Coming off an electric victory to begin the Coach Sanders era, Colorado follows that up by hosting old rival Nebraska on Saturday afternoon in Boulder. The Buffaloes just scored 45 points last week against TCU, with the coach’s kid jumping into the Heisman conversation. The Cornhuskers, on the other hand, opened the Coach Rhule era with yet another in a long line of recent tough losses. How are we playing this game with our free Neb/Col pick?

College Football Betting Odds

Months ago, the college football betting market opened this game with Nebraska favored by a touchdown. Then Colorado won that crazy game last week, and now it’s the Buffaloes who are favored by a field goal, with an over/under of right around 59.

Nebraska-Colorado College Football Betting Preview

The Cornhuskers opened the Coach Rhule era with more of the same from the last couple of seasons; a tough, close, heartbreaking 13-10 loss at Minnesota last Thursday night. Nebraska trailed the Gophers 3-0 at the half but scored the first 10 points of the second half to take the lead. The ‘Huskers later had the ball near midfield, with a chance to almost put the game away, but a lost fumble led to a Minnesota touchdown. Nebraska again drove toward midfield late, but an interception led to the Gophers’ game-winning field goal at the buzzer. However, the Cornhuskers hung on to cover the spread as seven-point dogs. Nebraska out-gained Minnesota 295-251 and held the Gophers, who usually run the ball real well, to just 55 yards on the ground. But ‘the Huskers turned the ball over four times, once on a pick in the end zone after reaching the Minnesota 1-foot line. In other words, Nebraska should have won that game. The Cornhuskers returned 15 starters this season, and we won’t be surprised if Coach Rhule turns this program around sooner rather than later. Colorado, meanwhile, is coming off its greatest victory in recent memory, a 45-42 decision at TCU last Saturday. The Buffaloes, playing as 21-point dogs against a team that made the national championship game last season, drove their first possession of the game 73 yards to a touchdown and led 17-14 at the half. Colorado went up by ten early in the second half, fell behind by four midway through the fourth quarter, but took the lead for good with four minutes left and clinched the victory with a defensive stop. The Buffaloes, quarterbacked in fine fashion by coach’s son Shedeur Sanders, racked up 565 yards of total offense. But Colorado also gave up 541 yards of Horned Frogs offense, including 262 on the ground. And that’s got to be a bit concerning. The Buffs only returned nine starters this season from a team that won one game last year, as Coach Sanders cleaned house and brought in a bunch of transfers. Was last week a fluke? Or the start of something good?

Nebraska-Colorado History

These former conference rivals met every year from 1948-2010 but have met only twice since Nebraska bolted for the Big 10. Most recently, four seasons ago, also in Boulder, the Buffaloes beat the ‘Huskers 34-31 in overtime.

College Football Betting Trends

The Big 10 is 7-3 SU, 6-4 ATS vs. the PAC-12 over the last two seasons.

Totals Report

Colorado’s game against TCU last week played over a total of 63 early in the fourth quarter. Nebraska’s game against Minnesota last week never came close to approaching its total of 43.