Instant takes: No. 22 Colorado 36, Nebraska 14
No. 22 Colorado takes down Nebraska 36-14 in Deion Sanders’ first home game as head coach.
The Huskers fall to 0-2 as they continue to struggle with taking care of the football. They had four turnovers and quarterback Jeff Sims had a hand in all four.
Here are four instant takes from the Huskers’ loss to Colorado in Boulder, Colorado at Folsom Field:
Sims, Huskers can’t beat themselves
All week long, Nebraska stressed that they needed to limit turnovers after four against Minnesota in week one. Quarterback Jeff Sims had three interceptions in the Huskers’ 13-10 loss to the Gophers.
However, Sims fumbled a good snap on third-and-10 at the Colorado 31-yard line.
The Huskers’ defense hung in against CU’s explosive, talented offense on the first drive. They forced a 4th-and-5 situation, but linebacker Javin Wright jumped offsides to give the Buffs a first down. Two Colorado flags and one Nick Henrich sack and a QB hurry by Blaise Gunnerson later, Colorado punted on 4th-and-15.
Toward the end of the first quarter, Nebraska and Gabe Ervin Jr. had some nice runs on three straight plays. Ethan Piper had a false start that set the Huskers back to 2nd-and-12. Then Turner Corcoran was called for a holding penalty (CU declined). NU had to punt after the penalties killed their momentum.
Sims continued to struggle with turnovers and timing issues. In the middle of the second quarter, the Huskers drove down the field and had to settle for a 45-yard field goal attempt after Sims called for the snap to be launched into Luke Lindenmeyer, who was motioning across. Freshman Tristan Alvano missed the field goal as it bounced off the right upright.
The quarterback’s second turnover came when he bobbled the snap again. It looked like he wasn’t watching the ball. Colorado capitalized with a 31-yard field goal. The Husker defense kept CU to a field goal as the Buffs started at the 19-yard line.
Nebraska and Sims got the ball back down 3-0 with 4:20 left on the clock. On third down, Sims was flagged for a delay of game. On the next play, Sims threw an interception right to Silmon-Craig for his second turnover in less than two minutes.
Colorado scored on a long shot to Dawson for a 30-yard touchdown to go up 10-0. Sims came back out but the Buff’s defense shut down the Huskers to get the ball back. CU another field goal, a 31-yard attempt, to go into halftime up 13-0. They scored 13 points in the last 4:20 on the half.
Nebraska turned the ball over again as Sims and Ervin failed on a hand-off to start the fourth quarter.
Time after time, whether it was a turnover or a costly penalty, Nebraska continued to give Colorado opportunities and took away their own. Husker fans have seen this way too much in the last few seasons.
Should Jeff Sims still be QB1?
Sims had three turnovers in the half. Two were from not paying attention to the snap and the other was a terrible read to throw an interception. To start the fourth quarter, Sims didn’t deliver a good hand-off to Ervin, who fumbled the ball.
Nebraska talked all week about taking care of the football and not beating themselves. That is exactly how they beat themselves on Saturday. Sims, the leader of the team, had a hand in all four turnovers.
During halftime, Rhule told FOX’s Jenny Taft that Nebraska planned to ride with Sims but could play backup Heinrich Haarberg.
The Huskers leaned into Sims’ running abilities in the second half. He broke away for a 57-yard touchdown, Nebraska’s first of the game.
One of Sims’ greatest strengths is his ability to run physically and quickly. NU got away from it in the first half but tried to get their QB some confidence in the second half.
He finished with 67 yards on 10 rushing attempts. Sims went 9-of-15 for 106 pass yards.
With roughly 10 minutes remaining, CU DE Sav’ell Smalls landed on Sims’ left ankle while tackling him.
Haarberg did come in, but in a tough situation and down 29-7. The sophomore took off for a 10-yard rush. After two more plays, Haarberg was landed on in the pocket and his helmet came off. He had to leave the field for one play by rule. Chubba Purdy was the next man in on third-and-9.
Haarberg came back in for 4th-and-9 but got sacked before he could throw the ball.
He came back in for Sims on the next drive as well. After a forced fumble by Tamun Lynum fumble and a freshman Sua Lefotu recovery, Haarberg helped Nebraska score its second TD to make it 36-14. Fidone caught his first touchdown pass for nine yards.
