** 2023 Opponent Preview : Colorado (Game 2) **

[JJ Husker]

Our season and our overall trajectory will not be determined vs CU this Saturday. IMO there have been way too many knee jerk reactions over our first game, a game where we were 7 point underdogs and not many gave us a good chance of winning.

 

I’m not a big “what if” person but we lost that game on 1 or 2 or 3 plays. Those plays are not indicative at all of Rhule or the new staff or really even this team. Take away the fumble and 1 or 2 of those interceptions and we more than likely walk out of there with a W. And the TCU-CU game and what Deion has done at CU has absolutely nothing to do with this program. Yet people are claiming it means all sorts of things about Nebraska. I don’t get it.

 

Sure CU now looks to be a much tougher game than any of us thought a week ago. And as much as I hate CU and would despise losing that game, it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme. There are still 8-9 winnable games on our schedule after CU.
 

Some people on this board need to take a valium and relax a bit. The history of one score losses are not a curse and don’t have s#!t to do with the rest of our season or with the new staff. Only one team can have coach Prime. Only one team could have Urban Meyer, maybe. Only one team can have Saban. We have Rhule and that is all that matters right now. All the whining and flailing about since Thursday has been ridiculous. All because of a few turnovers and how our next opponent performed in their first game. IDK, it seems quite ridiculous to me.

[gobiggergoredder]

28 minutes ago, JJ Husker said:

Our season and our overall trajectory will not be determined vs CU this Saturday. IMO there have been way too many knee jerk reactions over our first game, a game where we were 7 point underdogs and not many gave us a good chance of winning.

 

I’m not a big “what if” person but we lost that game on 1 or 2 or 3 plays. Those plays are not indicative at all of Rhule or the new staff or really even this team. Take away the fumble and 1 or 2 of those interceptions and we more than likely walk out of there with a W. And the TCU-CU game and what Deion has done at CU has absolutely nothing to do with this program. Yet people are claiming it means all sorts of things about Nebraska. I don’t get it.

 

Sure CU now looks to be a much tougher game than any of us thought a week ago. And as much as I hate CU and would despise losing that game, it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme. There are still 8-9 winnable games on our schedule after CU.
 

Some people on this board need to take a valium and relax a bit. The history of one score losses are not a curse and don’t have s#!t to do with the rest of our season or with the new staff. Only one team can have coach Prime. Only one team could have Urban Meyer, maybe. Only one team can have Saban. We have Rhule and that is all that matters right now. All the whining and flailing about since Thursday has been ridiculous. All because of a few turnovers and how our next opponent performed in their first game. IDK, it seems quite ridiculous to me.

Dead on.

 

Grant doesn’t fumble and EVERYTHING is wonderful.  The other errors are just things that need to be cleaned up.

 

But that’s not what happened and here we are.  I’m excited for Saturday.  The team I watched played Minnesota has potential.  Just going to patient.

[Toe]

4 hours ago, gobiggergoredder said:

I didn't realize it until @Mavric made a post, but TCU's defense last year was terrible.

 

Meanwhile, Minnesota had one of the top defenses in the country last year - #4 scoring and #9 total defense. We may not face another defense that's a whole lot better this year.

 

Like I was saying in the other thread, I'm wary of trying to compare us to Colorado after one just game because our games were against such completely different opponents. We might as well be arguing over who would win in a Minnesota vs TCU game, lol.

[admo]

1 hour ago, JJ Husker said:

Our season and our overall trajectory will not be determined vs CU this Saturday. IMO there have been way too many knee jerk reactions over our first game, a game where we were 7 point underdogs and not many gave us a good chance of winning.

 

I’m not a big “what if” person but we lost that game on 1 or 2 or 3 plays. Those plays are not indicative at all of Rhule or the new staff or really even this team. Take away the fumble and 1 or 2 of those interceptions and we more than likely walk out of there with a W. And the TCU-CU game and what Deion has done at CU has absolutely nothing to do with this program. Yet people are claiming it means all sorts of things about Nebraska. I don’t get it.

 

Sure CU now looks to be a much tougher game than any of us thought a week ago. And as much as I hate CU and would despise losing that game, it doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme. There are still 8-9 winnable games on our schedule after CU.
 

Some people on this board need to take a valium and relax a bit. The history of one score losses are not a curse and don’t have s#!t to do with the rest of our season or with the new staff. Only one team can have coach Prime. Only one team could have Urban Meyer, maybe. Only one team can have Saban. We have Rhule and that is all that matters right now. All the whining and flailing about since Thursday has been ridiculous. All because of a few turnovers and how our next opponent performed in their first game. IDK, it seems quite ridiculous to me.

