On Saturday, the Colorado Buffaloes (1-0) hit the road for the first time in 2024 to add another chapter to one of the most storied rivalries in college football history. The Buffs will be in Lincoln, Nebraska to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers (1-0) on Saturday night in a matchup poised to feature lots of offensive firepower.
Last weekend, the Buffs took care of business when the North Dakota State Bison came to town after a strong second half showing at Folsom Field. The Huskers, led by true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, easily handled the UTEP Miners and showed they are a much better squad than the 2023 team the Buffaloes ran off the field.
A glaring issue for Colorado in Week 1 was its pass defense and inability to adjust, especially in the first half. North Dakota State had just four incompletions between its two quarterbacks, as the Buffs consistently played Cover 1 Man coverage and let up easy completions. The Bison created traffic on short routes to free up receivers for easy completions, as seen on their first touchdown of the game.
The Nebraska offensive line did a great job in both the run and pass games, as Raiola was sacked just once on Saturday, while the rushing offense averaged just under five yards per carry. Take this simple power concept on the goal line. Junior running back Gabe Ervin walked into the end zone untouched thanks to his offensive line, who opened the floodgates with a spectacular combination of power and technique.
The Buffs' defensive line played a good game when defending the run last week, except for the quarterback run, which isn’t a weapon in Nebraska’s playbook. Designed runs by running backs and wide receivers totaled just 2.9 yards per carry for the Bison. The Cornhuskers backfield has lots of depth, as five players had at least five carries in Week 1. A plethora of fresh legs and a bigger offensive line will pose challenges for Colorado and is an area that Colorado can’t get dominated in if it wants to win.
If the Buffs play defense like they did in Week 1, their only hope of winning this game is scoring 70 points. CU head coach Deion Sanders said he wasn’t happy with the team’s performance in the first game, but only time will tell if they corrected anything.
On the other side of the ball, the Buffaloes have to get more creative in the run game. They can’t continue to run simple zone concepts that are an easy read for opposing linebackers because it doesn’t pose any form of a threat to the defense. The run game last week was mediocre at best, and the lack of misdirection didn’t help. This team has talented backs and a talented offensive line, but offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur did nothing to help them succeed last week. Again, this is something that needs to change if this Buffs team wants to take the next step.
If the Buffs can somewhat establish a run game, that will help open up the passing game even more. If senior QB Shedeur Sanders and the receiving core can get in a rhythm, everyone in the country knows how dynamic they can be.
Nebraska’s base defensive formation is a 3-3-5, with just six players close to the line of scrimmage. If Colorado incorporates more tight end packages into their offense with junior TE Sav’ell Smalls this week, utilizing him as an H-back off the line of scrimmage will allow the Buffs to have even numbers in the run-blocking game to generate a decent enough attack to open up the passing game for Sanders.
Sanders threw for 445 yards in Week 1, with senior WR Jimmy Horn Jr. and junior WR/cornerback Travis Hunter being his main two targets. Florida Atlantic transfer WR LaJohntay Wester also made a solid contribution with five catches in his senior season debut. Colorado showed its ability to make dynamic plays, just like it did against Nebraska a year ago. A lot of its success came against Nebraska sitting back in Cover 3 in 2023, but expect more zone coverage from the Huskers.
The only touchdown let up by the Nebraska defense in Week 1 came on a slot fade against man coverage, and if it chooses to stay in man against CU, it will be in for a long day. The Huskers, when in zone, showed a great ability to run creative zone blitzes to hurry the UTEP quarterback, and expect them to do the same to Sanders and Colorado. If Sanders has all day to throw, he will carve up any defense, but if he gets pressured, he tends to get happy feet and put himself in trouble.
This game should be a phenomenal chess match between Coach Prime and Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. This rivalry always shapes up to be an entertaining game, but this game is going to be won in the trenches despite the firepower Colorado possesses. If it can’t hold its ground in the run game on both sides of the ball, it’s going to be a long flight home to Boulder for the Buffaloes.
The game kicks off from Lincoln, Nebraska at 5:30 p.m. MT and will be televised on NBC.
Cover photo by Talus Schreiber/Sko Buffs Sports
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