3 takeaways from Nebraska football win over Colorado

It was a glorious night for Nebraska football. 

The Huskers desperately needed to win a big game and even though neither team was ranked, this fit the bill. Nebraska couldn’t lose to Colorado again and this Matt Rhule program needed a tangible sign of progress.

Saturday night’s 28-10 win over rival Colorado is it.

It doesn’t guarantee a bowl berth or College Football Playoff contention. But it will be a massive confidence booster for the Huskers and this was the best win Nebraska football has had in Memorial Stadium in a long time.

Here are three takeaways.

The Nebraska defense was incredible

There is plenty of work to do. The second half showed that for Nebraska football. However, the defense looks incredible.

Colorado is a big-time offense. Shedeur Sanders is a big-time quarterback and the pressure from The Blackshirts swallowed him up.

Nebraska notched six sacks. There were two takeaways and maybe the most impressive play was a fourth-and-inches stop in the fourth quarter. Colorado couldn’t do anything in short yardage and ran for 16 yards.

The Buffs got 260 total and it was a masterclass by Nebraska. Tony White kept Sanders guessing and the Huskers were flying to the ball. It was an A+ effort all around and if the Huskers play defense like that, they can compete with anyone on the schedule.

Toughness was a determining factor

Nebraska’s defense was great but Nebraska was just tougher across the board than the Buffaloes. The Huskers finished with 149 rushing yards. They had 22 first downs and held the ball for 36 minutes.

The offensive line didn’t allow a single sack. Dylan Raiola helped with that. He was in complete control, except when there wasn’t a broken play. Colorado handed the ball to running backs 11 times and a few of those came on the last drive without Sanders in the game.

Nebraska football stopped Colorado numerous times in short-yardage situations and that told the story of how different these teams are.

One is tough and one isn’t. Game over.

Matt Rhule has Nebraska back

This is the biggest takeaway. There was a sign in the stands that said effectively, “So this is the Nebraska football my dad used to tell me about?”

Yes. It looked much more like the good ole days. For a minute, this game started to remind me of the 1992 Halloween Massacre of Colorado, but the second half sloppiness got rid of that.

Still, it was a dominant first half, and the defense never really let up. With star quarterback Dylan Raiola likely to get better week-by-week, and he still has zero turnovers, it feels like the sky’s the limit for this program and that’s thanks to Matt Rhule.

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