Deion Sanders, CU Buffs lose heavily to Nebraska

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

A Maybach can’t block. A void contract won’t shake an angry defender. You can’t microwave what needs to be cooked slowly.

The Buffs were built for this moment. A foundation made of glitter, sand and promises, broken like so many hearts.

Nebraska punched CU in the face. By the time the Buffs got up off the mat, the bell had rung and the judges had gone home.

Huskers 28, CU 10. What good is a top-10 quarterback pick if he spends half of Saturday running for his life? What good is a generational talent at receiver if no one has time to find him safely?

You can’t destroy what needs to be buttered and watered. And if the Buffs stall like this on the road, their season could be over.

The transfer portal is a finisher, a filler. Not a foundation. Successful football programs have stayed there the old-fashioned way, growing and nurturing a unit together.

Nebraska ran for 149 yards on 35 carries, building a 28-0 halftime lead and staggering the rest of the way. Three-fifths of the Huskers’ offensive line in Week 1 made at least seven starts as a line last fall for the Big Red.

Last Thursday, conversely, was the first time CU’s rebuilt offensive line started together as a unit. Statistically, it was a mixed start. While Shedeur Sanders threw often under duress, he was sacked just once. The Buffs chewed up the clock in the third quarter, running the ball for just 59 net yards on 23 attempts against an FCS opponent. That’s despite allowing just 117 rushing yards and 3.9 yards per carry to opponents a year ago.

Sanders was sacked five times on Saturday.

Oregon postgame: You better have us now.

Nebraska: Keep our beer.

With all due respect to Utah, the Wisconsin of the West, the Cornhuskers fielded arguably the best defense and most physical offensive and defensive lines CU will see down the stretch.

Much of what Coach Prime promised still holds true. Technically. But not for the College Football Playoff. Not this fall. Not for a team that has more halftime penalties (seven) than first downs (six).

Not for a team that features a former Ohio State guard in Dallan Hayden and uses him so rarely.

Deion Sanders led a program without a divide, rushing to maximize the final college years of his sons Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders, trying to milk the pre-NFL time left for the superlative Travis Hunter.

He has 10 games left. And he could miss Shiloh for at least some of them.

As a test, as an affirmation, Saturday was not just a story, it was a scream.

Turn on the gate.

Can we have a new offensive line here?

New defensive line?

A new offensive coordinator, perhaps?

It was Eugene without the three-week honeymoon, Oregon without the fumes. Except for the steam coming out of Deion Sanders’ ears on the sideline.

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

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

During the hosts’ second series, Shilo was on the bench, receiving treatment. With 5:51 left in the first quarter, he was seen heading to the locker room.

Sanders Sr. said at halftime that his son may have broken his forearm. Things didn’t start much better for Shedeur.

The Huskers won the national championship in 1994. The Buffs won the championship with Terrell Owens. Derrick White was in the house because Derrick White is everywhere.

CU got the ball first, and the contrast between last September and this time was immediately apparent. Especially in terms of location, as the younger Sanders seemed to struggle to get his name heard. His first play, a screen to Hunter, skipped across the field. His second, a screen to LaJohntay Wester, was off target. His third ended with a sack of Ty Robinson for a loss of 9 yards.

Deion Sanders could outrun the football gods and challenge them to keep up. Coach Prime can’t. At some point, all that emptiness catches up with you.

Originally published: September 7, 2024 at 9:34 p.m.