Final take: This 0-2 hurts for Nebraska fans as they watch Colorado thrive under ‘Prime’
BOULDER, Colo. – I can’t help but think what Nebraska fans must be thinking right now. Under first-year head coach Deion Sanders, Colorado added over 70 new players to its roster.
It was an approach unlike we’ve ever seen in college football, and Sanders now has the Buffs (2-0) back. In one year, Sanders has taken the Buffs from the laughingstock of the Pac-12 to the talk of college football.
Meanwhile, the Huskers (0-2, 0-1) open their season two straight weeks on national TV with winnable opportunities against Minnesota and Colorado. How did NU respond under first-year head coach Matt Rhule? 24 total points of offense and eight turnovers. Yuck.
“I told the team, we are going to get this right,” Rhule said after the 36-14 loss in Boulder. “I’m going to get this right. We’ll get the offense right. We’ll get the turnovers right.
“I thought the defense played well for long stretches and eventually wore out. I thought we were able to control the line of scrimmage some in the first half and were in the red zone twice in the first half, and yet again came up with no points. A little bit of the same tale as last week but against more of an explosive offense. The game got away from us.”
And don’t get me wrong, 0-2 was always a distinct possibility to start the 2023 season. NU was a 7.5 underdog at Minnesota and a 3-point underdog against Colorado on Saturday.
The hard thing for Husker to watch is seeing games lost on controllable mistakes. Things like snaps hitting a man in motion or being mishandled, bad penalties, interceptions, you name it.
Rhule has always been optimistic. He thought he had a team that could compete in year one, but it’s clear plenty of issues need to be worked through.
“We just need to go back to work and don’t beat ourselves,” wide receiver Bill Kemp IV said. Kemp led NU with 57 yards receiving on five receptions.
We are going to find out more about Rhule’s leadership and how he navigates through tough situations.
The next two weeks will be big to develop this team against Northern Illinois and Louisana Tech before No. 2 ranked Michigan comes into Lincoln to close out September.
“I will tell you exactly what I said to them,” Rhule said of his message to the team. “No. 1, we’ll get it corrected if we stick together, which I know we will. If there is any sliver of hope, if there’s anything that’s good, it’s that in these moments where we have four turnovers or the game gets away from us, guys get to see coaches who they didn’t sign up to play for, they get to see how we all react.
“I’m going to be the same guy every day. I’m going to take ownership of what I can control and get better. I hope that we grow closer, and I hope that this is the type of thing that teaches our team what wins football games, and we grow closer as a team and closer as a program. I recognize that there are going to be things said, but we will absolutely improve from this.”
Now on to the breakdown…
What I saw on Saturday
***Serve me up some crow. I thought Nebraska would be able to control this game up front. They did for portions, but they had way too many miscues.
Also, tip your hat to Deion Sanders. I, like many, was skeptical of Sanders’s approach of clearing out the Buff roster. He’s building something here. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen anything like this in college football, where a new coach comes in with nearly an entire new team and makes it look this good right away. FOX has aired the Buffs two straight weeks, and my guess is that it won’t be the last time they are in Boulder this season. ESPN’s College Game Day is also expected to be in Boulder.
***Nebraska’s offense has an identity issue. They struggle with what they want to be, and most importantly, their offensive line remains a liability. There were way too many mental lapses up front that led to unaccounted-for Buff defenders. Then, you add the turnover issues with Sims.
***That brings us to the issue of Sims. What do you do? Rhule went all-in on Sims, and there is very little behind him after Casey Thompson and Logan Smothers opted to transfer. How far is the gap between Sims and Chubba Purdy and Heinrich Haarberg? That’s the question. Rhule said on Saturday there was never a thought to pull Sims during the Colorado game.
***Freshman Cameron Lenhardt’s performance was one of the biggest bright spots of the Colorado game. He became the first true freshman at Nebraska to have two sacks in a game since Barry Turner in 2005.
***With Ty Robinson out for the first half, we saw true freshman Riley Van Poppel see some action on Saturday. It was a smart usage of the four games he gets to play in before they have to make a redshirt decision. Van Poppel was credited with half a sack.
Freshman defensive lineman Sua Lefotu also saw his first action as a Husker. He recovered a fumble late in the fourth quarter.
***Sophomore linebacker Mikai Gbayor might be one of the more underrated players on Nebraska’s defense. He is a sure tackler who plays with a physical edge.
***Nebraska’s defense was credited with eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. That’s the most NU has in a game in those categories since having eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss against Colorado in 2018.
The final grade out
GradeHOL takeRushing offenseFThree lost fumbles in the running game. There was a point in the second quarter where it appeared the Huskers were taking control of the game, and then a series of mistakes led by Sims put the Husker offense in a bad situation. You aren’t going to beat anyone when you put the ball on the ground like Nebraska did on Saturday. Passing offenseF The passing game was infective for Nebraska, as the OL gave up two sacks and Sims threw a costly pick that turned the game before halftime. A questionable call on third-and-16 allowed CU to take the game to 10-0 after the Sims pick. After that, nothing with the Husker passing game felt comfortable.Rushing defenseBNebraska bottled up Colorado’s ground game for most of the day. The Buffs had 72 rush yards. 34 came on a run from Dylan Edwards. Passing defense CNebraska’s defense did all they could. They produced pressure and got eight sacks. The problem is they were put in several bad situations because of mistakes by the offense. Eventually, the damn broke. CU produced eight pass plays of 15+ yards. They were 10-of-14 for 164 yards. Special teamsDIt was an off day punting the football for Brian Buchini. He missed on his early punts. All were well under 40 yards. Nebraska also missed an early field goal that would’ve made the game 3-0.
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