Should Nebraska start panicking about its starting quarterback, his turnover tendency and the experience behind him?
Huskers get offense playmakers going in first half but need much more
Nebraska’s top receiver Billy Kemp IV didn’t have a single catch against Minnesota. All off-season, Kemp was called NU’s top WR but he didn’t get many shots in their first game.
Additionally, the Huskers’ RB1 Gabe Ervin Jr. didn’t get going until later in the game vs. Minnesota. He finished with 55 yards on seven carries.
Both Kemp and Evrin both shined and dominated in the first half on Saturday in Boulder. However, the Huskers’ entire offense took a big dip in the second half.
In Nebraska’s first drive of the game, Kemp caught a great pass for 21 yards. Sims completed a 17-yard pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher.
Kemp came up with a great catch in the second quarter. While Sims was sprinting away from a CU defender and toward the sideline, he connected with Kemp. The WR laid out for the pass, secured it with his arms underneath the ball before it hit the ground, got a knee in and rolled for the first down.
The senior had 51 receiving yards on four catches in the first half. He averaged 12.8 yards per catch in the first half.
As for Evrin, Nebraska used him to keep pounding the run game. He had 73 rushing yards on 14 attempts in the first half. That’s double his number of attempts during the entire Minnesota game.
Both Kemp and Ervin made some big plays to help the Huskers but NU needs others to step up. Part of that is the quarterback play/decisions.
Marcus Washington proved to be a game-changer in week one. He didn’t have a catch in the first quarter. Sims needs to find him more. However, the duo connected for a 13-yard gain to start the third quarter.
Tight end Thomas Fidone II is always another option with high expectations. Haarberg found him for his first catch of the season for a 9-yard gain with under four minutes left.
In the first half, only Kemp, Boerkircher and RB Rahmir Johnson had a catch. The two later had one catch. Nebraska has more skill players who can bring a lot to this offense if they get a chance.
The Huskers do have some concerns at wide receiver. However, they did not get enough chances to prove themselves and/or show what they can do. Nebraska needs to take a good hard look at its offensive issues.
Nebraska’s defensive line puts great pressure on CU
The Buffs didn’t score until 4:20 left in the first half. Due to two turnovers in two minutes by Sims, Colorado scored 13 points in that 4:20 remaining. CU’s offense finally found a grove in the second half but Nebraska’s defense still made some great plays.
CU’s offense lit up TCU with 45 points and broke the school passing yards record (510 yards for Shedeur Sanders) one week ago. Nebraska held them to 134 passing yards in the first 30 minutes and just 16 rushing yards.
The Huskers played a very aggressive game as they sacked Sanders seven times and had 11 tackles for loss.
Luke Reimer started off the second half with a big-time sack for a loss of nine to set the tone. However, with lots of pressure on him, Sanders completed a 40-yard pass to Travis Hunter. Nebraska still buckled down and Omar Brown had a great tackle on 4th-and-3 to give NU’s offense the ball on their own 38. Sims turned that into a 57-yard rushing touchdown.
True freshman Cameron Lenhardt had Sanders’ number at the top of his list. He came up with two sacks on the same drive in the second quarter. He also added three tackles and his sacks added up for a loss of nine. Nick Henrich also had two sacks.
Defensive lineman Ty Robinson had to sit out during the first half because of a second-half targeting ejection. He made an immediate impact with one tackle and one quarterback hurry on his first series back.
The pressure on Sanders during the first half kept big, explosive plays away. Dawson had a 30-yard touchdown for the biggest play of the first half. However, Sanders found Hunter for a 40-yarders and Weaver for a 41-yard touchdown. Edwards wanted some action and exploded for a 34-yard catch.
Colorado’s offense started clicking, but Nebraska’s D kept at it. They forced CU to kick a 30-yard field goal after three great plays by Newsome, Reimer and Van Poppel. The Buffs took a 23-7 lead with 5:05 left in the third.
Nebraska’s offense spent 18 times on the field in the first half. After roughly 12 minutes on defense in the first half, the Huskers’ defense was on the field for 18 of the 30 minutes of the second half. When they did get to rest, Nebraska’s offense didn’t give them much time.
CU didn’t punt after the 5:38 mark in the second quarter. That is not good enough to win a football game, but NU’s defense has shown that with balance, they are reliable enough to win.
Football is a game of three phases and the defense can’t hold everything together.
