Colorado, Nebraska Fans Ready For Rowdy Rematch In Lincoln: 'We're Gonna Kick Their Ass, Just Like Last Year'

PublishedSeptember 6, 2024 4:02 PM EDT|UpdatedSeptember 6, 2024 4:02 PM EDT

LINCOLN, Neb. — You could feel the tension in the air as I took a stroll around the Nebraska campus on Friday afternoon, while Colorado staffers unloaded the equipment truck to a chorus of boos from students walking to class.

We all know what this game means for both programs from the outside perspective, but when you walk around campus and get a feel of the environment leading up to kickoff on Saturday night, Nebraska fans are ready to instill chaos inside Lincoln Memorial Stadium.

For the past year, fans of ‘Big Red’ have been waiting for this moment, which could be the last time both teams play each other for a while, as conference realignment struck college football. After what felt like an invasion of Nebraska fans last season in Boulder, all Deion Sanders and his team did was send them back here to Lincoln with a loss, along with hurt feelings.

This season feels different, with a quarterback matchup between Shedeur Sanders and Dylan Raiola that will undoubtedly turn heads Saturday night. There's a feeling of optimism around campus, something that head coach Matt Rhule has tried to build during his short tenure in Lincoln. For the first time, in a long time, there's a belief that this football program is headed in the right direction.

Now, all of that could come crashing down if Deion Sanders struts into the stadium alongside Travis Hunter and his son Shedeur, and leaves with a win in-front of over 80,000 fans. But Nebraska fans aren't thinking about it that way, looking towards the ‘revenge’ factor in this game, knowing how it felt last season.

"I don’t think they (Colorado) understand what they're walking into tomorrow night. This isn’t Oregon or TCU, this is Nebraska," Billy from Omaha told me as he setup his RV for a 24 hour party outside the stadium. "Now that we have Dylan (Raiola) and a team that looks like they've turned a corner this off-season, It's not going to look like that game in Boulder, which I was at."

Nebraska and Colorado will face-off Saturday night in what will surely be an offensive showdown. Via: Trey Wallace

After hearing about his tailgate setup, and what he was throwing on the grill Saturday morning, I asked Billy what he thought the final score would be.

"Those boys are going to make like miserable for Deion's son. If that boy from North Dakota State can do that to their (Colorado) defense, just imagine what Dylan (Raiola) will do. I'll say 34-20, we're gonna send a message."

While the feeling of optimism is good to hear from Nebraska fans, it's clear that Colorado is heading to Lincoln in hopes of making its own statement to the college football world.

Nebraska and Colorado will face-off Saturday night in what will surely be an offensive showdown. Via: Trey Wallace

Deion Sanders, Colorado Looking To Prove Naysayers Wrong, Again

After tearing apart Nebraska last season, Colorado still has something to prove, especially with how the 2023 season ended. For all the hype around Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, the Buffaloes are going to need others to step-up on Saturday night.

For that to happen, Colorado will need to play much better on the defensive side of the ball. If they try to make this an offensive shootout, it won't turn out the way Coach Prime wants it. The fact is, these are two coaches that couldn't be any different, with Matt Rhule and Deion Sanders.

But there is a mutual respect between the two, with Deion Sanders trading jabs at Nebraska, for admiration of Matt Rhule.

"I have a ton of respect for Matt Rhule," Deion Sanders said this week. "I feel like we are a fraternity. He was a professional - maybe not the job that he aspired to do, but he has a ton of experience in his college coaching career."

The Colorado equipment truck is plastered with a photo of Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. Via: Trey Wallace

That might be the case, but you have two coaches looking to build their programs in totally opposite ways. Where Rhule has continued the high-school recruiting, with some portal additions, Sanders has gone to the transfer portal to try and win immediately.

Speaking with one Colorado fan that was walking around the stadium on Friday afternoon, he's all-in on Coach Prime, along with the way he's building a team.

"I honestly don't care how he does it, as long as we can continue to get better," Jacob, from Pueblo, Colorado told me on Friday. "You see the talent we have at certain positions, with the best damn quarterback in the country, along with Travis Hunter, who might just win the Heisman (Trophy). I'm honestly sick and tired of you guys attacking him (Deion) for how he decided to build a roster. We started off hot last season, then we ran into a depth problem. That won't be a problem this year, I'm telling ya."

When I followed up with a question on a score prediction, Jacob decided to keep it pretty simple.

"We're gonna kick their ass, just like last year. Write that."

Colorado, Nebraska Is A Hot Ticket, As I Found Out On The Street

If you were looking to attend the game on Saturday night and don’t have a ticket yet, I hope you are ready to spend a few hundred bucks. According to StubHub, tickets range from anywhere between $236 to $506, so you might want to snag a pair now, compared to waiting closer to kickoff.

Not surprisingly, this is far more expensive than tickets to the Michigan vs. Texas game on Saturday at noon. You can currently find tickets to the top-ten matchup in Ann Arbor for $167 each, according to StubHub.

Nebraska and Colorado will face-off Saturday night in what will surely be an offensive showdown. Via: Trey Wallace

As i normally do when I cover games, I tried to find someone selling tickets. I hate the fact that I'm about to get this person's hopes up, thinking that I actually need a pair, but I've got this fascination with knowing how much tickets are going for on the streets. While I kindly told the gentleman that I was not purchasing anything, he still tried to sell me two.

"Come on, man. I've got two tickets on the 30-yard line. It's $650 for the pair, right now, cash or Venmo."

Yea, I'd say this is going to be an interesting environment on Saturday night underneath the lights. And for the love of all that's good, please check with a website before paying that much on the streets, and taking the risk of them being fake.

But this is why we love the sport of college football. Somebody is going to get burned tomorrow night, whether that's outside the stadium by a scalper, or inside the stadium by Shedeur Sanders and Dylan Raiola.

Enough talking, it's time to get prepared for this hostile rematch that could turn into a steel-cage match by halftime.