Colorado rivalry with Nebraska used to be behind just one in sport in nastiness

Once upon a time, the Colorado football program’s rivalry with Nebraska was behind just Ohio State and Michigan according to The AP’s Eric Olson and Pat Graham — who believe that CU filled the void for the Cornhuskers that was induced by Oklahoma’s futility.

“When the CU-NU series was at its height, it was possibly the most nasty and hateful rivalry this side of Ohio State-Michigan,” Olson and Graham prefaced before saying, “It also coincided with a down cycle at Oklahoma, the Huskers’ traditional rival. Colorado filled the void.

“The Buffs were just 7-17-1 against the Huskers from 1986-2010, but their wins were devastating and a lot of the games were close. They were both ranked in all eight meetings from 1989-96, including six games when each was in the top 10. Colorado shared the national title in 1990, and the Huskers won three from 1994-97.”

2001 Colorado football win over Nebraska ‘signaled beginning of’ Huskers’ decline

Nebraska was once one of the proudest programs in the country on the gridiron, but the brand has suffered since the end of the Bo Pelini era; which was slightly later than what the AP’s Olson and Graham wrote.

“(Colorado and Nebraska) were the top two teams in the Big Eight the last seven years of the conference, and they were 1-2 in the Big 12 North in 1996 and 2001,” they prefaced before saying, “The Buffs’ 62-36 victory in ’01 signaled the beginning of a Nebraska decline from which it has yet to recover.”

Nebraska has not been relevant on a national scale since the 2016 season, which coincidentally when CU was also in the midst of its only successful season in the last decade outside of the COVID-19-stricken 2020 season. The Scott Frost for Big Red years were certainly comparable to the Karl Dorrell/Mel Tucker years for the Buffs, and Mike Riley and Mike MacIntyre were similarly one-campaign wonders.

These two teams have had a similar history of late, and with two new high-profile head coaches like Deion Sanders and Matt Rhule in Boulder and Lincoln, respectively, it’s only fitting they meet again for just the second time in five seasons; and the first of many in the coming years.