Deion Sanders and Matt Rhule play nice, but the rivalry between the CU Buffs and Nebraska remains personal

BOULDER — Better cred than red. Right, Coach Mac? The only bulletin board material Deion Sanders and Matt Rhule sent each other this week were Christmas cards.

“They look for players and get the best players they can,” Rhule, Nebraska's second-year football coach, said of CU. “They're good in school. They don't get in trouble off the field. And they're competitive. I respect what they do.”

“I have a lot of respect for Matt Rhule,” Coach Prime said last Tuesday when asked about the Cornhuskers. “And I love what he has accomplished in his college coaching career.”

Remember when Buffs-Huskers was…personal? Those were the days, my friend.

Sorry. I'm not buying it. But make no mistake: Both programs need it. Both fan bases need it. Both trainer need this.

CU, which travels to Nebraska on Saturday in the final game of a four-game contract, hasn't lost to the Big Red in 14 years. Rhule could use a win in the rivalry to get some momentum and get rid of the Bugeaters.

Sanders could use a road win on one of college football's most hallowed grounds. The Buffs could use more steak to go with all the fuss. And Nothing tastes sweeter than a victory in Lincoln.

“When you look at CU, everyone wants to know what they're going to do this year,” Colt McCoy, a former Texas Longhorns and NFL quarterback who will make his debut as a television analyst on NBC's CU-Nebraska network, told me recently by phone.

“If you look at the number of people that came to see them play last week (North Dakota State), they got a ton of attention. A big fan base, probably not just in Colorado but across the country … from that perspective, it's huge for CU.

“On the other hand, I think Nebraska is building it from the inside out. They're well coached. They have a really good group of returning players on defense. Their offensive line is probably their strength. And their first-year quarterback (Dylan Raiola) is a highly touted guy and sees the field really well.”

Coach Prime is 5-8 at CU, Coach Matt is 6-7 with the Big Red. Sanders and Rhule are still undecided, but the winner of this weekend's Salt Creek Showdown will have a chance to make a damn good impression in front of a national television audience.

“You can't underestimate the value of experience when you're dealing with units and (chemistry),” McCoy continued. “And I think that's it. We'll see how far (CU) has come. For me, that's a big test.”

Big stage. Big stakes. We've come a long way since Dan Hawkins and Mike Riley, and thank goodness. The Buffs and the Huskers are battling for the same spot to reclaim the spare key to college football's penthouse and win back a lost generation. Two '90s grunge bands are trying to break out of the State Fair oldies scene one show at a time.

“On the CU side, listen, (they) started off with a bang last year, but then it kind of died down,” McCoy said of the Buffs. “What are we going to see this year? Last week, it was a pretty close game … (didn't) run the ball really well. I think that's going to be a big question mark.”

“Obviously they protected the passer a little better. On those known pass attempts, (Shedeur Sanders) was pressured, he was rushed. You don't want to be one-dimensional. You don't know how good CU's defense is. (The Buffs and Huskers), when I analyzed them, neither of them showed much.”

It's not just the stars. Or the styles. It's the contrasts. According to 247Sports' database, CU's 2024 recruiting class of 55 players included 11 newcomers and 43 transfers, led by 5-star freshman and left tackle Jordan Seaton. Nebraska's 2024 Huskers' class of 41 newcomers included 31 newcomers and nine transfers, led by 5-star freshman and QB Raiola. Same idea. Different ratio.

CU's class of 2024 was ranked No. 22 nationally by the website, while the Huskers' selection came in at No. 23. Same coin, but different sides.

“When I played at Texas, we didn't have a single JUCO transfer (during my tenure). It was very clear, 'We're going to develop them, we're going to coach (the guys),'” McCoy said.