Colorado's Deion Sanders offers praise, respect for Nebraska heading into rematch in Lincoln
Nebraska’s players aren’t the only ones gearing up for Saturday night’s clash with Colorado.
Head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes have also dialed in on preparing for CU’s first trip to Lincoln since 2018. Sanders met with local media on Tuesday and offered high praise for the job Husker head coach Matt Rhule had done.
“First of all, I have a ton of respect for Matt Rhule,” Sanders said. “He’s in – I call it our class of coaches. We all took on a tremendous test that year (2022) … So, I feel like we’re a fraternity. So, I root for that class of head coaches that came in that year.
“Pro. He’s a professional; did a phenomenal job (with the Carolina Panthers), maybe not the job that he aspired to do, but he has a ton of experience, and I love what he’s accomplished in his college coaching career.”
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Sanders on Dylan Raiola: ‘I love what he showed’ in first start
After evaluating the film of NU’s win over UTEP, Sanders said Nebraska’s toughness and physicality on both sides of the ball immediately jumped out. He also noted how freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola flashed his potential in his college debut.
“I look for them to be physically tough, imposing; try to run the football,” Sanders said. “They have a freshman quarterback that had a pretty good day last week. But we’ve got to do what we do. We’ve got to go in and do what we’re capable of doing.”
Asked whether Colorado planned to attack Raiola in just his second start, Sanders didn’t think the former five-star’s inexperience would be much of an issue for the Huskers.
“You attack weaknesses. I don’t know if you attack inexperience,” Sanders said. “If that’s a weakness, so be it. But the kid made some darn good throws and pretty good plays. They did some consistent things that we knew they would do within their offense. A phenomenal game…
“But I love what he showed in his first college game ever. I loved what he showed.”
Sanders is still relatively new to the Nebraska-Colorado rivalry. But he’s heard from plenty of people around Boulder about its history and what it means to both fan bases.
“I’m pretty sure you’re not going to see anybody on the team wearing red anywhere this week because (long snapper Camden Dempsey), politely, allowed us to know that’s a no-no,” Sanders said. “I love it. I think that’s what college football is all about.
“Whether we’re in the same conferences or not, this is a tremendous rivalry, and I look forward to it.”
