Game Preview
This time last year Nebraska was 5-6 and looking for that crucial sixth win in Boulder for a bowl game. Fresh off a 73-31 win over Kansas State, the Huskers were confident in their new starter Joe Ganz and hoped to beat fellow 5-6 team Colorado.
However, the Buffaloes finished off the Huskers 65-51, eliminating Nebraska from the postseason and securing their own spot in a bowl. They also gave Nebraska what it needed to finally fire its moronic head coach Bill Callahan.
This year Nebraska is 7-4 and already has their ticket to the postseason punched. Colorado is in the same position it was last year, 5-6 and looking for that crucial sixth win (Friday, Nov. 28 at 2:30c on ABC—watch it!).
Joe Ganz has started a few more games since then and now sits at 14th on the passing efficiency list, completing nearly 69 percent of his passes this season.
The Huskers look to avenge last year's loss in Boulder with a similar season-ending situation in Lincoln to keep Colorado from the postseason.
But last year was certainly not the first time these teams met.
For Nebraska, Colorado is their rival in the North Division and has been all the way back to the good ol' Big 8 days. The actual "rivalry" has only existed since 1982, when Colorado head coach Bill McCartney decided Nebraska and Colorado should be rivals and publicized the game as such.
Nebraska leads the rivalry series 18-6-1 and leads overall 46-18-2 in the teams' meetings.
The most notable meeting of the two teams, in my mind, was in 2001. Nebraska was No. 2 in the country, and No. 14 Colorado was looking to change that. From the start, Colorado dominated Nebraska on both sides of the ball, capitalizing on a phenomenal performance on the ground from running tandem Chris Brown and Bobby Purify, and beat the Huskers 62-36.
The part that probably stings most for Colorado fans is what happens next.
With the win over Nebraska, Colorado clinched the Big 12 North and faced Texas. Colorado avenged a 41-7 loss to the Longhorns in the season with a 39-37 victory and conference championship. Colorado seemed all lined up to face Miami (Fl.) in the national championship game.
Then, in a series of strange (and fortuitous, for me anyway) events, Nebraska jumped ahead of Colorado in the final BCS rankings and went to the national championship instead. Colorado was stuck with a Fiesta Bowl appearance against high-powered Oregon and began complaints (with good reason, of course) against the BCS that still rage in some Buffaloes fans' minds.
I was just sad about losing to Colorado by 26.
Nebraska has the 10th-ranked offense in the country that generally defaults to airing it out, ranking 15th in passing offense. The traditionally great Nebraska rushing game is somewhat dormant as the Huskers rank 37th in rushing offense.
Colorado had a great start this season, beating West Virginia and playing Florida State very competitively in non-conference play. However, since then Colorado (particularly their offense) has seemed to sputter out. Colorado was shut out by Missouri earlier this season and is averaging under 20 points per game.
But whatever you do, don't discount Colorado in this game. The team that played well at the beginning of the year has shown up a few times since then, playing Oklahoma State tough in the Buffs' previous game, and could very well show up ready to play Friday.
Nebraska will win if...
They continue to play consistently.
Nebraska has no trouble scoring the ball, powered by the potent passing game that has them ranked 18th in scoring offense.
The running game has seen some success lately on the back of sophomore running back Roy Helu Jr., who finally got the nod over senior Marlon Lucky. Lucky had provided lackluster performances all season, and as Helu started to see more carries, it became apparent to the coaching staff that a change had to be made.
With 30 fewer carries than Lucky, Helu has 121 more yards and the same number of touchdowns while averaging 2.5 yards per carry better.
Obviously senior day in Memorial Stadium should have some grand performances from Nebraska's seniors as Ganz gets the ball to fellow seniors Nate Swift and Todd Peterson.
They play solid defense.
Nebraska's "Blackshirt" defense have been awarded their blackshirts again, and for good reason. The defense has proven it is a much better animal than last year's defense that allowed program-record numbers week in and week out.
The Blackshirts should have little problem stifling Colorado quarterback Cody Hawkins, who has only completed 57 percent of his passes, and the Buffaloes offense, ranked 89th in total yards.
Nebraska will lose if...
The rumors floating around that Ganz has tweaked his shoulder are true.
Husker fans know all too well how Ganz plays when he's not comfortable. If Nebraska's offensive field general really is hurt, he'll make poor decisions and bad throws like he has when he's been rattled (anyone watch the first half of this year's Oklahoma game?).
