerous people took to social media to report feeling the quake.

Two aftershocks of 2.6 magnitude later occurred near the original quake site, one about 90 minutes after the initial quake and one later Sunday night.

Earthquakes are relatively rare in Nebraska, but the state does usually record one or two minor ones per year. The last time Nebraska recorded a quake of a magnitude 4 or above was in December 2023, also in Webster County.

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Nebraska

Nebraska Lottery results: See winning numbers for Powerball, Pick 3 on March 2, 2026

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Monday, March 2, 2026.

Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on March 2.

Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing

02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from March 2 drawing

21-28-58-65-67, Powerball: 25

Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing

7-5-8

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing

03-08-09-17-25

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from March 2 drawing

Red Balls: 14-26, White Balls: 17-18

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning MyDay numbers from March 2 drawing

Month: 05, Day: 03, Year: 23

Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from March 2 drawing

28-41-42-50-55, Bonus: 02

Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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