Spot on homie 

 

It's like looking at Nebraska fans and wanting to give them a big ol' group condolence hug (a little sympathy).  Wipe off their football tears and tell them "This year we are going to have 5 or 6 happy Saturdays to celebrate and enjoy"  

 

And then tell them "We are also going to have 5 or 6 Saturdays that will be upsetting.  Don't worry, keep your chin up"

 

Back in the day you used to vent, yell/holler, air it out, and get it out of your system with a few posts.  Take people to the woodshed if have to.  But move on.  

 

These days people keep going up and down on an extension latter.  They feel so upset and go up and down from week to week.  Trying to add more sad paint on a wall. 

 

One game.  A new coach and staff.  Some returning players mixed with new players.  Road team and underdogs.  Lead by 7 points through 55 minutes of the game.....  and lost.

 

I have always said that playmakers make plays.  Instead of the threads that say "what is wrong with us", how about crediting the kid on the Minnesota team who slapped the ball out of Grant's arm and created a turnover?  How about on 4th and 10, crediting the kid on the Minnesota team who made a spectacular catch with one toe in?  How about giving credit to the kid on the Minnesota team who read the eyes of the Husker QB and made an interception?  He could have dropped it or had aligator arms, but he made the play.  Which then resulted in them going down the field and kicking a game winning field goal.  

 

It can't always be about "Nebraska sucks again".

[admo]

2 hours ago, Stone Cold said:

Maybe were sick of it happening, imagine every time you went to out on a date with your spouse they kicked you in the groin instead of hitting the sack with you.  You would get pretty f#&%ing tied of that.

I don't know about this analogy, but I like it 

 

And those who know me, I don't mean to disappoint you, but I will behave and say nothing.  Even though I really want to go there lol !!!!

 

[McGuillotine]

21 minutes ago, admo said:

Spot on homie 

 

It's like looking at Nebraska fans and wanting to give them a big ol' group condolence hug (a little sympathy).  Wipe off their football tears and tell them "This year we are going to have 5 or 6 happy Saturdays to celebrate and enjoy"  

 

And then tell them "We are also going to have 5 or 6 Saturdays that will be upsetting.  Don't worry, keep your chin up"

 

Back in the day you used to vent, yell/holler, air it out, and get it out of your system with a few posts.  Take people to the woodshed if have to.  But move on.  

 

These days people keep going up and down on an extension latter.  They feel so upset and go up and down from week to week.  Trying to add more sad paint on a wall. 

 

One game.  A new coach and staff.  Some returning players mixed with new players.  Road team and underdogs.  Lead by 7 points through 55 minutes of the game.....  and lost.

 

I have always said that playmakers make plays.  Instead of the threads that say "what is wrong with us", how about crediting the kid on the Minnesota team who slapped the ball out of Grant's arm and created a turnover?  How about on 4th and 10, crediting the kid on the Minnesota team who made a spectacular catch with one toe in?  How about giving credit to the kid on the Minnesota team who read the eyes of the Husker QB and made an interception?  He could have dropped it or had aligator arms, but he made the play.  Which then resulted in them going down the field and kicking a game winning field goal.  

 

It can't always be about "Nebraska sucks again".

[Mavric]

3 hours ago, chamrocck said:

Have you seen the talent Bama and Clemson recruited?  Of course it works. I agree with Deion, talent wins games over coaching. He brought talent to CU. He’s not there for a slow rebuild. USC had a couple down years, they get the coach to bring in talent. This is not our space, why do we think PAC 12 retread Riley was going to fix that?  Everyone wanted Frost to succeed but he couldn’t recruit or develop.  Rhule is in a tough spot, he may be the right guy for the rebuild but CU having instant success took all the wind out of the sails and more importantly recruiting eyes to his program, not ours.  Stop chasing the one QB, the one slot skill player, rebuild the lines at all costs, give me a bunch of RBs like Rex and Ameer and we will start moving in the right direction. 

Clemson has recruited enough talent to score 7 points on the team that has the #67 defense last year. And they got those seven on a drive that started at the Duke 18. 

[Decked]

I’m just not sure I have the stamina this year to watch if we start out 0-2. Just brutal. A win here puts some wind back in the sails. 

[huskerfan74]

I know many on this board believe that some of us are overreacting over the loss to Minnesota. I do not share their opinion but, oh well, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. However, if we underperform next week at Colorado, I wonder what excuse they will have. No one can argue that Colorado was worst than us last season. They finished 1-11. They did not have any bright spots. Both Colorado and Nebraska have new first year coaches and both had access to the same pool of talent. So, to those who say that next week’s game is not a good measure of what Matt Rhule has done thus far, think again. Proven coaches win in their first year and they show measurable improvement. Many first year coaches have hit the ground running so the excuse that a coach needs time is a thing of the past, especially with the transfer portal nowadays. Not making a bowl game this year will be disastrous for this team. If Rhule does not set his team’s expectations high then they will continue to underperform. In my opinion, next week’s game is one of the most important games this year for us. It will set the tone for this team and will give them the confidence they need. Lose the game and we might as well start praying for the football Gods to make the postseason. Rhule has no excuses. His only excuse is admitting that Deion Sanders is a better coach than him. 

