Connect with us

Colorado

Nebraska Football vs. Colorado: Dave Feit’s Four Keys to the Game

Published

on

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.

Shedeur Sanders

Sep 9, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders scrambles past Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Nash Hutmacher in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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.

Advertisement

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:

  1. The defense gets a big play (sack or interception)
  2. Sanders’ pass is incomplete (thrown away or otherwise)
  3. 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.

Jeff Sims fumble, Nebraska vs. Colorado football 2023

Sep 9, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Jeff Sims (7) fumbles a snap against the Colorado Buffaloes in the first quarter at Folsom Field. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

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.

Advertisement

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.

Texas celebrates 2010 win at Nebraska

Oct 16, 2010; Lincoln, NE, USA; Texas Longhorns players celebrate their 20-13 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. / Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.





Source link

Colorado

Colorado weather: Up to 14 inches of snow forecast for mountains

Published

on

Colorado weather: Up to 14 inches of snow forecast for mountains


Snow started Monday night in Colorado’s mountains and will continue throughout the week, likely making its way into the Denver area on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Colorado’s mountain roads, including Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel and Berthoud Pass, were already snow-covered Tuesday morning, according to the weather service.

“With more snow to come throughout the day, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the Front Range Mountains,” forecasters said.

That advisory will be in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Jackson, Larimer, Boulder, Grand, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park counties, including Rocky Mountain National Park. Additional snow accumulations between 6 and 14 inches are possible on Tuesday, forecasters said in the alert.

Advertisement

As of Tuesday, the weather service’s snow forecasts included:

  • 2 inches on I-70’s Vail Pass, with up to 3 inches possible
  • 3 inches in Winter Park, with up to 4 inches possible
  • 4 inches in Eldora and on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, with up to 5 inches possible
  • 4 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 7 inches possible
  • 5 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 7 inches possible
  • 6 inches on U.S. 34’s Milner Pass in RMNP, with up to 8 inches possible
  • 7 inches on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Fort Collins, with up to 8 inches possible
  • 9 inches on Mount Zirkel, the highest summit of Colorado’s Park Range of the Rocky Mountains, with up to 11 inches possible

“Travel could be very difficult,” weather service forecasters stated in the winter weather advisory. “The hazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Weiss keeps focus on job as Colorado AHL assistant, not historic promotion | NHL.com

Published

on

Weiss keeps focus on job as Colorado AHL assistant, not historic promotion | NHL.com


In NHL.com’s Q&A feature called “Sitting Down with …” we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature Kim Weiss, assistant coach of the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate. Weiss was named assistant for the Eagles on Jan. 16, joining Seattle Kraken assistant Jessica Campbell as the only women in the NHL or AHL to be a full-time assistant coach.

Kim Weiss doesn’t think about the history she’s made that often.

The 36-year-old is too busy with her duties that come with being the Colorado Eagles’ assistant coach, including breaking down 5-on-5 video — she was the team’s video coach prior to her promotion — presenting it to the team, pushing pucks and running practice drills.

“When the title change happened and the promotion happened, I left the office of the general manager (Kevin McDonald), and I got back to work,” Weiss told NHL.com. “In the moment you’re not really thinking about that kind of stuff, but obviously it’s an honor.

Advertisement

“I’m especially grateful just because of my background. I didn’t play on a national team, I didn’t grow up in Minnesota or any kind of a hockey hotbed. So to get at this level and to have this legacy, for lack of a better word, from the place I’m from, a kid from Maryland that played Division III (hockey at Trinity College), it makes me even more proud to show people that you can get somewhere no matter where you start from. Then you add in being a female and all of that, I’m really proud of my journey and I’m proud of all the people who helped me along the way to get here.”

It’s been quite a ride for Weiss with the Eagles, who are second in the AHL Pacific Division. Last week, Weiss talked to NHL.com about her new duties, working with the Avalanche and more women in hockey.

So what was it like the day McDonald called you into the office to give you the news of your promotion?

