Nebraska takes on Colorado in Boulder for new Buffaloes Head Coach Deion Sanders’s first home game.
Coach Sanders was the main headline of the off-season when he left Jackson State for the opening at Colorado. The Buffaloes had an abysmal 2022 finishing 1-11 with their only win against California.
Off-season Changes
Instantly, the hype around the Colorado program exploded when Deion came to town. With his first meeting with the team, to the press conference, and Colorado’s athletic director announcing Sanders as the new head coach. All of the off-season news was around Colorado.
Sanders brought in some worthy transfers as well. One of those is Deion Sanders’ son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The junior quarterback at Jackson State was one of the best quarterbacks in the FCS for the past two years. Alongside new offensive coordinator Sean Lewis (Kent State), he should be able to be a leader of an aggressive offensive style.
The Buffaloes also bring in the former No. 1 recruit from the 2022 class, wide receiver/athlete Travis Hunter. Hunter came to Colorado with Sanders from Jackson State and will have an immediate impact.
Along with bringing in players that will have an impact immediately, they also lost a lot. Since the beginning of the 2022 season, 73 scholarship players have either transferred or graduated.
Coach Sanders is trying to do a full roster overhaul that has been unprecedented. It could work out for Sanders, but it could also go badly.
Unfortunately, his first season at the helm will not be easy for Sanders. Starting the season on the road at TCU, the national championship runner-up. Then turning around and facing off against one of their biggest rivals (historically), then having a tough conference schedule playing teams like Oregon, USC, UCLA, Oregon State, and Utah.
2023 Schedule
Sept. 2 at TCU
Sept. 9 Nebraska
Sept. 16 Colorado St.
Sept. 23 at Oregon
Sept. 30 USC
Oct. 7 at Arizona St.
Oct. 13 Stanford
Oct. 28 at UCLA
Nov. 4 Oregon St.
Nov. 11 Arizona
Nov. 17 at Washington St.
Nov. 25 at Utah
Historical Importance
The Colorado-Nebraska rivalry dates back to 1898 when the two teams first faced off, but the two played every year from 1948-2010.
Nebraska leads the all-time series record 49-20-2, but Colorado took the last two matchups in 2018 and 2019. In 2018, the Buffaloes spoiled former Nebraska Head Coach Scott Frost’s first game as head coach.
Now in 2023, the matchup is hyped up more than ever. Both programs went out and hired new big-name coaches. Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff will be in town. The college football world will have its eyes on this matchup.
ESPN’s FPI Matchup Predictor names Nebraska as the favorite to win the rivalry renewal with a 71.6% chance to win compared to Colorado’s 28.4%. Early betting lines also favor the Cornhuskers, indicating them nine-point favorites over the Buffaloes.
Will Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers spoil Deion Sanders’ home game debut? Or will Colorado send Nebraska with a third-straight loss in the series? We will find out on Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10:00 a.m. Mountain time on Fox.