[lo country]

1 hour ago, huskerfan74 said:

I know many on this board believe that some of us are overreacting over the loss to Minnesota. I do not share their opinion but, oh well, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. However, if we underperform next week at Colorado, I wonder what excuse they will have. No one can argue that Colorado was worst than us last season. They finished 1-11. They did not have any bright spots. Both Colorado and Nebraska have new first year coaches and both had access to the same pool of talent. So, to those who say that next week’s game is not a good measure of what Matt Rhule has done thus far, think again. Proven coaches win in their first year and they show measurable improvement. Many first year coaches have hit the ground running so the excuse that a coach needs time is a thing of the past, especially with the transfer portal nowadays. Not making a bowl game this year will be disastrous for this team. If Rhule does not set his team’s expectations high then they will continue to underperform. In my opinion, next week’s game is one of the most important games this year for us. It will set the tone for this team and will give them the confidence they need. Lose the game and we might as well start praying for the football Gods to make the postseason. Rhule has no excuses. His only excuse is admitting that Deion Sanders is a better coach than him. 

Rhules rep is a builder.  Prime came in as OptimusPrime.  Dude planned to win Day 1.  Not build for the future.  Win now and the future takes care of itself.  Regardless of who he played, how many guys left TCU etc, Shedeur threw for 510 yards (CU record), 4 receivers over 100 yards (CU record), and as far as the whole Jackson State went with him, 9 guys did.  We lost the same way we lost for years.  With costly mistakes, poor coaching and bad decisions.  We needed Minnie.  We had the opportunity to exercise a whole lot of demons in those final four minutes.  Instead we threw 3 straight passes and took of like 1 sec of off the clock.  The number 1 bell cow RB was on the sideline of a critical drive while a demoted RB for fumbling got the call. As a fan, I saw the same stupid sh1t played over like ground hog day.  There’s no moral victories.  Win or lose.  That’s it.  There’s no over reacting in seeing us pi$$ away another victory.  There’s an under reacting.  An acceptance of losing.  Almost expecting it. We lose Sat and it’s only going to get worse.  

Primes speech to his team prior to TCU.  He knew he had one shot and opportunity to show this team that what he was doing would work.  And he did.  

This has nothing to do with the team that's opposing us," Sanders said in the locker room to his team facing a high-ranking school. "This is about us. This ain't got nothing to do with the naysayers, the unbelievers, the haters, the doubters. This is about us. When we started this journey, we told you it was gon' be trying, it was gon' be tough, but you endured. Because it's about us," Sanders continued.

"That man next to you is a miracle. That man next to you is a believer. That man next to you is a go-getter. That man next to you is a dog. That man next to you [is] somebody who want(s) this thing. That man next to you is somebody who believes. That man next to you gots to have it today!" We ain't got tomorrow. We got now. We ain't got next. We got now. We ain't coming no more."

 

[BigRedBuster]

 

 

[HuskerX]

5 hours ago, lo country said:

Rhules rep is a builder.  Prime came in as OptimusPrime.  Dude planned to win Day 1.  Not build for the future.  Win now and the future takes care of itself.  Regardless of who he played, how many guys left TCU etc, Shedeur threw for 510 yards (CU record), 4 receivers over 100 yards (CU record), and as far as the whole Jackson State went with him, 9 guys did.  We lost the same way we lost for years.  With costly mistakes, poor coaching and bad decisions.  We needed Minnie.  We had the opportunity to exercise a whole lot of demons in those final four minutes.  Instead we threw 3 straight passes and took of like 1 sec of off the clock.  The number 1 bell cow RB was on the sideline of a critical drive while a demoted RB for fumbling got the call. As a fan, I saw the same stupid sh1t played over like ground hog day.  There’s no moral victories.  Win or lose.  That’s it.  There’s no over reacting in seeing us pi$$ away another victory.  There’s an under reacting.  An acceptance of losing.  Almost expecting it. We lose Sat and it’s only going to get worse.  

Primes speech to his team prior to TCU.  He knew he had one shot and opportunity to show this team that what he was doing would work.  And he did.  

This has nothing to do with the team that's opposing us," Sanders said in the locker room to his team facing a high-ranking school. "This is about us. This ain't got nothing to do with the naysayers, the unbelievers, the haters, the doubters. This is about us. When we started this journey, we told you it was gon' be trying, it was gon' be tough, but you endured. Because it's about us," Sanders continued.

