Long field goals, national attention and a sandwich: Fans revisit history of Nebraska-Colorado football rivalry

Heartbreak and triumph, the old and the new.

For many Husker fans and athletes, that’s on the front of their minds as Nebraska and Colorado hit the gridiron Saturday night at 6:30 p.m.

In recent memory, Nebraska has lost to Colorado three straight times, including a 36-14 defeat last year in Boulder.

This year the Buffaloes visit Lincoln. And overall history is on the Huskers’ side.

Over 126 years and 72 games, the Huskers hold a big advantage over the Buffaloes.

Outside of the stadium, a hungry attitude aims to keep the classic rivalry interesting this weekend. It’s all part of what makes the Colorado-Nebraska feud special.

The rivalry

It’s a big deal, even for younger fans like Gus Kathol. He’s a senior at UNL and said his school has several rivals.

“But with Colorado, I feel like this rivalry is very much, these fan bases and these teams do not like each other,” Kathol said.

He’s a sports media major and grew up in Lincoln.

When Colorado hired former NFL cornerback Deion Sanders, it reignited the rivalry between the two teams, he said.

From 1948-2010, they were annual rivals. Both decided to leave the Big 12 Conference in 2010.

Colorado charted west for the Pacific 12, while Nebraska moved to the Big Ten. This year, Colorado is back in the Big 12.

But before all of that, Kathol remembers Husker defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and kicker Alex Henery providing electric moments against CU in 2008.

“The first Colorado-Nebraska game I was at was also here in Lincoln,” Kathol said. “Alex Henery kicked that 57-yard field goal to win it, and Suh returned that interception for a touchdown.”

The Huskers won 40-31.

The Buffaloes boast several recent wins against Nebraska, but the Scarlet and Cream own the all-time series 49-21-2.

Aaron Davis played for Nebraska from the early-to-mid 1990s, including the 1994 national championship team.

During his time in Lincoln, he never lost to Colorado. During his freshman year in 1992, the Buffaloes were outmatched, Davis said.

“Literally it was Halloween," Davis said. "Tommie Frazier, freshman quarterback, and we ended up beating the smoke out of them. I forget what that score was, but it was bad."

It was 52-7.

Because of the sheer intimidation of playing against Nebraska at the time, Davis said he could tell that Colorado lost before kick off.

This season, the Huskers and Buffaloes will duke it out on NBC in the primetime TV slot. Fans would be lucky to get a decent ticket for less than $200.

With that in mind, Davis said a win for the Huskers would be monumental.

“First of all, it’s the ‘W.’ You want the W, because the eyes of the nation are going to be on your program,” Davis said.

It’s not everyday that NBC comes to Lincoln, Davis said.

He expects downtown Lincoln to be hopping.

“Absolute chaos,” Davis said. “The women’s volleyball team plays Montana State at 2 p.m. (Saturday) afternoon, so the fans are going to be there early for that. It’s going to be a beautiful day.”

During the game, Memorial Stadium is expected to be loud, too.

In addition to the history and excitement, Husker Athletics announced it will bring back an old tradition Saturday night.

It will allow fans to release balloons into the sky after the first Husker score. The ritual was shut down in 2022 due to environmental concerns and the high demand for helium, former athletic director Trev Alberts said at the time.

On the field, Davis said the offense led by quarterback Dylan Raiola should be much improved. He said the freshman's arm could be the difference to getting NU over the hump this year.

After so many close losses in recent years, Davis said the psychological benefit of a win would also be huge.

Leading up to kickoff, Colorado will march into Lincoln with an entourage.

Since Sanders was hired to coach in Boulder, media attention, social media followings, endorsements, etc. have been prevalent for the Buffaloes program.

“It's the landscape of college sports now,” Davis said, adding that marketing and exposure can be an important tool in recruiting today.

That exposure has exploded the amount of revenue flowing through the Colorado Athletic Department. Sponsorship money and ticket sales are up. Sanders said Colorado’s matchup with Nebraska last season generated $18 million in revenue for the city of Boulder.

Davis said he doesn’t expect this Nebraska team to be distracted by the national attention or past setbacks.

At a press conference on Thursday, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule said he showed his team a broadcast of Omaha boxer Terrance “Bud” Crawford defeating Errol Spence Jr. in a July bout.

Crawford stayed stoic in the ring, Rhule said, drawing the parallel of how his team should compete on the big stage.

“We're obviously having this opportunity because of Colorado and what they bring, but our fans are here because of us,” Rhule said. “And so, we'll play for our fans and we'll play for our families. We'll play for each other and play for the state of Nebraska and all the Husker fans out there and see what happens.”

Earlier in the week, Rhule told the press that Husker fans should be “Nebraska nice on Sunday,” urging the Big Red faithful to be rowdy the night before.

With no games scheduled down the road, Rhule said he’s not sure what the future holds between CU and NU.

Are you hungry?

Away from the bright lights of Memorial Stadium, a local business is taking the rivalry to a whole new level.

Nick Maestas is the owner of the local restaurant Muchachos

Muchachos is selling a “sloppy buffalo” sandwich this week, because “it's super sloppy, a lot like Colorado's play calling and game management,” Maestas said.

You might be able to guess one of the main ingredients.

“The sloppy buffalo is a smoked burger topped with American cheese, and then we made some sloppy joe mix from scratch, cooked in some ground buffalo in there,” Maestas said, “and then we added crispy fried jalapenos.”

This was a new idea for Muchachos, Maestas said. He feels a deep, personal connection to the Colorado-Nebraska game.

His son was born just days before the classic 2008 Colorado-Nebraska duel.

“We're in the hospital watching this, and I'm holding my two-day-old son as Alex Henery is kicking this,” Maestas said. “And it was hard to keep my composure together, you know, with the sleeping baby in your hand.”

On Saturday, he hopes the Huskers “devour” the Buffaloes on the field like hungry fans will the sandwich.

Another fan is using food as a major motivator on Saturday.

Kailyn Drain is a graduate archeology student at UNL from Holdrege, Nebraska, and has been going to Husker games with her dad for 20 years. She plans to use a win to her advantage.

“I'll probably be able to ask for a little bit more of an expensive meal, if we win, from my dad,” Drain said, “just because he'll probably be in a better mood and be more willing to agree to it.

While the Huskers go for a win on the field, Drain said she will have Brazilian barbecue and a Big Red victory on top of mind.