Colorado
Nebraska Football vs. Colorado: Dave Feit’s Four Keys to the Game
What does Nebraska football need to do to beat Colorado on Saturday? While there a lot of potential strategies, game plans and areas of focus, I believe there are four keys that will lead Nebraska to victory.
Dominate both lines of scrimmage
This should – and will be – priority one for the Huskers. If Nebraska can establish their running game, it should create opportunities for Dylan Raiola in the passing game. Plus, it can keep Colorado’s offense on the sidelines, growing frustrated by a lack of opportunities. If Nebraska cannot run – or worse, protect Raiola – it could be a long night.
On defense, controlling the line of scrimmage might be even more important. If the Blackshirts can shut down Colorado’s running game, it makes the Buffs one dimensional. That allows the defensive line to get after Shedeur Sanders and create havoc within Colorado’s passing game. I believe Nebraska’s Tony White trusts his defense against Colorado’s passing game. But things get harder when they have to defend the run and pass.
Win the scramble plays
There will likely be times where Nebraska’s pass rush gets through and flushes Shedeur Sanders from the pocket. Sanders is typically not a “tuck it and run” quarterback. Instead, he prefers to extend the play and wait for one of his talented receivers to get open.
Every time the pocket breaks down and Sanders starts scrambling is an opportunity for Nebraska to swing the momentum.
In these chaotic scramble plays, three things can happen:
- The defense gets a big play (sack or interception)
- Sanders’ pass is incomplete (thrown away or otherwise)
- Sanders finds a receiver for a big gain.
That last one is a worst-case scenario for NU. When Sanders goes into scramble mode, NU has to be able to finish the play. Colorado will get its yards through the air, but Nebraska cannot allow back-breaking plays where they’re a fingertip away from a sack before they score a long touchdown.
Win the turnover battle
A year ago, Nebraska turned it over four times (three fumbles and an interception), but took the ball away only once. It’s hard enough to win a minus-3 turnover margin game, but it gets worse: In a game that Colorado won by 22, the Buffaloes scored 16 points off turnovers. In other words, without gift-wrapping multiple free possessions, it would have been a one-score game.
Turnovers have been an offseason point of emphasis with both the offense and defense. If the Huskers can break even – or like Week 1 against UTEP, be ahead – I like their chances. If Nebraska has a negative margin, the road to victory is harder.
Don’t let the moment be too big
There has been a lot of buildup for this game. The Nebraska-Colorado rivalry. Deion Sanders vs Matt Rhule. Shedeur Sanders vs. Dylan Raiola. Revenge from an embarrassing loss a year ago.
The fan base wants this game in a very big way. I expect Memorial Stadium to be as loud and raucous as it has been in a decade … possibly ever.
But the Huskers can’t let the moment – and their emotions – get the better of them. They can’t fall apart when Colorado busts a 60-yard play. The Huskers don’t need to panic and try to answer every big play with one of their own. Slow and steady can win this race. Most importantly, they can’t say “here we go again” when a mistake happens, as has happened so many times in recent years.
One of my fears is that the buildup for CU-NU is approaching that of the “Red Out Around the World” game against Texas in 2010. Nebraska had lost a heartbreaker to Texas in the 2009 Big XII Championship, but the Longhorns were coming to Lincoln.
Nebraska released a hype video … in July. They built a special website, printed shirts, and more. This was going to be the time that Charlie Brown – ranked #5 in the country – finally kicked the football.
Except that it wasn’t. The Huskers collapsed under the pressure and lost to the unranked Longhorns by seven, making numerous mental mistakes. The moment was too big.
In 2024, Nebraska’s staff is working to keep the moment in focus. On Thursday, Matt Rhule said the team has watched a video of the 2023 Bud Crawford-Errol Spence boxing match. In that highly anticipated bout, the Nebraska-born champion systematically chopped his opponent down and won on a ninth-round TKO.
As Rhule said: “If we play differently because of who we are playing, we’re not who we say we are.”
I like that approach. A lot.
But it’s one thing to say it. It’s another to do it in front of a screaming crowd while NBC broadcasts it in prime time.
It’s time to prove it.
MORE: Nebraska Football Preview: Colorado
MORE: Nebraska Volleyball Bounces Back, Sweeps The Citadel
MORE: Nebraska vs. Colorado Represents Clash of Civilizations
MORE: Nebraska Football Touchdown Balloons Officially Returning to Memorial Stadium
MORE: Will Compton to Voice Memorial Stadium Hype Video Throughout Nebraska Football Season
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, following HuskerMax on X, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is creating a roster where individuals can sign up for a bison hunting license.
Interested hunters can apply to be added to the list, which will only be used if management action — such as preventing property of agricultural damage — is required for wild bison that enter Colorado. The state is not creating a regular hunting season for bison.
Colorado is not home to any herds of wild bison after the species was systematically killed across the West in the 1800s.
However, a new bill signed into law in May allowed the species to be dual-classified as livestock or wildlife. The bill’s primary goal was to protect wild bison from Utah’s Book Cliffs herds that wander into Colorado near Rangely. Prior to the law being enacted, these animals lost any protections when they entered Colorado and were typically killed.
Parks and Wildlife estimates that the mismatch in protections has led to a dozen wild bison being killed in Colorado after leaving Utah in the last decade. It estimates that 25 have been killed in the past 20 years.
Now, free-roaming wild bison are managed by Parks and Wildlife as a big game species, meaning they cannot be killed without a proper license or permission. Privately-owned bison will continue to be managed by the Colorado Department of Agriculture as livestock.
