Like all Nebraska football fans, I woke up with a big smile on my face this morning. Like all Husker fans, I spent most of Saturday night engaging in some very cathartic yelling and screaming, pounding the table, running around in celebratory circles are beating Colorado 28-10.
But this morning, I feel as though it’s time to deliver a word of warning. The Nebraska Cornhuskers appear to be on their way back, but they are not back yet. One win over Colorado is a big step forward, but it is not the step.
Anyone who reads me remotely regularly knows that I have no love lost for Colorado. I don’t really like anything about Deion Sanders operation. As I said on Twitter this morning, I think one of the reasons I don’t like it is because it reminds me of the Scott Frost era of Nebraska football.
Legitimately, Deion reminds me a lot of Scott Frost. He’s unwilling to admit when his approach doesn’t work. He doesn’t hire the best assistants. He takes a very optimistic viewpoint of the worst things happening to him.
— Oliver VanDervoort (@itmeolliev) September 8, 2024
He always seems shocked when his team loses.
Too much of… https://t.co/jZg8Zfd9Hd
Except it’s more than that. There’s a ridiculous amount of hype around a Colorado team that hasn’t done anything under Deion Sanders. One of the things that put me on the Coach Prime negativity train was the hype that exploded after the Buffs’ 3-0 start to his first season.
I got into some heated arguments with a close friend of mine trying to explain that no, Deion Sanders hasn’t proven anything by beating a TCU team I thought was overrated (they finished 5-7 in 2023), a Nebraska team in its second game under a new head coach (that also finished 5-7) and a Colorado State team that finished (yep, you guessed it) 5-7.
Nebraska football takes big step, but nothing is proven yet
I’d be a hypocrite, having been that annoyed by the Colorado hype after a 3-0 start last year, if I wasn’t urging caution following a 2-0 start for the Huskers thanks to a win over a UTEP team that finished 3-9 last year, and a CU team that finished 4-8 last year.
It’s not just me saying it either. One of the reasons I think Matt Rhule is the right man for the job is because he also knows that wasn’t a perfect game, nor is Colorado good enough that you can declare the program “back” just yet.
The Huskers are on the rise. That much is clear. One fun sign of that? Since the disastrous 0-2 start to Rhule’s NU career, the team is 7-5. Since Colorado’s 3-0 start to 2023, Deion Sanders is 2-9 in Boulder.
The bottom line is this. Be happy ecstatic even. Nebraska football is 2-0 for the first since 2016. It’s absolutely insane to write that. NU took steps toward “back” but the journey isn’t over.