LINCOLN, Neb. – It is said that football is a game of inches. And while the Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0) had their fair share of miscues on Saturday night, inches for the Colorado Buffaloes (1-1) became miles.
These many miles will have to sit with Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders’s squad on the long journey back to Boulder from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
A brutal 28-10 loss to the program’s most formidable rival was anything but the case last season at home, when a rejuvenated Folsom Field crowd lifted a then-on-cloud-nine Colorado team to a 36-14 win. Now, several key stats stick out like sore thumbs as several issues from last season’s utter collapse linger.
16 rushing yards, 57 if adjusting for the six times the Cornhusker front seven sacked quarterback Shedeur Sanders, is unacceptable, but not exactly surprising given how CU has fared against bigger, more physical front sevens in the Coach Prime era. What is surprising, however, was the utter lack of effort and creativity in establishing the run that came from offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.
The black and gold dialed up just four designed runs in the entire first half, with a two-yard loss on fourth down from Charlie Offerdahl being the lone run of a nightmarish opening quarter of chaos.
Ohio State transfer Dallan Hayden again showed flashes of what could be in terms of the run game with 32 yards in his measly five touches, but most of which came when the game was simply out of reach.
"We've got to want it, we've got to want to run the ball," said Coach Sanders of the play-calling. "We're going to get to that point."
This strategy lacks effort and creativity as previously stated, but the most important aspect it lacks is faith. When coaching is absent of belief in an entire dimension of play, opponents smell blood.
That is exactly what the Huskers did, leaping to an insurmountable four-touchdown advantage by the halftime whistle with little resistance.
With nearly 90,000 strong in attendance for the first road rivalry environment of this iteration of Colorado football, the Buffs' offense became stale and the defense was put on skates (nine penalties for 104 yards).
While that on-the-ropes defense once again came out with more fire in the second half, stymies in the trenches (zero sacks) and an inability to make impact plays (zero turnovers forced) continued and kept the Cornhuskers in cruise control despite stretches of play that were, at best, subpar.
Nebraska's squad, not far off from a 5-7 campaign last season other than the addition of five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, looked to be the exponentially more prepared and improved side. On the contrary, the ever-revolving door of CU's roster took punch after punch they could not sustain.
"We've got to be able to handle pressure," noted Coach Prime of the disconnect between emphasis in practice and gameday performance. "The pressure of the game, the pressure of the moment, the pressure of the time. Everyone wants to be 'him' until it's time to be 'him.'"
While Coach Prime and Shedeur remain the identity of a team with an otherwise aimless trajectory, monumental flaws starting between the tackles are still in dire straits for any fan of Colorado football to start "believing" again.
Cover photo by Roberto Patrick Gerra/Sko Buffs Sports
Comments