Shedeur Sanders and Colorado football came down to earth this weekend. It should have been expected because they played better defense than they did in their season opener. The Buffaloes played at its ceiling against TCU, and Nebraska had game tape on Colorado.
The Buffs weren’t crisp in the first quarter. Sanders missed a couple of throws, and the offensive line committed some false start penalties. However, Nebraska’s offense couldn’t move the ball, and Buffalo offensive coordinator Sean Lewis began to make adjustments in the second quarter.
Colorado’s offense came alive in the second half. Nebraska’s offense continued to put its defense in poor positions with its inability to move the football consistently. Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims struggled today, throwing an interception and fumbling twice.
Huskers’ head coach Matt Rhule and his offensive staff don’t trust their wide receivers. Despite falling behind, they ran twice as much as they threw the football. Sims had 15 pass attempts. Nebraska struggled with turnovers for the second consecutive week, committing four turnovers ( one interception and three fumbles).
Give credit to Charles Kelly and the Buffaloes’ defense. In addition to the turnovers, Colorado did a masterful job of getting Nebraska off the field on third downs. The Cornhuskers converted 4-of-13 third downs and no fourth downs.
Here are some takeaways from this afternoon’s Colorado win.
3. Sanders and Lewis are quite the combination for Colorado Football
As the kids these days would say, quarterback Shedeur Sanders and offensive coordinator Sean Lewis are “in their bag” as a coordinator/quarterback tandem. Sanders took about a quarter and a half to warm up, but the Colorado offense was impossible to stop when he got going.
Sanders had another big day, throwing for 393 yards and two touchdowns. Most importantly, no turnovers again for the Jackson State transfer. Colorado struggled to run the football but broke 100 rushing yards if you take away the negative yards for sacks. Xavier Weaver was Sanders’ favorite target this afternoon, with ten receptions, 170 yards, and a touchdown.
Nebraska’s offensive woes continue. Starting quarterback Jeff Sims struggled again this afternoon, throwing a bad interception and fumbling twice. Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield must not trust his wide receivers. The Cornhuskers threw the football just 22 times.
The Cornhuskers did have success running the football, rushing for 222 yards, but the four turnovers stopped all four of those drives. Nebraska was inefficient on a down-to-down basis and ineffective on third down. Nebraska’s offensive line struggled to block Colorado consistently. Sims was sacked twice, and the Buffs had six tackles for loss.
2. Charles Kelly had a good gameplan for the Colorado football defense
Colorado struggled against TCU defensively, so it stood to reason that Nebraska would have some success against the Buffaloes’ defense. While the Cornhuskers ran for 222 yards, they struggled to throw the football and played poorly on critical downs. Give defensive coordinator Charles Kelly and the Buffaloes’ defense credit.
They forced four turnovers, and Jeff Sims had little time to settle in the pocket and throw. Colorado was tremendous on third downs and pushed around Nebraska’s offensive line. The Buffaloes did give up some explosive plays; Nebraska’s only touchdown came on a 57-yard run by Jeff Sims. However, 137 of Nebraska’s 222 yards came on four plays.
Take away those four runs; Nebraska had 85 yards on 37 rushes. Colorado was much improved on a down-to-down basis than they were last week.
Nebraska had a good game plan early for what Colorado wanted to do. They disrupted Colorado’s timing by pressing their wideouts and bringing pressure. It’s hard to play that way for four quarters in altitude when the Buffaloes play that fast.
The Cornhuskers’ inability to sustain drives did the defense no favors either. Colorado did a tremendous job of keeping the field position in their favor most of the game, pressuring the defense to make plays.
1. What’s next for Colorado football?
If the Buffaloes defeat in-state rival Colorado State next week, a bowl game looks much more feasible this year. In addition, Shedeur vs. Bo and Shedeur vs. Caleb look fun. The schedule sets up nicely for the Buffs drive for six. They get USC and UCLA early, and they don’t play Washington.
There was little letdown after such an emotional win against TCU. They started slow, but the defense was sharp early, and the offense made adjustments and began to roll. Colorado might not be good enough to win the Pac-12, but they are good enough to ruin it for another team.
What’s next for Nebraska?
Matt Rhule and Marcus Satterfield have to figure out what they want to be offensively. The offensive line isn’t good enough to run the football consistently; their first two games of the year prove that. The offense could not sustain drives, and Jeff Sims continues to make critical mistakes, which makes one wonder how long he will hold onto his job.
Nebraska takes on Northern Illinois — who beat Boston College earlier this year — and Louisiana Tech before they begin conference play. Maybe they can figure out how to score points by then.