Huskers gearing up to experience the Coach Prime effect in Lincoln
Colorado's offensive line attempts to block Nebraska's pass rush during the second quarter Saturday September 9, 2023 at Folsom Field. (Lynn Harrington/stayaliveinpower5)
All eyes will be on Memorial Stadium when Nebraska squares off with Colorado for the 73rd time in the historical rivalry.
Although neither team is in the AP top-25, the hype surrounding this game is massive, considering it’s going to be under the lights inside the Sea of Red, features a true freshman phenom quarterback, and two projected first-round picks in next year’s NFL Draft.
Tom Osborne Field will turn into a house of nails once Deion ‘Coach Prime’ Sanders and the Buffaloes step onto it, which will also be the 398th consecutive sellout at the venue. Both coaches are in their second season, and Matt Rhule has an opportunity to make a splash in front of the fans, potential recruits and the rest of the College football world that’ll be tuning in.
After all, the spotlight follows Coach Prime everywhere he goes, and several of his commercials will be airing during the contest. He’s arguably the most popular individual to invade Memorial Stadium in quite some time. Coach Prime’s confidence and popularity has easily made him a villain in today’s game.
The Hall of Famer has been successful in various ways on and off the field to the point that it seems like everyone wants to see him fail. It’s no mystery that Nebraska has the classiest fans in the game, and they even clap for the opposition. However, the Buffaloes will hear a bunch of negative remarks from the Husker faithful.
Both teams need this win to springboard their seasons, and something has to give. The Blackshirts are looking impressive in year two under Tony White’s leadership, but Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders is likely the best quarterback the Huskers will face all season. Not to mention there’s virtually nobody on Nebraska’s roster that can cover wideout the explosive Travis Hunter.
The Blackshirts will try to do what they did in last year’s game, which is suffocate Sanders with a consistent pass rush. It worked for the most part, but Nebraska couldn’t hold onto the ball offensively. That’s why Big Red Nation believes the outcome will be different this time around.
Former five-star prospect Dylan Raiola is doing what great signal-callers do, and making others around him better. The Huskers are currently playing with extreme confidence, and want to give the rest of the Big Ten a taste of what they’ll be seeing this fall.
Regardless of the matter, Colorado has won the past three games against Nebraska, and its’ last loss in the series was in 2010. Rhule definitely wants to change that narrative, but the Buffaloes are a big upgrade in competition from a C-USA squad.
Both teams will be looking to establish the line of scrimmage, and exploit the opposition’s weaknesses. Colorado displayed a leaky defense, and suspect offensive line against North Dakota State. Nebraska’s defense struggled early against UTEP’s tempo.
The 12th man will be a major factor in this matchup, especially if it’s close late in the second half. Nebraska is going to be honoring the 1994 National Championship team, and there’ll be plenty of Hall of Famers on the sidelines. The pressure will be on Rhule to pull out the win.
Most importantly, this game represents what true rivalries are supposed to be about, in a sport that’s becoming more centered around the almighty dollar than tradition.
There’s no denying that Coach Prime is bringing that passion, and mutual hate back to this series. Both coaches are taking a different tone than last season leading up to kickoff too. Coach Prime is showing more respect for Rhule, and it’s not personal. Rhule didn’t drop no subliminal messages in his weekly press conference. Fans believe they’re taking that approach to avoid bulletin board material. Still, at the end of the day it’s going to be hard for the players to hide the disgust for each other.
It’s going to be tough to imagine the humility if the Huskers lose, just as much as it will be to take the Buffaloes as serious contenders if they can’t win on the road in a hostile environment. Which is why Saturday night can’t get here fast enough.
