Colorado Buffaloes vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Pick

Colorado Buffaloes (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)
College Football Week 2
Date/Time: Saturday, September 8th 2018 –12:00 PM ET
Where: Memorial Stadium – Lincoln, Nebraska
TV: ABC

By: Keith Franks, NCAA Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Spread: Colorado +5 / Nebraska -5
Total: 62.5

The Colorado Buffaloes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers are two teams that love to hate each other. Dating back to 1898, these two bitter foes had a tradition of acrimony that spoiled many Thanksgivings because they had to do battle the day after they had their turkey and stuffing. However, due to conference realignment this annual feud evaporated and had not been played since 2010. Now, Colorado and Nebraska will scrap once again. The festivities will take place on Saturday, September 8th, 2018 with a kick-off time of 3:30 PM ET. It’s a national TV game on ABC. Though the two have not played in eight years, Nebraska has won five of the last six meetings.

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A central storyline surrounding the Nebraska Cornhuskers program was the hiring of alumni Scott Frost as Head Coach at the conclusion of the 2017-18 season. Frost is also the genius behind one of the greatest turnarounds in perhaps sports history. In just two years, Frost took a UCF team that could not win A GAME and transformed them into an outfit that could not LOSE A GAME. Central Florida finished 14-0 in the 2017-18 season, capped off with an American Athletic Conference Championship and a victory in the Peach Bowl against Auburn. Nebraska football is eager because many believe that Frost’s coaching prowess can revive this maligned college football blue blood.

The Huskers were supposed to kick off the Scott Frost era with what should have been an easy win and tune-up game against Akron. However, the weather had other ideas and would not permit the game to take place. The Akron game was postponed until Nebraska’s bye week in late October and now the renewal of this grudge will serve as the coronation of the Scott Frost era.

The Buffaloes step into this game off a win against another team they are not too fond of, the Colorado State Rams. In the annual Rocky Mountain Showdown in Denver, the Buffaloes ran up, over, and around their cross-state counterparts. CU accounted for 253 rushing yards in route to a 45-13 crushing of Colorado State. In total, the Buffs accrued an impressive 596 yards of total offense.

The Buffaloes have several offensive weapons at their disposal, most notably quarterback Steven Montez and freight train running back Trayvon McMillan. Montez threw for 338 yards and four touchdowns against the Rams and did so completing a remarkable 88% of his passes. McMillan found pay-dirt himself and ran for 103 yards on just 10 carries. Against an atypical Cornhuskers defense that averaged 36.4 points per game and 436 yards of total defense per game, many believe that this dynamic duo can find a lot of success here as well.

It takes more than one game to change the culture of a program. However, starting off with a win is usually a good way to start. Had Nebraska opened against Akron, they would have had more opportunities to test out and install some new plays, try out different personnel packages, and establish continuity on both sides of the ball. After all, the competitive quality is inferior to facing a Power Five opponent that will be coming to town with its fist curled up.

There is no reason to doubt that Scott Frost will not get Nebraska football back to a point where it can at least compete within the B1G for both divisional and conference accolades. Perhaps, Frost will be able to empower this bunch to re-emerge on the national stage taking a page out of his former school UCF’s book. However, we have not seen how Nebraska football responds to the regime change. Colorado on the other hand, they are under the guidance of a seasoned leader in Mike MacIntyre who has taken the Buffs all the way to a PAC 12 Championship Game appearance. The Buffalos took a step backward in 2017 after a stellar 2016 but a win against another big rival can continue to keep Colorado football back on track. If CU replicates how it played last week against Colorado State there is no reason why they cannot pull the upset outright.

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