Lincoln – Nebraska dominated the first half to build a 28-0 halftime lead before relying on its defense to secure a 28-10 victory over visiting Colorado on Saturday night.
Playing in front of the 398th consecutive sellout crowd with 86,906 fans at Memorial Stadium and an NBC prime-time national television audience, the Cornhuskers improved to 2-0 on the season while notching their 50th all-time win over their old conference rival. Colorado slipped to 1-1 on the season.
Nebraska’s defense starred from start to finish, holding Colorado’s normally high-powered offense to just 260 total yards while sacking CU quarterbacks six times. The Blackshirts added a pick-six of Shedeur Sanders by cornerback Tommi Hill in the first quarter, and a forced fumble by Willis McGahee IV that was recovered by Jimari Butler on the defense’s final play of the game.
The Blackshirts, who registered 49 yards in tackles for losses on the night, limited Colorado to just 16 rushing yards for the game. In fact, through the first 49 minutes, the Blackshirts held CU to minus-16 yards on the ground until Dallan Hayden burst through on a 17-yard run.
Nebraska put up 149 rushing yards, while freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola added 185 passing yards on 23-of-30 passing and managed a Husker offense that played turnover-free football. NU finished with 334 total yards, while CU had just 260 total yards.
The Blackshirts sparked the Huskers from the opening kickoff and set the tone physically for total domination of the Buffaloes in the first half.
Defensive tackle Ty Robinson established the first-half standard on the game’s first drive, knocking down Sanders’ first pass, before dropping Sanders for a nine-yard sack two plays later to force a Colorado punt from its own 12 on 4th-and-19.
An 11-yard return by Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda on CU’s 49-yard punt set up the Husker offense on Colorado’s 49 for the Big Red’s first drive. Raiola and the offense capitalized seven plays later with Dante Dowdell finishing off a touchdown drive with back-to-back blasts up the middle, first for 13 yards, then a 12-yard touchdown. Tristan Alvano‘s extra point gave Nebraska a 7-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Colorado got its biggest play of the half on the ensuing kickoff with a 61-yard kick return by Jimmy Horn Jr., but Robinson welcomed Sanders back onto the field with an 11-yard sack. Back-to-back 10-yard passes set up 4th-and-1 for the Buffaloes at the NU 28, and the defense shut down the drive…
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