5 things to watch for Nebraska football against Colorado

Nebraska football fans have been waiting for the matchup against Colorado for almost a year. It’s been about 360 days and the wait is nearly over.

The rivalry doesn’t need any explanation to Nebraska or Colorado fans. There is no love lost between the two programs and since the renewal of the rivalry doesn’t happen every year, it makes each opportunity more precious.

As it stands, Nebraska has dropped three straight. But it feels like they have the team, the head coach, and the quarterback to end the skid. The Huskers are also 7.5-point favorites and here are five things to watch for Nebraska football against Colorado.

Can Nebraska win on third down?

The Buffaloes can’t or don’t want to run the ball. Dallen Hayden had nine rushing attempts. Colorado ran it 33 times last season against Nebraska but averaged 1.8 yards yer per attempt and I don’t see that changing.

Nebraska has the same starting defensive line. The depth is better on the D-line and the linebackers are just as good. If they still had Javin Wright, they’d probably be better.

Maybe Colorado will surprise me and run the ball well, but I’d be stunned if they reached 100 yards. I also think Nebraska will hit Shedeur Sanders plenty. They did last year.

But they need to get sacks and they need to win on third down. Last year, Colorado had nine third-down conversions. Nebraska forced 18 third downs, many of them longer than seven yards and Sanders just made play after play.

That’s when you know a quarterback is elite. The Sanders family has made it easy for folks on social media to ridicule them but make no mistake, Sanders can spin it as well as any QB in college football. The Huskers have to solve that riddle on third down or they won’t win this game.

Can Nebraska run the ball?

The Huskers used a few different backs on their way to rushing for over 220 yards. We’ll see if they use the same approach but Colorado allowed 157 yards last week on 3.7 yards per carry against NDSU.

Nebraska’s offensive line was solid last week. The protection was good and they opened some running lanes. They also didn’t have many penalties and if Nebraska can get another effort like that from the O-line, it should be able to control the ball and keep Sanders, Travis Hunter, and Jimmy Horn Jr. on the sideline.

Do the Huskers have an answer for Travis Hunter?

Tommi Hill has been projected as a first-round pick and this will be the biggest test of the season. Hunter might be the best receiver in college football and the most impactful player overall.

Hunter plays on both sides of the ball but last week he caught seven passes for 132 yards and hauled in three touchdown receptions. Horn had seven receptions for 198 yards and he makes me just as worried, especially since the defensive focus might be on Hunter.

I’m sure Tony White has a plan but Marques Buford or whoever is on Horn will need to be up to task because Hunter and Horn can basically ruin the game.

The same Raiola under the lights?

Dylan Raiola was everything Nebraska football fans could have hoped for in the season opener. He threw two touchdown passes, made some eye-popping throws, showed command of the offense, and didn’t turn the ball over.

It was impressive. But can he do it against Colorado? It’s a big stage and the college football world will be watching. If the Huskers win, people will say they’re back.

If not, it will be the same old Huskers and Raiola will get the brunt of that. I hope he’s ready for it and I hope that we see the same Dylan Raiola on Saturday night that we saw against UTEP.

I have a suspicion that we will.

Special teams can’t screw things up

Nebraska missed a field goal in this game last year and that can be added to a long list of mistakes. The kick and punt return units are important.

Ed Foley has vowed that Nebraska would be better at punt returns. The kicking operation looked good in Week 1 and this would be a time for Tristan Alvano to lock down the job for good with some clutch kicks.

Alvano made all of his extra points and one field goal last week. But the Huskers can’t afford to squander any points with missed kicks. They can’t kick the ball out of bounds or surrender field position by not returning or fielding a punt.

They were better in those areas, except kicking the ball out of the end zone. It would also be nice to see a kick or punt return.

That’s called complementary football and it has been a rare thing for Nebraska football, but that’s what it will take to knock off Colorado for the first time since 2010.

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