Breaking down matchup between Nebraska defense, Colorado offense

Nebraska‘s defense looked solid in Week 1, only allowing 205 total yards in the Cornhuskers’ 40-7 win over UTEP. However, with weapons like quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver Travis Hunter, Colorado’s offense will be much more difficult to stop. On Thursday, HuskerOnline’s Sean Callahan weighed in on the impending challenge.

“They last year had a pretty good plan early and then it just fell apart,” Callahan said, referring to Colorado’s 36-14 win over Nebraska last fall. “The Huskers, for almost two quarters, had a very good feel. But, as Matt Rhule said, when you fumble the ball five times like Nebraska did and make mistakes like they did, that game got away from them before you could blink your eyes.

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“Nebraska was going to kick a field goal to take the lead. They missed the field goal, and then it just all went downhill from that point and Colorado went on to rout Nebraska. But this is a veteran defense. They got after Sanders. I believe they sacked him eight times last year. They have all those players back and some new additions.”

Nebraska returned 78% of its defensive production from last season, per ESPN. In its loss against Colorado in 2023, the Cornhuskers amassed eight sacks, knocking the Buffaloes back 65 total yards.

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Despite the Huskers’ ability to put pressure on Sanders, he didn’t falter. The standout QB erupted for 393 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win without throwing an interception. Hunter was pivotal in the win as well, along with fellow receiver Jimmy Horn Jr.

Both players are back for Colorado this season and ready to run it back against the Huskers. Alas, Callahan believes Nebraska’s pass defense will be much improved compared to the last time it faced off against Colorado.

“The secondary is also very veteran,” Callahan said. “John Butler is their new secondary coach. He came from the Buffalo Bills, where they had the top defense in the league, and he knows how to stop some good, fast receivers.

“He’s put some pretty good game plans in place that helped stop the Miami Dolphins and what they do, which would be a pretty good comparison to Colorado, with the speed and the quarterback play. They have the minds on this coaching staff. I do think they probably kept things pretty vanilla, as far as what they showed last week against UTEP.”

Nebraska won’t be able to hold anything back in Week 2. On Saturday, the Cornhuskers will square off against Colorado at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on NBC.