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Colorado vs. Nebraska: Cornhuskers open as 2.5-point favorites vs. Buffaloes

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/02/23
Matt Rhule Nebraska-Minnesota
Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. (Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

Nebraska kicked off its season a little early, hitting the road to Minnesota for a tough conference game on Thursday night. The Cornhuskers very nearly pulled off a big upset, but ultimately fell 13-10, leaving coach Matt Rhule still looking for his first win.

Meanwhile, Colorado shocked a lot of people by turning in a thoroughly entertaining and competitive game against No. 17 TCU. The Buffaloes pulled out the 45-42 win, winning over the hearts of many fans around the country.

So will Rhule be able to get his first win?

Las Vegas has installed his squad as the favorite over Deion Sanders‘s Colorado, with his team a 2.5-point favorite entering the Week 2 home game against Nebraska, according to FanDuel.

Clearly the performances of quarterback Shedeur Sanders, running back Dylan Edwards and two-way star Travis Hunter were enough to sway the mind of the betting public into a fairly close line. Nebraska didn’t have nearly the kind of offensive production that Colorado did in its season opener.

It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top, with Nebraska and Colorado set to meet at noon on Saturday, with a national broadcast on FOX.

Matt Rhule highlights penalties as problem

One of the real problem areas that Rhule highlighted from his team’s first game was penalties. The Cornhuskers were penalized seven times for 55 yards in the season opener.

But more than that, Nebraska had some penalties in really costly spots.

One such penalty came just before halftime, when quarterback Jeff Sims rushed in for a touchdown on a quarterback sneak, only to have the touchdown wiped off the board due to a false start. In such a tight game, that might have been the difference.

Nebraska would end up throwing an interception after being backed up five yards, coming way with no points before the half.

“One of the tales for today was the penalties, you know,” Rhule said. “And credit to them. Great student section. It was loud. We had a couple false starts down there, all things in game one you want to try to avoid that we didn’t avoid. And so, you know, eventually we all have to improve that.”