“Honestly, it’s an affirmation of the work you put in. That’s what the GM said to me. Last season I had a different head coach (Aaron Schneekloth) and we had a different assistant (Dan Hinote) that both moved onto the NHL, and they both spoke highly of me to our GM in the summer and to our new head coach (Mark Letestu). Getting to know Mark this year and working for him, everything that he had heard of me got confirmed through the first few months of the year.

“I don’t exactly know how the process went about to change the title, but I think he went to Kevin, and I know Kevin said this to me, this line of, ‘You’re doing all the work that the assistant does, so why aren’t we calling you one?’ I’m already on the ice with the team and I run skill skates and scratch skates and present (video). I’m doing everything the assistant coach does; I just had a different title. So I really appreciate them just giving me the opportunity to kind of advance my career and keep doing what I love to do, which is coach hockey.”

Advertisement

Letestu also had you run one of the practices earlier in the season. How did that come about?

“Every assistant got (that chance). The big thing coming in was, he had been an assistant coach before and he wanted to make sure we all had a voice and a say, and we weren’t just coming onto the ice for practice like, ‘Oh, here we go. Push some pucks. Put my track suit on for 20 minutes, push some pucks and jump off.’ He wanted to make sure we had the platform in front of the players.

“It started with our longest-tenured assistant coach, Tim Branham. It was nothing new or scary for any of us, but just a different dynamic. Not every staff allows their assistants to take full responsibility of a full practice. Then Derek (Army) took it and then the next week I took one.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Colorado

How the Colorado Rockies Are Actually Building Its Opening Day Roster

Published

on

How the Colorado Rockies Are Actually Building Its Opening Day Roster


The Colorado Rockies are seeking the right balance and experimenting under their first full-year manager, Warren Schaeffer.

It’s a different Rockies roster compared to last season. There are new faces on the active roster for the start of the 2026 season. Having a team with youth and a mix of veterans can be a successful formula for the Rockies.

Knowing how the elevation affects things in Colorado, the Rockies will see which pitcher can thrive playing in Coors Field. Anything can happen this season.

Advertisement

The Rockies Must Have A Roster That Can Stay Durable 

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Advertisement

A Rotation of Veterans

Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta added several arms over 34, including Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, and Tomoyuki Sugano.

The fifth starter will be a competitive battle. The Rockies have options in who will win that fifth and final spot. Here is the prediction of the Rockies’ starting rotation:

  • Kyle Freeland
  • Michael Lorenzen
  • Ryan Feltner
  • Jose Quintana
  • Chase Dollander

Ryan Feltner has battled injuries. The 29-year-old suffered back spasms and shoulder injuries, preventing him from performing in 2025. He’s determined to have a breakout season. 

He had a lot of momentum in his final 15 starts of the 2024 season. Feltner posted a 2.75 ERA and finished with a career-high 162 1/3 innings. Feltner has been building his weight-room capacity and getting himself ready for the new season. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and produce.

Flexibility on the Infield

Advertisement

The Rockies’ acquisition of Willi Castro was a smart move. We know the Rockies’ future at shortstop is Ezequel Tovar. However, the Rockies organization is being cautious. They want to make sure they have an extra body on hand in case something goes south. Castro is a former All-Star and a versatile defender. 

Eduoard Julien is known for playing second base, but he can also play first base if the Rockies need him there. It all depends on many situations and circumstances. Julien is one of the players on the Rockies roster who must prove his worth.

In terms of first base, TJ Rumfield is a front-office option to serve that position. He has the size, length, and youth to play the position. Rumfield is having an impressive start to the spring so far. 

Current Roster and Opening Day Prediction Lineup

Advertisement

Ezequiel Tovar, SS 
Tyler Freeman, 2B 
Mickey Moniak, DH 
Hunter Goodman, C 
Kyle Karros, 3B
Jordan Beck, RF 
Brenton Doyle, CF
Jake McCarthy, LF
TJ Rumfield, 1B

The lineup can change overnight, and especially in the next few weeks. If, for some reason, Freeman can’t okay second base to start the season, then Castro is the leading man to take the spot. 



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending