Huskers Fizzle in the Opener

Up next: ‘Prime time’ in Boulder

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

This Saturday, the Huskers will face a surprising Colorado Buffalo team fresh off an upset at TCU.

On the heels of another Husker one-score loss (13-10) at Minnesota came the news Saturday of Colorado's unexpected 45-42 win over TCU.

You could almost feel the "Here we go again" sigh after #17 ranked TCU lost at home to Deion Sanders' Colorado Buffaloes.

During the offseason, most Husker fans no doubt were penciling in a win over the Buffaloes in Boulder. They probably thought Sanders was going to have a huge rebuild of a CU team that went 1-11 last season.

It sure looked that way. Sanders cleaned out almost all the Colorado roster when he brought in 86 new players while keeping only three starters from last year's team.

Saturday, "Neon Deion" proved just how wrong his critics were. Hats off to the Buffaloes and Coach "Prime Time."

His team came prepared to beat TCU. It was an amazing performance by Colorado on the road, in a hostile environment and against a team that played Georgia for the national championship last year.

As we know, TCU got pasted 65-7 by Georgia in that game.

This year, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes has a rebuild of his own. One of the pieces missing is Heisman runner-up QB Max Duggan. Dykes also had to replace a number of other players from last year, using the transfer portal to fill the vacancies. That didn't seem to work out too well for the Horned Frogs.

So what should Husker fans make of this year's TCU team? Moreover, just how good are the Buffaloes this year? Is this going to be another loss for Matt Rhule's Huskers?

We'll see.

Husker fans, do you remember last year when Brent Venables and his Sooners came to Lincoln and beat the snot out of NU 49-14? He was also in his first year as the OU head coach. People were predicting then that OU would have a great year. Venables was a shoo-in for coach of the year honors.

So how did that work out? Over their next three games, the Sooners lost to Kansas State (41-34), TCU (55-24) and Texas (49-0). Oklahoma would finish the season with a 6-7 record.

So it's a bit premature to put a crown on any team based on just one game.

By this Saturday afternoon, we'll know a lot more about TCU, Minnesota, Colorado and Nebraska.

Quick Notes

1. In the TCU game, Deion Sanders' son Shedeur was 38 of 47 passing for 510 yards (a school record) with an 81% completion rate.
2. Four of his teammates had at least 100 yards receiving: Dylan Edwards (135 yards), Travis Hunter (119), Xavier Weaver (118) and Jimmy Horn (117).
3. Travis Hunter is the only number one ranked college player to ever sign with an FCS team. (Jackson State - coached by Deion Sanders)
4. Coach Sanders' record at Jackson State: 27-6 overall (4-3 in 2020, 11-2 ('21) and 12-1 ('22).
5. Deion Sanders is the only athlete to appear in both a Super Bowl and a World Series game.
6. The Huskers have lost the last two games against CU.

How ’Bout Them Huskers

Will and I review the Minnesota loss and the stunning record-breaking Husker volleyball performance that drew 92,003 fans. The match was held last Wednesday night in Memorial Stadium. We also preview this Saturday's "Battle in Boulder."