The Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Colorado Buffaloes will renew an old BIG12 rivalry on Saturday night with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. This is the biggest non-Top 25 ranked game of the college football season so far.
Cornhuskers freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola is taking the BIG10 Conference by storm in a hurry. Last week, he completed 70.4% of his passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He is drawing a lot of praise from people in a hurry.
Nebraska Cornhuskers Dylan Raiola Could Have a Big Day Against the Colorado Buffaloes
Everyone will want to talk about Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter, and the Colorado Buffaloes offense, and rightfully so. Sanders and Hunter could both be Top 5 picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. However, this is a game where freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola will want to prove that he has the Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback back on the map.
This game also features two different personalities as head coaches with Deion Sanders leading Colorado and Matt Rhule leading Nebraska. Pro Football Focus questions whether or not the Buffaloes can be as aggressive in man coverage as last week.
They said:
“Under new defensive coordinator Robert Livingston, Colorado ran Cover 1 on 48 of its 69 defensive plays (69.6%) against North Dakota State, with varying levels of success. The Buffaloes allowed 5.9 yards per play on those snaps and were exploited multiple times by the Bison due to being so predictable defensively.
It’ll be interesting to see if the Buffaloes remain as committed to that philosophy this week against the Cornhuskers. If they do, Raiola could pick them apart. He earned an 86.9 PFF passing grade against single coverage in Week 1, completing three of five passes for 94 yards, two touchdowns and a big-time throw on such looks.
It stands to reason that Colorado likely won’t be as aggressive in man, though. Defenses often use Cover 1 when they have the athletic advantage on the perimeter, something the Buffaloes clearly had against an FCS foe. The coverage also allowed Colorado to send more defenders in the box to slow the Bison’s dynamic ground game. Against Nebraska, expect a more balanced approach defensively so as to challenge Raiola.”
The North Dakota State Bison were able to score 26 points against the Colorado Buffaloes, but they gave up 31 points. Nebraska will be able to score point-for-point against Colorado. Dylan Raiola won’t be a Heisman Trophy candidate this season, but this game will put him on the map as one of the best freshmen in the country.
PFF Is Split About the Game
Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman of Pro Football Focus are split about who will win this football game between the Nebraska Cornhuskers and the Colorado Buffaloes. Max thinks that Nebraska will win 31-27. Dalton thinks that Colorado will win 34-31. Max Chadwick of Pro Football Focus said:
“Raiola shines under the bright lights and leads the Cornhuskers to a major win.”
There is no doubt that this game feels like whoever has the football last will win the game. Dylan Raiola and the Cornhuskers will put up points against Sheuder Sanders and the Buffaloes.
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