"That man next to you is a miracle. That man next to you is a believer. That man next to you is a go-getter. That man next to you is a dog. That man next to you [is] somebody who want(s) this thing. That man next to you is somebody who believes. That man next to you gots to have it today!" We ain't got tomorrow. We got now. We ain't got next. We got now. We ain't coming no more."

 

Well said.

[Dr. Strangelove]

9 hours ago, lo country said:

Rhules rep is a builder.  Prime came in as OptimusPrime.  Dude planned to win Day 1.  Not build for the future.  Win now and the future takes care of itself.  Regardless of who he played, how many guys left TCU etc, Shedeur threw for 510 yards (CU record), 4 receivers over 100 yards (CU record), and as far as the whole Jackson State went with him, 9 guys did.  We lost the same way we lost for years.  With costly mistakes, poor coaching and bad decisions.  We needed Minnie.  We had the opportunity to exercise a whole lot of demons in those final four minutes.  Instead we threw 3 straight passes and took of like 1 sec of off the clock.  The number 1 bell cow RB was on the sideline of a critical drive while a demoted RB for fumbling got the call. As a fan, I saw the same stupid sh1t played over like ground hog day.  There’s no moral victories.  Win or lose.  That’s it.  There’s no over reacting in seeing us pi$$ away another victory.  There’s an under reacting.  An acceptance of losing.  Almost expecting it. We lose Sat and it’s only going to get worse.  

Primes speech to his team prior to TCU.  He knew he had one shot and opportunity to show this team that what he was doing would work.  And he did.  

This has nothing to do with the team that's opposing us," Sanders said in the locker room to his team facing a high-ranking school. "This is about us. This ain't got nothing to do with the naysayers, the unbelievers, the haters, the doubters. This is about us. When we started this journey, we told you it was gon' be trying, it was gon' be tough, but you endured. Because it's about us," Sanders continued.

"That man next to you is a miracle. That man next to you is a believer. That man next to you is a go-getter. That man next to you is a dog. That man next to you [is] somebody who want(s) this thing. That man next to you is somebody who believes. That man next to you gots to have it today!" We ain't got tomorrow. We got now. We ain't got next. We got now. We ain't coming no more."

 

I agree. The most disappointing aspect of the loss was how it happened.

 

It was watching a Coach poorly manage the macro and strategic aspects of football. It was not properly using a timeout at the end of the first half, costing Nebraska a touchdown. It was failing to execute complimentary football by calling pass plays when Nebraska needed to shorten the game.

 

And it's the culture of losing and acceptance amongst players and fans. A collective realization that under a new coach and 50+ new players that once the wheels started to come off the wagon - the Grant fumble - that Nebraska was going to lose despite being up 7 and the defense playing well. Just like we've seen more than a dozen times in the last few seasons. Everybody I watched the game with knew, just like the players and coaches did.

 

Whatever psychological cloud plaguing the team for the last decade is still there. The culture of losing, the "oh no, here we go again", everything negative about Nebraska football is still permeating through the walls of Memorial Stadium is still here despite great efforts to eradicate it.

[Hilltop]

9 hours ago, huskerfan74 said:

Both Colorado and Nebraska have new first year coaches and both had access to the same pool of talent. 

This is complete BS and the real problem with so many people's arguments. 

 

Do you really think any team had access to their QB?  I'm sure the coaches' son was willing to hear offers to play for someone other than his rich father who is making sure the kid has anything and everything.  SMH...  How about Hunter?  Alabama, Georgia, and all the other top programs wanted Hunter but he wanted to play for Sanders and even turned down 7 figure offers to do so.  He is being well taken care of, obviously.  Everyone, and especially Rhule, did not have access to the two key people making CU look good right now.  Without those 2 players, CU gets blown out by TCU and would look like everyone expected- not good.

 

As far as the season being lost if we lose, that is also ridiculous.  Even if we lose next week I am guessing 99% of us will still predict this being Rhule's best first year as a coach.  2-10 and 1-11, are the two previous first year records by our current coach. 

 

I completely get the disappointment but the temper tantrum overreactions are out of line imo.               

[Toe]

15 hours ago, DefenderAO said:

What does the eye test say?  Do you think our O Line holds against CU?  

 

Here's a stat for you: Colorado had zero sacks & TFLs against TCU.

 

Quote

Do you think our D holds against their athletes?  Can our D Line get to, and bring down, Sanders?

 

On the other hand, TCU had four sacks and seven TFLs. And I'm starting to feel like this may be the key to the game for us - can we get pressure on Sanders? I think our secondary is pretty good, but we still need something to keep their speed in check. We had trouble with that against Minnesota, but I don't think Colorado's O-line is as good as Minnesota's.