Colorado vs. Nebraska score, takeaways: No. 22 Buffs surge in second half, improve to 2-0 in Deion Sanders era

The Colorado offense opened up in the second half as the Buffaloes throttled the rival Cornhuskers at home

No. 22 Colorado is 2-0 for the first time since 2020 after pulling away from Nebraska in the second half for a 36-14 win in the renewal of one of the college football's most historic rivalries. Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders was prolific once again, bouncing back from a a slow start to finish with 393 yards on 31-of-42 passing with three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).  

Nebraska's defense did a great job of keeping Sanders and the Colorado offense off balance and off schedule with its combination of pressures and coverages leading to eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The Cornhuskers were unable to capitalize offensively when the high-powered Buffs were sputtering, mostly because of their own mistakes. Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims had three first half turnovers -- two lost fumbles, one interception -- which led directly to all of Colorado's first-half points. 

Sanders found a rhythm with the offense after halftime as things started to open up against that stout Nebraska defense, and the Buffs quarterback was able to come up in big spots. Arguably, the most important drive of the game may have been after Nebraska cut the lead to 13-7 in the third quarter as Sanders capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a rollout touchdown toss to Xavier Weaver. 

Colorado's offense from there was a snowball rolling down the hill. And as Nebraska's offense continued to struggle, Sanders and Co. just got more opportunities to move the ball against a Cornhuskers defense that was getting worn down. Nebraska got all the way down to its third-string quarterback, Chubba Purdy, as a result of both injuries and ineffectiveness, and there was nothing that generated a change in results. It was not until the game was well out of reach that Nebraska had its first red-zone attempt, scoring in the final minute, while Colorado went 6 of 6 on its red zone opportunities.

The other side of Colorado's 2-0 start to the Coach Prime era is an 0-2 beginning for Matt Rhule at Nebraska. The Cornhuskers will finally play their home opener in Lincoln next week against Northern Illinois before another home tilt with Louisiana Tech the following week. As for the Buffs, up next is the in-state rivalry against Colorado State before getting their first big Pac-12 test against Oregon. 

Below are a few takeaways from the game as Colorado picked up its third straight win over rival Nebraska. 

1. Shedeur Sanders Heisman talk is off and running

Through two games, Sanders has totaled 903 passing yards with seven total touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 77.5% of his passes. With how integral he's become for Colorado's offensive success, Sanders is almost certain to continue delivering prolific performances as long as the Buffs are successful. And as long as the Buffs are successful, he's going to be considered among the most outstanding players in the country. 

In the wake of Colorado's 45-42 win against TCU in Week 1, the Heisman Trophy conversation included not only Sanders but also focused intently on two-way star Travis Hunter and his game-changing impact -- not to mention snap count -- on both sides of the ball. Hunter played both ways against Nebraska,totaling 73 yards on three catches (seven targets) on offense while adding four tackles and pass breakup on defense. The absence on Saturday of touchdown receptions and game-changing interceptions made it less of a show-stealing performance, however. Still, Hunter was there to produce some highlights as part of that Sanders-led passing attack. 

Being in the Heisman discussion early in the year requires outstanding individual performances, and Sanders has done that through two weeks. But, remaining in the discussion throughout the year requires team success as well. The betting market will reflect an improvement in Sanders' odds to win the award, but history has shown that stats without wins is not a path to claiming the stiff-arm trophy. Colorado needs Sanders to be at his best in order to win, and Sanders needs Colorado to win in order to hold his spot in the Heisman Trophy race. 

2. Nebraska defense needs help from the offense

Through six quarters of football in 2023, Nebraska's defense has allowed just two offensive touchdowns and held its opponent scoreless for four quarters of action. The problem is that its playing opposite an offense that by halftime of Saturday's loss at Colorado had already totaled seven turnovers on the season. The gameplan and execution was strong, but when the Cornhuskers continued to see even the most productive drives end in disappointment, it built up to a floodgates moment in the loss to the Buffs. Nebraska has winning opportunities ahead with nonconference home games against Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech -- games during which the defense will be the best unit on the field. 

After this 0-2 start, however, Nebraska not only has to take care of business the next two weeks but offer a strong showing in Big Ten play. Right now, this offense is not playing well enough to beat similar or better conference competition. 

Rhule seemed reluctant at first to pull Sims, who has been responsible for many of the turnovers this year, but then Sims was shaken and there was an opportunity to make a change. The offense did score in the game's final minute, but much of that can also be attributed to Colorado's late-game substitutions and the garbage time element at play. Sims presents a great threat with his legs, as was evident on a 57-yard touchdown run, but the turnovers have to get cleaned up for that offense to score more consistently.

The performance was, unfortunately for Nebraska, a great chance for Colorado to show off its new "Turnover Throne." 

3. Colorado defense showed improvement

Deion Sanders noted some of Colorado's offensive issues in the first half, but was also quick to credit his defense for coming up with timely stops. In addition to the four forced turnovers, Colorado stood strong on third and fourth down throughout the game. Nebraska converted just four its 13 third down attempts and failed on both fourth down tries while finally getting into the backfield and causing some havoc after recording zero sacks and zero tackles for loss in Week 1. Colorado had two sacks, three quarterback hurries and six tackles for loss against Nebraska, marking a strong week-over-week improvement for defensive coordinator Charles Kelly's group. 

4. Colorado's win had the students running like Ralphie

It's been a while since the students and fans in Boulder have been able to celebrate, in person, a team that ranks among the best in the country. Back in the polls for the first time in a couple years and now 2-0 with an emotional rivalry win against Nebraska, Colorado's students stormed Folsom Field for an epic scene after the game. 

[Sep 9, 2023 at 2:58 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Colorado pulling away here in the 4th 

4Q: No. 22 Colorado 29, Nebraska 7 

Shedeur Sanders has found his groove here in the 2nd half, capping a 9-play, 65-yard drive with some clever ball-handling on a hand-off Tar'Vish Dawson who takes it in for an 8-yard touchdown run. It's Dawson's second total touchdown of the game and after a wild two-point conversion attempt by Sanders failed the Buffs now have a 22-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play. Nebraska's defense did a great job of causing disruption for Sanders and the Buffs early, but now Colorado is rolling.  

[Sep 9, 2023 at 2:40 pm ET · Chip Patterson]

Nebraska's defense comes with a red zone stop 

3Q: No. 22 Colorado 23, Nebraska 7 

Colorado had three plays inside the three-yard line of Nebraska but was unable to punch it in, with the third down stop coming in the form of the sixth sack of the game for the Cornhuskers defense. Colorado had to settle for the chip-shot field goal to end a drive that had a couple good plays from freshmen running back Dylan Edwards but enough movement at the line of scrimmage. Though Nebraska still trails by 16 points, it has to think preventing a touchdown was a win on that possession.