Sept. 8th – Nebraska – “We have to beat them. It’s the only thing they understand”

Steven Montez hit Laviska Shenault for a 40-yard touchdown with 1:06 to play, giving Colorado a 33-28 come-from-behind win over Nebraska in Lincoln. Montez went 33-for-50 passing, going for 351 yards and three touchdowns. Shenault collected ten of those passes for 177 yards and a touchdown … also scoring on a three-yard run in the first quarter.

The game went back and forth all afternoon. The Buffs raced out to an early 14-0 lead, only to watch the Cornhuskers dominate play for the remainder of the first half. Nebraska led 21-17 at the break, having posted 243 yards rushing to CU’s nine. The Buffs steadied themselves in the second half, overcoming two missed field goals before securing the winning points in the final minute of play.

Nebraska had 565 yards of total offense against the Colorado defense, with freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez completing 15-of-20 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown (one interception), while also leading the Cornhuskers in rushing (15 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns). For the Buffs, other than the Montez-to-Shenault combo, there was little offensive production (395 total yards of total offense). Kyle Evans and Travon McMillian each had 25 yards rushing, while no Buff other than Shenault was over 50 yards receiving (though Jay MacIntyre had eight catches for 45 yards and two touchdowns.

The Colorado/Nebraska rivalry means something different to every Buff coach, player, and fan.

For the players, most of whom were in elementary school the last time the Buffs and Cornhuskers played, having Nebraska on the schedule didn’t carry with it a great deal of extra meaning.

“A lot of the guys on the team know about the history. They have been playing all of the highlights and the clips around the Champions Center this whole week now”, said quarterback Steven Montez before the game. “To us, we just treat it like another game. They are just another team wearing a different color than us. We have to go in and do what we do best, play our game, and hopefully it will work out for us in the end.”

Added running back Travon McMillian, himself just a Buff for one game before the showdown in Lincoln, “We don’t know much about it because it has been so long since Colorado and Nebraska have played, but we are taking this game really seriously. We are preparing as hard as we can in practice so when we go out there we can execute to the best of our ability.”

How did the Buffs – good on the scoreboard; lousy on the stats sheet – grade out? … Where do the Buff fit in the new Pac-12 Power Rankings? …

Arizona State a surprising 2-0 after upsetting No. 15 Michigan State; No. 10 Stanford derails No. 17 USC … UCLA covers the spread … but still 0-2 after 49-21 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma … Arizona falls to 0-2 after 45-18 loss to Houston …

Drew Litton on Nebraska game … MacIntyre: “Hopefully, we will be able to handle anything they give us” … NU offensive coordinator (and former CU coach) Troy Walters: “They don’t know what we’re going to do” …

Neill Woelk’s Fast Five Keys for Buffs v. Cornhuskers … CU v. Nebraska historical notes … Nebraska jokes (just for fun) … Links to CU’s most impressive wins over Nebraska … Injury Report …

Which team gained an advantage when Nebraska’s opener was cancelled? … How will a true freshman quarterback handle his debut? … Just how much of a difference can Scott Frost make in one off-season? …