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Shadeur Sanders put on a show in the win.
Colorado Buffaloes football has officially returned to Boulder in the most triumphant way possible, by beating the snot out of Nebraska. The Buffs have continued rolling after last week’s nailbiter win over TCU. This week, they dominated the Huskers by a score of 36-14. This game had flashes of CU’s legendary 63-36 win in the best way possible.
In the first half, the Buffs offensive line looked nothing like they did last week in Fort Worth. The Colorado big men had a rough game through the first two quarters against the Huskers. The Nebraska pass-rush had their way with the Colorado front line, and got to quarterback Shedeur Sanders a little too much for comfort. CU allowed Nebraska to sack Sanders five times before halftime, and didn’t give him much time in the pocket during most plays. The offensive line really picked it up in the second half though, and paved the way for the Buffs to lay down 23 points on Nebraska. Shedeur got plenty of time in the pocket in the second half, which has proved to be a lethal combination with his elite vision.
Speaking of Shedeur Sanders’ vision, holy Heisman. This guy is something else. If you give him more than 3 seconds in the pocket, he is going to pick your secondary apart. Calling Sanders’ vision elite could be an understatement. A more accurate word may be generational.
The crazy thing is that Shedeur didn’t even have that great of a game either, even by his standards. There were a couple of questionable throws by Sanders, but none of them resulted in anything worse than an incompletion. Even though he wasn’t at his best, Shedeur finished the game with 396 passing yards and 31 completion on 42 attempts. If Shedeur continues to play like he has these last two weeks, the Buffs could take their second Heisman in school history. Oh, and he also had a rushing touchdown too.
Much like last week, the Buffs run game was pretty much non-existent. Colorado only picked up 58 yards on the ground, and their lead rusher was once again true freshman Dylan Edwards. These numbers may look a little scary, but don’t pay them much mind. The Buffs just put on 81 points in the last two weeks against two good teams without a rushing attack, so they’re going to be just fine.
Colorado’s wide receivers room had themselves a fantastic week once again. Xavier Weaver led the Buffs with 170 receiving yards, and capped it off with a touchdown catch. Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. also both had solid weeks, but nothing like the craze that was last weekend. Hunter finished the game with 73 yards on three catches. This may cause his Heisman case to take a bit of a hit, but he still had a really good game nonetheless.
The Colorado run defense really stepped up their game from last week, and had a phenomenal game against Nebraska. The Huskers offense lives or dies by the run, and the Buffs killed them today. The Huskers did finish the game with 222 rushing yards, but the Buffaloes managed to stuff Nebraska at the line when it mattered most. Jordan Domineck had a standout game, as he finished with 2.5 tackles for losses.
The Buffs secondary had a bit of a shaky start, opening the game deploying a soft-zone coverage that wasn’t working very well. However, the unit started picking up steam throughout the day and actually put together a pretty good game for themselves. Colorado only allowed Nebraska to gain 119 yards through the air. Safety Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig came away with a nice pick to set the Buffs up with nice field position, which they would eventually capitalize on with seven points. Where the Buffs’ truly excelled today was in tackling. This is especially true for safety Shilo Sanders, who bailed out the defensive line a couple of key times.
The Colorado defense finished the game with four turnovers, which is always a plus. However, three of them came from three Nebraska fumbles off the snap. Nebraska QB Jeff Sims had a real tough time handling the ball today, as he coughed it up Buffs twice. Colorado’s brand new “Turnover Throne” got a lot of use, which was great to see.
Going into this week, Colorado’s special teams unit was their biggest question. They had a bad week last week against TCU, and many feared they’d get torched by Nebraska on kick and punt returns. That worry is now resolved though, as the Buffs had a rock solid performance on special teams. They only allowed the Huskers to get a measly 23 yards on returns, which is a monumental improvement. Buffs fans can breathe easy knowing that Colorado’s special teams unit is actually pretty good and can hold their own.
Shortly after the game, ESPN picked up the Buffs’ game next week against Colorado State for College Gameday. That will make next week Colorado’s third straight nationally televised game. The College Gameday hasn’t been to Boulder since 1996, and they’re finally back thanks to Coach Prime.
As the 53,000+ Buffs fans in attendance for today’s game take the party out to the streets, Nebraska fans can enjoy views of cornfields along Interstate 80 after seeing their team get routed by their rival. Today’s game will go down as one of the most legendary games in Colorado Buffaloes football history. The Buffs will have their second rivalry game in as many weeks when CSU comes to Folsom next Saturday, so Buffs fans should rest up and prepare to witness another victory seven days from now.
by RylandScholes
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