Deion Sanders and CU Buffs lose clearly against Nebraska

LINCOLN, Nebraska – You don’t bring a 30-carat diamond watch to a sword fight.

A Maybach can't block. A NIL deal won't hurt an angry defensive end. You can't microwave something that needs to be slowly baked.

The Buffs were built for this moment. A foundation of glitter, sand and promises, broken like so many hearts. Nebraska punched CU in the face. By the time the Buffs finally got back up, the bell had rung and the judges had gone home.

“Obviously it's better when you can run the ball consistently,” said CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who threw for 244 yards but was sacked five times in a 28-10 loss to rival Nebraska on Saturday night. “But it's just the way it is – you have to understand what your team is good at.”

That's all true. But then again, what good is a top-10 pick at quarterback if he spends half the weekend running for his life? What good is a generational talent at wide receiver if no one has time to find him out of nowhere?

You can't destroy something that needs to be buttered and watered. And if the Buffs (1-1) block like that on the road, their season may already be over.

CU-Nebraska wasn't just a game. It was a referendum on the Coach Prime method played on a national stage. A true first-year quarterback and a mostly homegrown offensive line playing at home ran for 149 yards and didn't allow a single sack. The team with the veteran signal-caller and five new linemen who had only been playing together for two weeks managed 16 yards on the ground and allowed six sacks on the night.

The transfer portal is a finisher, a garnish. Not a base. The football programs with staying power stayed there the old-fashioned way and grew and nurtured a unity together.

There's no rushing anything in love. Or in the trenches. Nebraska fought with a down-to-earth and fighting spirit to a 28-0 halftime lead before stumbling to the finish. Three-fifths of the Huskers' offensive line in Week 1 were in the starting lineup at least seven times in 2023 as a trio for the Big Red.

Last Thursday, however, was the first time CU's rebuilt offensive line — almost a completely rebuilt room — competed together as a group. While North Dakota State was a mixed bag, Nebraska was a disaster. The Buffs ran out of time in the third quarter against the Bison, but managed just 59 net yards on 23 attempts against an FCS opponent. It was a harbinger of what was to happen at Memorial Stadium, in every way.

After the Oregon 2023 game: You better get us now.

Nebraska 2024: We hold our beer.

“We have a lot of guys who haven't played together yet,” said Buffs safety Cam'Ron Silman-Craig, who had a team-best 11 tackles. “We're testing each other … we're getting better and better.”

They were better in the second half. Again. Hell, CU is 2-0 after halftime this year, whatever that means. But how much of that was Big Red running 18 times in the final 30 minutes trying to just win this game and get the party started on P Street?

If there's a silver lining among all the injuries, it's that the Mid 12 should be more forgiving. With apologies to Utah, the Wisconsin of the West, the Huskers (2-0) fielded arguably the best defense and most physical offensive and defensive lines CU will see the rest of the way. The Buffs are built to win 38-31 games, and the Big 12, a basketball league that plays basketball on grass in the fall, holds a lot of promise.

Macroeconomically speaking, most of what Deion Sanders promised is still possible. Technically speaking. But not the College Football Playoff. Not this fall. Not for a team that has more penalties (seven) than first downs (six) in the first half.

Not for a team that has a former Ohio State tailback in Dallan Hayden and therefore rarely uses him.

Coach Prime ran a program without fanfare, rushing to make the most of the final college years of his sons Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders and trying to make the most of the pre-NFL time left for the towering Travis Hunter.

He has 10 games. And he will probably be missing Shilo for at least some of them.

But as a test? As confirmation? Saturday was not only telling. It was screaming.

Start the portal.

Can we get a new line of attack here?

New defensive line?

New offensive coordinator, maybe?

That was last September in Eugene, without the three-week honeymoon, Oregon without all the stress. Except for the steam coming out of Coach Prime's ears on the sidelines.

“(Expletive) CU!” chanted the students from Nebraska.

“Shilo is broke!” they shouted during the warm-up.

During the hosts' second period, Shilo sat on the bench and was treated. With 5:51 minutes left in the first quarter, he was sent to the locker room with a suspected arm injury. Things didn't start much better for Shedeur.

CU got the ball first, and the difference between last fall and this one was immediately apparent. Especially in terms of location, as the younger Sanders seemed to struggle to be heard. His first play, a block to Hunter, bounced across the turf. His second, a block to LaJohntay Wester, missed. His third ended with a sack by Ty Robinson for a 9-yard loss.

On the Buffs' next possession, who had a short field thanks to a 61-yard return by Jimmy Horn Jr., they tried fourth-and-1 and the Huskers' 28. Charlie Offerdahl was stopped and lost 2 yards. Their next attempt started at the CU 2, and instead of running to make room, Shedeur dropped back on the first play and threw a pick-6 to Nebraska's Tommi Hall, extending the Big Reds' lead to 13-0 with 5:46 left in the first quarter.

“Why should we keep running the ball when we're out there in a situation where we absolutely have to get it,” the Buffs QB explained, “and we're not getting it?”

They don't get it. Maybe they never get it. Deion Sanders could outrun the football gods and challenge them to keep up. Coach Prime can't. Eventually, the emptiness catches up with you.

Originally published: September 7, 2024 at 21:34