If Nebraska's offensive line can't stop Colorado from getting in the backfield and messing with Ganz's head (not to mention putting him on the turf), he will implode, and so will Nebraska's chances of winning.
Nebraska allows Colorado to get into a rhythm.
The Buffs have every ability to play great football. Colorado is a very talented team that has a very smart coach in Dan Hawkins. And let's not forget that Colorado hates Nebraska.
The Buffaloes will come ready to play, and if Nebraska's defense can't disrupt Colorado's offense, Cody Hawkins will pick them apart and the Buffaloes' running backs could have a performance similar to the beatdown in 2001.
The X-Factor
It's a home game for Nebraska.
The Huskers are 5-2 at home with losses to Virginia Tech and Missouri. Memorial Stadium is always a tough place to play, and opposing teams have to worry about the crowd noise.
Colorado is 0-4 on the road this year, but two of those losses came to top-12 teams.
If the Sea of Red is out in full force and makes some noise, it could be a volatile situation for the visiting Buffaloes.
Prediction
Though I worry the Buffaloes will bring a strong attitude into Friday's game and play excellent football, I believe Nebraska will stay consistent and avenge last year's season-ending loss by handing Colorado one. Joe Ganz will top off a record-setting season with an impressive aerial display, and Memorial Stadium will bid fond farewells to our seniors with a win.
NEBRASKA 38, COLORADO 17.
For a Buffalo's take on the game, please read Chaz Mattson's side of the story. Chaz is a talented writer and a dedicated Colorado fan with thoughts aplenty on why his Buffaloes could grab a victory in Lincoln Friday.
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about 1 month ago
great job monk, i'm going to check out the CU version now. i like the huskers in this game btw.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the read, Justin! I'm glad you followed up by reading Chaz's write too. He did an excellent job. And I appreciate the confidence in my Huskers! I hope Les and the Tigers beat Arkansas Friday as well!
about 1 month ago
Not that it really matters. But 01 game was 62-36
from about 1 month ago
Oh dude, thanks for the catch! I mixed up numbers in my head, haha. Thanks for the read!
about 1 month ago
Rodney Stewart is out with a broken leg suffered against Texas A & M. Will be seeing Darrel Scott at rb mostly
from about 1 month ago
Ouch. I should have done my homework.
about 1 month ago
Great preview by the way. Go Big Red!
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the corrections and the comments, Andy! Go Huskers!
about 1 month ago
2DaMonk,
Dear Monk, nice article ;-)
I think you cover it all pretty well and there is not much to disagree with.
I will say even though Cody is hitting on just 57% completion rate, an interesting tidbit is this. John Elway was usually right around 58%. Now Cody is no Elway and will NEVER be in the same conversation outside of this one small point. It just goes to show, you don't have to have a real high completion percentage to be successful. It really matters what you do with those opportunities. Cody is a fun personality, CU fans are just hoping his game catches up, Friday would be a great day for that to happen.
from about 1 month ago
Good point. Hawkins is a terrific player, despite the completion percentage, and has played some outstanding games in his time. I worry that Nebraska's secondary might have a lot of trouble with him Friday if he brings another outstanding game to Lincoln.
Thanks again for doing the CvC with me, man! I enjoyed it and I think it turned out very well!
from about 1 month ago
SportMonk,
Agreed, I think there's a volume of information to cover, really we only scratched the surface but it worked out great. Thanks for the invite.
about 1 month ago
I think your X-Factor is exactly right, I overlooked that initially, but the Huskers probably have the best home field advantage in all of college football.
from about 1 month ago
I LOVE Memorial Stadium. There isn't a place in the world where I feel as happy.
about 1 month ago
Don't sweat it bro. Just trying to help a fellow Husker fan out.
No biggie!
about 1 month ago
Good read. I think Nebraska will win this 1 handily. Then again alot of predictions I make are wrong lol
from about 1 month ago
Micah,
As a Buff fan, I like your style kid! :-O
from about 1 month ago
You filthy little lol
from about 1 month ago
Well, here's hoping you're right this Friday!
about 1 month ago
Dude nice article,
It's so hard to find good articles on here that gives both sides of the story. I know your a Husker fan, and probably wanted to tear the Buffs to shreads saying they have no chance, but you did great unbiased journalistic work here.
Hopefully your prediction is wrong.
I have two corrections in the article.