In accordance with the new law, Parks and Wildlife launched a stakeholder process to create a bison management plan in October. The plan will set a bison management area and a population objective range to guide future decisions around wild bison in the area just northwest of Grand Junction, where the animals have previously entered Colorado. In the fall, the wildlife agency’s commission also passed a few regulatory changes, including building a regulatory framework for the potential hunting of wild bison to protect against disease or property damage and that covers compensation for property damages caused by the animals.
In October, as wildlife advocates urged Parks and Wildlife not to allow hunting of bison, Brian Dreher, assistant director of the terrestrial branch at Parks and Wildlife, said the new regulatory framework merely provides the agency with management options.
“We don’t have any intentions to hunt these animals in the near term, but we also need some flexibility to deal with any issues that arise,” Dreher said.
With the creation of the “bison roster,” which Parks and Wildlife announced on Jan. 1, hunters will be randomly selected in the event the agency needs to kill a wild bison that is causing issues. The agency reported these special licenses will be issued on a “case-by-case basis for time-sensitive management needs.” Once a hunters’ name is selected, the hunter will be granted a one-week license to kill a bison.
The application to sign up for the roster is available from Jan. 1 to 31 on the Parks and Wildlife website. If a drawing is conducted, successful applicants will be notified by phone and email. Hunters will have 24 hours to respond and accept the license.
Police in Aurora are asking drivers to avoid the area near a serious crash that happened early Sunday evening.
According to the Aurora Police Department, the crash occurred after 5 p.m. on S. Gun Club Road between E. Jewell Avenue and E. Hampden Ave. Authorities said that four vehicles were involved, and at least one person has died.
Officers have closed down the area near the intersections while crews work the scene. The crash is under investigation, and authorities asked drivers to avoid the area until further notice.
The Colorado men’s basketball team won’t be cruising into Big 12 Conference play behind a wave of momentum.
Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Buffaloes will begin play in one of the nation’s most challenging leagues on the heels of one of the most embarrassing home defeats in recent memory.
CU (10-3) turned in another listless defensive performance and the Bears took advantage, handing CU an 86-81 defeat Sunday afternoon at the CU Events Center.
It was UNC’s first win against Colorado since Feb. 18, 1936.
UNC shot .739 in the second half (17-for-23) and finished the game 11-for-21 on 3-pointers.
UNC’s Quinn Denker returned from a two-game injury absence to score 33 points against the Buffs. Freshman Isaiah Johnson led the Buffs with a season-high 25 points.
This story will be updated.
Northern Colorado 86, Colorado 81
NORTHERN COLORADO (10-3)
Nyeri 2-4 0-0 5, Wisne 6-15 0-0 13, Yamazaki 5-8 5-5 19, Bloch 3-6 0-0 8, Denker 12-18 6-6 33, Shields 3-6 2-6 8, Delano 0-2 0-0 0, Mawien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-59 13-17 86.
COLORADO (10-3)
Dak 6-14 2-2 16, Rancik 4-13 4-4 14, Malone 2-5 2-2 6, Hargress 8-15 1-1 18, Kossaras 1-2 0-0 2, Johnson 9-20 5-6 25, Sanders 0-3 0-0 0, Holland 0-4 0-0 0, Ifaola 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-76 14-15 81.
Halftime: Northern Colorado 37-35; 3-Point Goals: Northern Colorado 11-21 (Yamazaki 4-6, Denker 3-5, Bloch 2-4, Nyeri 1-2, Wisne 1-3, Delano 0-1), Colorado 7-23 (Dak 2-4, Johnson 2-6, Rancik 2-6, Hargress 1-3, Holland 0-1, Kossaras 0-1, Sanders 0-2); Rebounds: Northern Colorado 39 (Denker 8), Colorado 37 (Johnson 8); Assists: Northern Colorado 17 (Denker 8), Colorado 11 (Hargress 5); Total Fouls: Northern Colorado 12, Colorado 14.
Minor arrested in double-fatal shooting in Williamson County
The Ty Simpson Conversation Alabama Can’t Ignore
Opinion: Before Alaska becomes an AI data farm, be sure to read the fine print
Arizona men’s basketball cruises to win at Utah in Big 12 opener
Acuff scores 29 points to lead No. 18 Arkansas to a 86-75 win over No. 19 Tennessee
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Video: ‘It Didn’t Have to Happen This Way:’ U.Va. Faculty Call for Review of Police Response to Protests
For those who help the poor, 2025 goes down as a year of chaos
Marjorie Taylor Greene criticizes Trump’s meetings with Zelenskyy, Netanyahu: ‘Can we just do America?’
US visa ban targets ex-Commissioner Breton over alleged censorship
‘Bomb cyclone’ forecasted to bring heavy snow, blizzard conditions and dangerous travel
The biggest losers of 2025: Who fell flat as the year closed
-
Entertainment1 week agoHow the Grinch went from a Yuletide bit player to a Christmas A-lister
-
Connecticut1 week agoSnow Accumulation Estimates Increase For CT: Here Are The County-By-County Projections
-
Entertainment1 week agoPat Finn, comedy actor known for roles in ‘The Middle’ and ‘Seinfeld,’ dies at 60
-
World6 days agoHamas builds new terror regime in Gaza, recruiting teens amid problematic election
-
Indianapolis, IN1 week agoIndianapolis Colts playoffs: Updated elimination scenario, AFC standings, playoff picture for Week 17
-
Southeast1 week agoTwo attorneys vanish during Florida fishing trip as ‘heartbroken’ wife pleads for help finding them
-
World1 week agoSnoop Dogg, Lainey Wilson, Huntr/x and Andrea Bocelli Deliver Christmas-Themed Halftime Show for Netflix’s NFL Lions-Vikings Telecast
-
World1 week agoBest of 2025: Top five defining moments in the European Parliament