Expletives, energy, altitude and pressure: Nebraska football set for tough Colorado test

BOULDER, Colo. — In Colorado, they cuss. Well, they cuss everywhere anymore, but in Colorado, they seem to have had a head start in naughty words.

So just about every spontaneous exclamation from CU fans on the streets or inside Folsom Field Saturday morning came with, well, an unmentionable.

“(Expletive) Nebraska!” fans yelled across the street from Gamow Tower.

“(Expletive) Nebraska!” CU students yelled at Husker players who willingly walked around the sidelines before the game.

“Hell yeah! I need me a flag!” said a Buff fan as he approached two girls with a cardboard box full of yellow Rally Towels.

On the grounds, inside Balch Fieldhouse and in the stands, Nebraska fans most played it low-key. A few, with good cheer, invited the taunts. NU and CU fans have had a unique history. Huskers try to invade Folsom Field with so much red it looks like a neutral site contest. Buffs, for one Saturday, try to rediscover their fandom.

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This particular Saturday, the fandom had a little extra juice for Deion Sanders’ debut home game as Colorado’s coach.

Traffic around the stadium started to get heavy at 7 a.m. local time. The CU media relations folks took in more than 800 requests for credentials. The Denver Post alone sent five reporters. The Post also proclaimed, in a large headline on its sports page, that Colorado was already “America’s Team.” The Boulder Daily Camera projected the home opener would have a $17 million impact to Boulder.

Bass bumped so hard over Folsom Field’s speaker system that it coursed a folding table in the open-air press box.

This wasn’t Sept. 7, 2019 — the start of the Mel Tucker era — when NU lost 34-31 in overtime. Saturday morning felt like three circuses came to town.

Nebraska has to try to win a game in this environment. The team has spent the week going media stealth, staying well under the radar in its preparation for Colorado. Now, it’ll have to turn the energy up and contend with the following:

The altitude. Nebraska shrugged it off all week. But it has been a factor in NU games in Boulder. The Huskers nearly ran out of steam in the 1997 and 1999 games — in ’99, a 27-3 lead turned into 24 CU points in the fourth quarter. In 2019, a 17-0 Husker halftime lead wilted late as Nebraska’s defense failed to get stops.

The tempo. Colorado will want to play fast on offense, expending as few seconds between snaps as possible. Hey — former Nebraska coach Scott Frost wanted to do that, too. CU has better collective skill talent than Frost ever did in Lincoln, though, with receivers Travis Hunter, Xavier Weaver and Jimmy Horn and running back Dylan Edwards.

Tackling, in this environment, becomes paramount. And if NU chooses to get aggressive with its coverage and pressure schemes, winning one-on-one matchups on deep balls are crucial, too.

“We’ve been practicing with tempo all training camp,” Husker coach Matt Rhule said. “It’s a great way to practice when running defense and it’s a good way to prepare, as well as get in shape. The things we teach and the fundamentals we believe in show up in these games. What happens when it goes that fast is guys start to get sloppy. For our guys we’re going to have to make this about football. We can’t make it about altitude or tempo.”

Perception of its own offense. Why wouldn’t Colorado load the box to stop the run and force NU quarterback Jeff Sims — and what is currently a motley crew of receivers — to win downfield?

Is it is possible to run against a loaded box? You bet — especially when the quarterback is involved in the run game. Wisconsin has done it for years without using the quarterback. Does Nebraska have the execution to do that?

The moment at hand. Nebraska is not expected to win — and may not, until it actually happens — expect to win itself. If the game is close — as so many have been — does NU find a winning formula late? Or succumb to a collection of its own mistakes?

Given the attention on the game and the energy inside Folsom Field, winning would be a bit of coup — and an early feather in NU’s cap.

» Nebraska had an availability report and listed none of its travelers (roughly 77) as questionable. Nick Henrich, Teddy Prochazka and Jimari Butler should play. Ty Robinson can’t play until the second half because of a targeting call last week at Minnesota.

» Sun glare could be an issue in the stadium. NU’s bench may well be looking into that sun a good chunk of the day.

Photos: Nebraska football takes on No. 22 Colorado

Nebraska’s Malachi Coleman (15) takes the field for warm-ups ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Colorado head coach Deion Sanders walks amongst his players ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Nebraska’s Gunnar Gottula (77) warms up ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Leona Rhule, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule’s daughter, watches the Huskers take the field for warm-ups ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Nebraska’s Jeff Sims (7) takes the field for warm-ups ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Elijah Malesa, of Omaha, cheers as the Huskers take the field for warm-ups ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Nebraska’s Elliott Brown (41) jogs onto the field ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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From left, Trevor Simmons, Tobi Moore, Nathan Gaunt and Anna Kerege take in the stadium ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Janisa Shaffer, a Colorado freshman communications major, enter the stadium ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule takes the field for warm-ups ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Stadium seats await fans ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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Husker fans arrive ahead of the Nebraska vs. Colorado football game at Folsom Field in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023.

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