1) CU knew that they wouldn't be going to the National Championship in 2001. Miami, Oregon, and I guess Nebraska was a lot better than us in the BCS standings. What Buffs fans were pissed about is that Nebraska went even though they didn't beat CU or play in the Big 12 Championship. In my opinion Oregon should have gotten the nod to go to the National Championship.
2) Colorado didn't play in the Rose Bowl, but played in the Fiesta Bowl where our defense couldn't stop Joey Harrington and the Ducks passing attack. However, CU would have liked to play in the Rose Bowl as that was the National Championship between Miami and Nebraska.
I think that's all I have on corrections, but still awesome article.
from about 1 month ago
Hey, thanks, man. Well, I won't lie--there's no love between Colorado and me. Black and gold make me almost as mad as burnt orange, but I can still respect fellow fans.
Thanks for the props, though. I did everything I could to keep it objective and I'm glad it worked mostly.
Well, I knew a few fans that were pretty sure they were going. Colorado finished No. 3, right behind Nebraska, in the final BCS poll. Although I was ecstatic Nebraska got the chance to get creamed by Miami, the pure football fan in me would have liked to see a Miami-Oregon game because it might have been far more entertaining. Nebraska has a tendency to produce great offensive performers in college that don't translate to the professional level (it's on defense where our pro contributions are), but Oregon and Miami both had a ton of players go pro and many are still performing well.
Sorry, man. I'm failing on the self-edits for this write. I don't know why I said Rose Bowl because that's where NEBRASKA went. I shouldn't have rushed to publish this one and taken a little more time to look over it. Thanks for the corrections, though!
And thanks for the comment and the read. I appreciate it, Ron!
about 1 month ago
This game scares me. With Ganz 100%, I'm confident in the Huskers ability to win but if he is ineffective, it's going to be a battle.
from about 1 month ago
I'm scared too, man. People seem too quick to write off Colorado in this one and too quick to assume Nebraska will play consistently. I know Bo has taken us leaps and bounds beyond where we were, but he still hasn't quite ironed out that consistent play week to week yet. If Nebraska comes to play, we've got it, but if we overlook Colorado, even a bit, they'll cut us down.
from about 1 month ago
Guys I know exactly what your talking about. People are writing off Auburn in this weekend's game. Big mistake.
about 1 month ago
Great job on the article once again Monk. :) You really nailed this one on the head.
A lot of people tend to forget that football can go either way. You can compare statistics and all that until your blue in the face. What it comes down to is the way the players play and how much they want it.
Roll Tide,
Bama Chick
from about 1 month ago
Thanks, Cameon! I hope Nebraska shows up to play and beats Colorado because that would set us up nicely for a great bowl and give us something nice to build on for next season.
about 1 month ago
Great analysis, SM! I haven't seen much of Nebraska this season, but am looking forward to seeing them this weekend. I'll be rooting for the Huskers. I've always kind of liked them, but the hire of Bo Pelini makes me like them even more. He spent his playing days at Ohio State, you know. He's done some really good things in his first season and the future definitely looks bright for the Huskers.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks, Kristofer. Yah, Pelini played defense with the Buckeyes back in the day and now he's really turned us around. Thanks for the support of my Huskers, Kristofer!
about 1 month ago
Great breakdown of the game SportMonk. No need to be afraid of the Buffs this year. Obviously, anything can happen and sometimes it does. However; when would you ever feel comfortable about the Huskers winning? I know the last 3 or 4 years were tough to swallow for many of us and that's why we may be a bit gun-shy at being confident in winning games. I feel good about this one though and I think the team does too. Ever since the Kansas game and after Bo Pelini handed out the "Blackshirts", the Huskers have had a bit of a swagger on defense and they looked really good on the road against KSU. I don't think that confidence has left and I think it will be a dominating performance. This group of seniors carries a big burden on its shoulders of what Nebraska went through in the last 4-5 years and I know they will want it all to end on a positive note. A big win against Colorado and possibly a Gator Bowl matchup against Florida State (with another win) will overshadow some of the gloomy times these seniors had to play through. We'll be ready and I don't see us coming out flat on either side of the ball. My prediction is: NU 45 CU 17. Brighter days are on the horizon.
from about 1 month ago
Haha, so you're calling one more TD for us than my prediction, huh. You might be closer to being right. I agree, it is difficult to be totally sure the Huskers will show up and get it done the last few years, but Bo has put some confidence in me.
Thanks for the comment, Andrew! And go Huskers!
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