Dave Feit: Why the Huskers Simply Must Beat the Buffs

Nebraska football's Week 2 game against Colorado and the Sanders clan has "must-win" written all over it.

Sep 9, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Colorado Buffaloes running back Dylan Edwards (3) and Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Omar Brown (12) reach for the ball in the second quarter at Folsom Field. / Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Nebraska's game against Colorado on Sept. 7 should be considered a "must-win" game for the Huskers. 

Before I make my case, it's important to note that I typically don't throw around terms like "must-win" willy nilly.  In the 12+ years I've been doing this, I don't recall ever referring to a game as "must-win".  If I have, it would have been for a division title or bowl eligibility, not a Week 2 nonconference game in a coach's second season.   

But the Colorado game is a must-win game. 

Let me explain why … 

A win would give Nebraska momentum for the 2024 season. 

The offseason optimism in Lincoln is higher than it has been in years.  Nebraska could get off to a very big start in 2024.  NU opens at home (for what feels like the first time in a decade) against UTEP.  There's a home game against Northern Iowa of the FCS.  The start of the Big Ten schedule (Illinois, at Purdue, and Rutgers) feels manageable.   

The Huskers could be bowl-eligible for the first time in eight years before the first Monday in October. 

But the Buffaloes stand in the way. 

The Huskers haven't started 2-0 since 2016 (when they beat Fresno State and Wyoming).  The last time NU started 2-0 with one of the victories against a power conference team was 2007 (Nevada and Wake Forest). 

An early loss (again) to Colorado (again) will get the critics chirping (again).  A win could be a springboard to a level of success that NU hasn't seen since Mike Riley was the coach. 

A win would give Matt Rhule momentum 

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is building something at Nebraska.  In his first season, Rhule focused on planting seeds in the ground.  Culture.  Development.  Toughness.  Speed.  From the outside, it might not have looked like much, but the roots are growing strong. 

Rhule and his staff used those roots to sell the program in the off-season, landing a five-star quarterback and retaining several difference-making upperclassmen.   

Now, it's time for those seedlings to start poking through.  Getting off to a quick start in 2024 would be like a sunny day after a nourishing rain shower.   

A statement win could get growing rapidly for Rhule's program, but Colorado lurks like an invasive weed ready to choke off growth. 

It is an undeniable "narrative game."   

It is impossible to predict what will happen during the game, but the postgame reactions - both locally and nationally - are easy to forecast. 

Win, and Nebraska will start getting talked about by the national media.  Matt Rhule will be the darling of the national pundits.  The "Is Nebraska Back?" columns will flow like water.  Big Red Kool Aid exports will skyrocket.  Locally, the confidence will be sky high with expectations through the roof. 

Lose, and the narrative will be "same old Nebraska." That is assuming the Huskers even get mentioned at all before the Coach Sanders Hype Train shifts into overdrive.  And somebody will overreact and suggest that Nebraska made a mistake by hiring Rhule. 

Oct 21, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule during the first quarter against the Northwestern Wildcats at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

It is a referendum on how to rebuild a program in the 21st century. 

The Colorado-Nebraska game features two head coaches - Deion Sanders and Matt Rhule - both in their second season at their respective programs. 

But that's where the similarities end. 

Sanders brought a host of talented players with him ("luggage" as he referred to them).  He ran off a large percentage of his roster - twice - and has been trying to build fast using the transfer portal and allure of several high-profile assistant coaches.  Sanders famously does little off-campus recruiting, instead expecting players to come to him. 

Rhule has brought in talent from the portal, but he has focused on recruiting high school athletes - going coast to coast to sign players.  Rhule and his up-and-coming staff prefer to identify raw talent - often based on measurables - and develop them into football players.  The Huskers lost very few players to the transfer portal, which is widely seen as a reflection of the family-like culture he has built. 

Would another loss to Colorado mean that Rhule's method is destined to fail?  Of course not.  But it would get the critics chirping and ratchet up the pressure to show results. 

The Sanders factor 

I'll own it:  I don't care for Coach Sanders (and refuse to refer to him by his marketing nickname).  During his playing days, I found his brand of brash bravado off-putting, and my opinion hasn't changed since he's been a head coach. 

I look at how he operates his program - running off players, comparing kids to luggage, and making mountains out of every molehill - with my jaw on the ground.   

Sanders is a 21st-century version of Barry Switzer, a brash and cocky S.O.B. who is the antithesis of the quiet and humble Nebraskan sensibilities. He seems custom made to annoy Husker fans – and that’s before he appears in every sideline shot and commercial break.  During the 83 times he appears on your TV screen during a game, count the number of times the microphone on his headset is anywhere close to his mouth.  I guarantee you can do it on two hands, and probably one. 

