2024 Game 2 “Expert” Picks: Colorado @ Nebraska
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CollegeFootballNews.com
If Colorado’s win over TCU last season made a splash, the 36-14 victory over Nebraska created a tidal wave. The sports world went Coach Prime crazy, and it’s all still going. The Buffaloes started the season with a win over North Dakota State, Nebraska roared past UTEP, and now this meeting means something more. This time around, both teams are expected to be good.
Why Colorado Will Win
The passing game continues to be amazing. Don’t let the 31-26 victory over an FCS team fool you - North Dakota State is good enough to win the FCS national title, and Shedeur Sanders ripped it apart. Okay, so there’s no running game, but that’s because the offense is put in the hands of 2. Sanders completed 26-of-34 passes for 445 yards and four scores with a pick, Travis Hunter played like the best all-around player in college football, and Nebraska has to be ready to handle all of it. It’s a better Husker team than the won that got rocked in Boulder, but the defense is still untested, and the offense has to prove it can keep up the pace without a slew of turnovers, and …
Why Nebraska Will Win
Colorado didn’t fix the glitches that turned last season so sour. How did it beat Nebraska last season? Yeah, Sanders was wonderful - he threw for almost 400 yards - but the Huskers gave the ball away four times. That’s still a concern with a freshman quarterback in his second game, but Dylan Raiola isn’t just an average newbie. Raiola was terrific and poised against UTEP last week, the running game was good, the team played with more confidence than it showed in years, and …
Colorado vs Nebraska: Who Will Win
Oh yeah, that whole Colorado not fixing the glitch thing. The defensive line was meh against North Dakota State, the offensive line continues to play like it’s designed to get Sanders hit as many times as humanly possible, and there’s going to be a HUGE time of possession disparity. Nebraska had the ball for almost 39 minutes against UTEP. Colorado had the ball for 23 minutes against NDSU. Sanders will come up with his yards and moments, but there won’t be enough of them to overcome the lack of any ground game and a porous defense.
Nebraska 38 - Colorado 23
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ESPN FPI
Nebraska - 60.4% Win
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DRatings
Nebraska 26 - Colorado 19
Nebraska - 73.2% Win
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ESPN Bill Connelly SP+
Nebraska 30 - Colorado 20
Nebraska - 74% Win
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Pat Forde - Sports Illustrated
Realignment long ago took away this matchup of underrated vehemence between old conference rivals, but some juice has returned with the Buffaloes beating the Cornhuskers three straight times since 2018. Last season felt very much like the bitter old days, when Colorado fans stormed the field after a 36–14 win that helped turn September into the Month of Deion in the sport. Expect Nebraska fans to be extremely motivated to create a significant home-field advantage for their (perhaps) reviving program.
The quarterback matchup here is enticing, with Shedeur Sanders the established commodity and freshman Dylan Raiola the emerging talent looking to prove himself. (Perhaps by boldly throwing at Colorado star defensive back Travis Hunter.) The Buffaloes defense was strafed in the first half of the opener against the North Dakota State Bison but tightened up thereafter. Colorado had two extra days to prepare after playing Thursday night.
Colorado 31 - Nebraska 30
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247 Sports - Chris Hummer & Brad Crawford
Hummer - Colorado embarrassed Nebraska last year in Week 2 with a 22-point victory. But I'd expect things to look a lot different this season. Nebraska, thanks to a big upgrade at quarterback, is much improved and has some of the same advantages along the lines of scrimmage that North Dakota State had last week against the Buffaloes. The big question here is will Nebraska hold down what is a frankly elite group of Buffaloes wide receivers? The Huskers have the athletes in the secondary to keep up and one of the best coordinators in the country calling plays. Give me Nebraska to cover and home.
Nebraska 24 - Colorado 16
Crawford — This Nebraska defense should be one of the best Colorado faces this season. That said, Travis Hunter can take the top off any secondary he comes in contact with, so the Buffaloes are going to score points. The middle of the defense is my worry with Colorado and the overall strength of this team in the trenches. Nebraska's a very different foe than North Dakota State when you compare the sheer bulk at the line of scrimmage. Give me Nebraska.
Nebraska 31 - Colorado 20
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Athlon Sports
Steven Lassan: Nebraska
Dan Lyons: Nebraska
Thomas Neumann: Colorado
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AP - Ralph Russo
Colorado-Nebraska was once a Big Eight rivalry that evolved into a Big 12 rivalry. The Buffaloes and Cornhuskers took a break when it would have been a Big 12-Big Ten game and then reconnected as a Pac-12-Big Ten matchup. Now, that the Buffs are back in the Big 12, the rivalry has circled back to check that Big 12-Big Ten box.
Year 2 for both coach Deion Sanders at Colorado and Matt Rhule at Nebraska. These are two very different rebuilds, one portal-centric (Buffs led by transfer QB Shedeur Sanders), one more focused on high-school recruiting (five-star freshman QB Dylan Raiola leads the Huskers). This feels like a game that could launch the winner toward a good season and send the loser into questions about where they are heading.
Nebraska 34 - Colorado 21
