Nebraska football vs. Colorado: 3 keys to a Huskers win

Nebraska football faces No. 21 Colorado on Saturday and here are three keys to a win for the Huskers.

The rivalry between Nebraska football and Colorado is back on this week. Really, it’s been back on all summer.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders told the media it was “personal” this week. He also said he spent the week teaching his players about the Nebraska-Colorado rivalry.

It used to be one of the best in college football until Nebraska left for the Big Ten and Colorado left for the Pac-12, which it has just left to return to the Big 12 next season.

What goes around, comes around. I guess.

Regardless, the Huskers face a big challenge. Colorado looked damn good in its 45-42 win over TCU last weekend. The Buffs are ranked No. 21 and they’ll be at home with their Heisman Trophy candidates Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter.

Colorado looked impressive. But I’d argue that Nebraska matches up better with Colorado than TCU did. The Huskers are more physical and they don’t run an air-raid offense.

At any rate, this is a winnable game. Nebraska is a 3-point underdog, on the road, and if they follow these keys, they’ll beat the Buffaloes on Saturday.

Don’t lose the turnover battle

This was a key in Week 1 and Nebraska failed in that area, turning the ball over four times. One of those turnovers was in the red zone — the others were in the last five minutes of the game near midfield.

Each led to points for Minnesota or took points off the board for Nebraska. I’d say don’t turn the ball over, but that’s not necessarily realistic.

Being even in the turnover battle is probably required to win this game. At the very least, Nebraska football can’t be plus three in the turnover ratio. Otherwise, it will have zero shot of winning at Folsom Field.

Shorten the game

The goal should be to give Colorado as few possessions as possible. Long drives are a win for Nebraska and there will be plenty of running plays. I’m guessing we’ll see more of Jeff Sims running the ball too.

TCU was happy to go up and down with the Buffaloes and play fast. That’s what they do. But the Huskers can’t get caught up in that kind of game.

This needs to be an NFL-style game in terms of plays and possessions. Use the clock, pound the rock, and get this thing to the fourth quarter as quickly as possible.

If the Buffs only get eight possessions or so, you really only need a few stops to keep them in the 20s and that’s where Nebraska needs the score in order to win.

And since Colorado allowed 262 rushing yards last week and didn’t get a single sack, it’s safe to say the Huskers will have a decent shot of being able to establish the run.

Hit the quarterback

Another important thing for Nebraska in this game is pressuring Shedeur Sanders. Colorado has too many weapons for him to sit back and read the defense.

The defensive line needs to win and needs to get home. Having Ty Robinson suspended for the first half of the game will make that harder, but the Huskers had 17 pressures total against Minnesota.

I’d guess that Minnesota is better upfront than the Buffs. So there should be some opportunities and if the game is close at half, watch out for Robinson who wil have fresh legs in the third quarter.

Flat out, if the Huskers don’t find a way to hit Sanders often, it’s probably going to be a long day for the defense.

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