While his sons have undeniable talent, their arrogance and disrespect for their teammates is appalling.   

It's personal. 

As a Husker fan, what team do you hate the most? 

The answer will likely vary based upon your age and experiences.  Despite the "rivalry based on respect" narrative that has developed since the Big 8 died, I can assure you that fans in the 80s despised Oklahoma and everything they stood for.   

Kansas State held that top spot for a while.  Mizzou too.  Heartbreaking losses against Miami, Florida State, and Texas put them high on the list as well.  And since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, Iowa is definitely in the conversation. 

But no matter when a Husker fan came of age, one team is guaranteed to be in their top two or three most hated opponents:  Colorado. 

From the time Bill McCartney decided to manufacture a rivalry of 24/7/365 hatred, the Buffaloes have made it known that this game is personal for them.  And their fans bought into that hatred with ease and delight.  Snowballs, batteries, urine bombs, slashed tires.  There was a time when it wasn't safe to wear red in Boulder.  An entire section of students had to be cleared out of their stadium. 

Nov 25, 2005; Boulder, CO, USA; Security personnel work to clear a portion of the Colorado Buffaloes student section after numerous objects were thrown from that area during the fourth quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Folsom Field. / Byron Hetzler-USA TODAY Sports

As someone with the distinct displeasure of seeing Nebraska lose in every stadium of the original Big XII North, I can assure you that the scariest walk back to the car was in Boulder, with another black and gold team (Missouri) a distant second. 

Nebraska and Colorado have played only 10 times since the start of the Bill Callahan era in 2004.  The two teams are 5-5 in that stretch, but the Huskers lead the all-time series by a comfortable margin (49-21-2).  Heck, in the first Nebraska game I ever attended, NU scored a record 48 points against Colorado IN THE THIRD QUARTER.  And yet, my blood still boils when I see those gold helmets and that charging buffalo. 

The fans need it. 

How many times in the last decade has Nebraska been on the brink of a win, only to have it snatched away in the final seconds?  Maryland and Iowa last season.  Georgia Southern, Minnesota, and Wisconsin the year before.  Michigan, Purdue, and Iowa in 2021.  I could go on, but you get the idea.  Nebraska has suffered 30 home losses in the last 10 years, 19 of them by one score or less. 

Nebraska has also been painfully bad on the national stage.  In the last 10 years, NU is 3-28 in games televised by one of the over-the-air networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), including 1-8 on FOX's "Big Noon Kickoff", and 0-5 in network night games. 

And if you thought being 3-28 on network TV wasn't bad enough, here comes another groin kick: 18 of those losses were of the one-score variety.  Seven others were nationally televised blowouts (losing by more than 21 points).  To say Nebraska fans are due for an exciting win would be an understatement. 

Everything is setting up for a monstrous and memorable game in Memorial Stadium.  Colorado.  Night game.  All of the venom fans have for the Buffs combined with their desire for a breakthrough moment. 

The 2014 Miami game is not the loudest game in Memorial Stadium's 101-year history, but it was one of the most hostile environments.  There's a good chance that Miami game will look like an 11 a.m. game against Middle Nowhere State compared to Colorado.  The fans will bring the energy and try to will the team to victory. 

It could close a dark chapter in NU history. 

Many Husker fans point to the Black Friday game in 2001 (the infamous 62-36 blowout in Boulder) as the moment where the fortunes of the Nebraska program turned. 

That game was just the 300th loss in school history (out of over 1,100 games, across 112 seasons). 

Since that game, Nebraska is just 153-124 (.552) with zero conference championships.  Only twice in the last 24 years have the Huskers finished the season ranked in the top 15 (8th in 2001, 14th in 2009). 

I'm not saying a win against Colorado would magically fix the program.  Let's be honest:  that one loss did not singlehandedly break NU.  The cracks in the program started forming before that November day in 2001.  But 62-36 put those flaws under a spotlight for all to see.  The numerous attempts to fix them - which we're not going to relitigate today - were misguided and/or poorly executed. 

Twenty-three years later, Nebraska has finally realized that spackle and duct tape won't get the job done.  They needed a full-on rebuild.  Matt Rhule installed the foundation last year.  While a single loss won't bring things crumbling to the ground, there would be some nice symmetry in symbolically closing out the worst era in modern history with a victory over the Buffs. 

Now comes the hard part: winning the game. 

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