Deion Sanders says ‘hats off to Coach Rhule’ after Nebraska’s win over Colorado

Nebraska just straight up took it to the Buffaloes, especially in the first half of the Huskers’ 28-10 win on Saturday night at a raucous Memorial Stadium.

“Hats off to Coach Rhule,” Sanders said. He paused for a second, staring at a TV on the other side of the room that was airing NU coach Matt Rhule’s postgame press conference.

“His staff coached a heck of a game. We came into class together as coaches, so I’m always rooting for them unless they play us. But I’m happy — if we’re gonna get our butts kicked, might as well be him, a God-fearing man.”

Entering Saturday, Sanders said, the Buffs (1-1) felt good about their matchups, the competition and what they brought to a nationally televised game in front of a crowd of 86,609, which poured onto the field after the final snap.

But Colorado’s offense unraveled from the jump, and Nebraska (2-0) had everything to do with it.

The Buffs went three-and-out on the game’s opening drive, two straight incompletions and a sack on third down. On the next possession, following a kickoff return deep into NU territory, they turned it over after being stuffed in the backfield on fourth-and-1.

NU punted and pinned CU on its own 2, and, on the first play of the drive, Husker defensive back Tommi Hill jumped a pass from Buffs quarterback Shedeur Sanders, walked into the end zone untouched and made Memorial Stadium erupt.

“It was a rookie mistake, honestly. That’s what it was,” said Shedeur Sanders, who finished 23 of 38 for 244 yards. “It’s small things like that, that just can’t happen. Like, truthfully. But that stuff happens, so we’ve just gotta bounce back from it.”

After four drives — already down 14-0 midway through the first quarter, with Nebraska driving — Colorado had minus-2 yards of offense.

“The way we started is just not indicative of who we are. We just never got it together,” Deion Sanders said. “Sometimes you have those games, sometimes you have those days. It was just one of those games and days, simultaneously.”

But why was it so tough for the Buffs to get going?

“I have no idea,” Deion Sanders said. “If we would’ve known that answer, I think we would’ve responded quicker. We just never got it going — until it was too late. We just never got it going.”

CU was blanked in the first half for the first time since last year’s loss to Oregon on Sept. 23, and its 10 points are the fewest since that day — the Buffs’ first full game without Travis Hunter after the two-way star was injured the week before.

On Saturday, Colorado had Hunter. And another year of experience on Shedeur Sanders. And speedy wideout Jimmy Horn Jr. and an offensive line that was supposed to be vastly improved after the Buffaloes brought in 42 transfers this offseason.

The Huskers tackled in space against some of the best playmakers in college football. They repeatedly bulldozed through a porous offensive line. They didn’t get beat over the top by one explosive offense.

“They just came ready to play,” Shedeur Sanders said. “Simple.”

Nebraska sacked Shedeur Sanders five times and pressured him nonstop. He was only dropped once in the Buffaloes’ Week 1 win over FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.

“Protections were a problem,” Deion Sanders said. “We gotta figure out a way to prevent that and do a better job with that.”

CU didn’t score until five minutes into the second half, and its lone touchdown — Shedeur Sanders to LaJohntay Wester for 5 yards to make it 28-10 — was too little, too late. Even though, as Deion Sanders pointed out, the Buffs held the Huskers scoreless after halftime.

That was the last pass thrown by the Buffs’ starting quarterback, a projected first-round pick in next year’s draft.

Shedeur Sanders was pulled midway through the fourth quarter. He walked back to the locker room with roughly two minutes remaining, as did the rest of CU’s injured players, including starting safety Shiloh Sanders.

Deion Sanders said it was because of a hit Shedeur took on a targeting call earlier in the second half. Shedeur Sanders said he was banged up, but it’s nothing “recovery can’t fix.”

“We just wanted to make sure we get him checked out and we have every precaution, because now you’re looking forward to next week,” Deion Sanders said. “That was over. By the time he got out of the game, it was a wrap.”