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Tommi Hill sent Memorial Stadium into a frenzy.
The senior cornerback jumped the route, picking off Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and walking into the endzone. The score put Nebraska up 14-0 in the first quarter, already proving to be the difference.
Hill’s interception was one of the many first-half highlights for the Huskers who put on a show, shutting out the Buffaloes while scoring 28 of their own. The Blackshirt defense stood tall, holding Colorado to -17 rushing yards and sacking Sanders four times. All of this in front of nearly 87,000 fans — and several of the top high school recruits in the country.
Nebraska proved it belonged in a big game, to its fans and the college football world. In previous years, Memorial Stadium’s marquee matchup would pit the Huskers against a top-10 team, with them falling way short — see Michigan in 2023 and Oklahoma in 2022. Games where students would get to the stadium early only to leave at the half.
This time around was different. While Colorado is nowhere near a top 10 team, it is a team that brings eyes wherever it goes, led by future first-round picks in Sanders and two-way athlete Travis Hunter. The matchup’s primetime on NBC timeslot also added some more eyes.
The Buffaloes may have embarrassed Nebraska in Boulder last season 36-14, a game in which their fans rushed the field afterward. But this time around it was the Husker fans doing the storming. Even up four scores at the half, every person in red stayed in their seat.
“It was electric,” head coach Matt Rhule said postgame. “The crowd noise was fantastic. The energy was fantastic. I think our players fed off that.”
Nebraska gave its loyal fanbase something to celebrate. Whether it was the Blackshirt defense locking down the Colorado air attack, or a revamped offense able to score at will. Signs are pointing up for the Huskers.
“I don’t think we proved anything to ourselves,” junior tight end Thomas Fidone II said postgame. “We know what we can be, but maybe to the outsider world who didn’t know what we are and who we are and underestimated us. I think we might’ve proved something to them.”
The second half Saturday did not treat the Nebraska offense kindly. Several penalties took big plays off of the board as the Huskers went scoreless despite putting up 14 in each of the first two quarters. Still, the Blackshirts held strong, keeping the game out of reach for the Buffaloes.
Very rarely has Tony White’s crew been able to play with a comfortable lead. Usually, it’s them keeping the offense in the game. The last two weeks, however, have been the opposite. Nebraska’s defense not only has denied its opponents any chances for comebacks but it is also putting up points of its own — a safety against UTEP and a pick-six Saturday.
“When you got guys that don’t care what the play is and just fly around, obviously good things are gonna happen,” senior linebacker John Bullock said postgame.
While freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola didn’t have quite the showing that he did last week, he still managed the turnover-free offense while having his share of exciting plays. The Huskers run game took the front seat, helping them win the time-of-possession battle by 11 minutes.
After years of coming out flat in the “big” game, Nebraska played sixty minutes of complete football. A first half filled with scoring and a second half led by clock management and defense puts the Huskers at 2-0 for the first time since 2016. That team went on to win nine games and make a bowl game.
This Nebraska team has what it takes to top that. With a stadium behind their back and a lasting impression on the recruits in Lincoln, the Huskers have all the confidence they need to make some noise in the Big Ten.
“I’ll be honest with you, we expected this score,” Rhule said. “We expected this to be like this. We have a good team and we felt like we were gonna play really well tonight.”
Anthony Rubek is an Assistant Sports Editor at The Daily Nebraskan. Follow him on Twitter at @AnthonyRubek.
