#22 Buffs, Deion Sanders sees encore vs. Nebraska

It took new coach Deion Sanders just one game to equal Colorado’s 2022 overall win tally.

The Buffaloes (1-0) also made a splash on the debut of “Coach Prime” and are the No. 22 in the nation going into action against Nebraska (0-1) in Boulder, Colorado on Saturday.

The preseason’s overwhelming story was that Colorado was in for a long season as it only had 10 returning grantees in the program due to Sanders’ roster revamp that brought in 84 new players.

But last week’s epic 45-42 away win over TCU – a team that played in the national title game last season – prompted a quick change of heart. Suddenly, the praise is overflowing, and quarterback Shedeur Sanders and standout two-way star Travis Hunter are named as candidates for the Heisman Trophy.

“Hey man, all we have to do is win. Do you see all the attention we’re getting? It’s starting to show,” Deion Sanders said during Tuesday’s press conference. “These young men now know that if we just let off steam, we will get the love we want. And that’s all they want. They want attention, focus, a little love and light. Nothing wrong with it as long as they use it properly.”

Shedeur Sanders set a school record with 510 passes and four touchdown passes, running back Dylan Edwards had four touchdowns (one rushing, three receiving) in his collegiate debut, and Hunter caught 11 passes on offense for 119 yards and one pass in close to the ball from the goal line in defense.

Hunter, who followed Deion Sanders from Jackson State to Colorado, played an impressive 129 snaps on his Buffaloes debut.

“It’s fun. It’s all in your body, but that’s what you were treated for,” Hunter said. “I liked it. I like going out there. I didn’t have a touchdown but got an interception so this will only help my stats. That will help my team.”

Like Deion Sanders, Nebraska’s Matt Rhule is in his freshman season at a new school. He was a college coach at Temple and Baylor and spent two and a half seasons with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers before being released last October.

Rhule said Monday that Colorado’s opening performance came as no surprise to him.

“Coach Sanders is a football guy,” Rhule said. “Although you can watch all their training sessions and stuff on TV, at the end of the day when has he ever not been serious about football? He is now the head coach. They have elite players and elite players at the top.” . Every time you have a great quarterback, you have a chance to win. I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Rhule’s debut with the Cornhuskers was not a happy one. Nebraska gambled away a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter as Minnesota scored 10 points 2:32 in the final to post a 13-10 win.

Dragan Kesich hit a 47-yard field goal when the Golden Gophers timed out.

Quarterback Jeff Sims was intercepted three times on his Nebraska debut. The former Georgia Tech starter completed 11 of 19 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown and also had a team-high 91 yards on 19 carries.

“He’s not the first quarterback to ever throw three interceptions,” Rhule said. “The grown-ups recover from it even better. I think you learn something about people when they go through a bit of adversity.”

Cornhuskers receiver Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda suffered a cruciate ligament tear late in the season against Minnesota.

Nebraska leads the all-time streak 49-20-2, but Colorado has won its only two matches since the Cornhuskers switched from the Big 12 to the Big Ten after the 2010 season. The Buffaloes prevailed 34-31 in overtime in their last meeting on September 7, 2019 in Boulder.

—Field-level media