Last year’s drama between Shedeur Sanders and Matt Rhule is something to keep an eye on this weekend.
Last year, Nebraska football had a pregame meeting at Colorado’s midfield logo, which Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders found disrespectful. On Monday, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule addressed the incident, expressing no hard feelings toward Sanders.
“I’ve got love in my heart and a lot of respect for what they’re doing,” Rhule said, according to a post from Sam McKewon. “…At the end of the day, if Shedeur thought I disrespected his father, he’s standing up for him. Good for him. My son would stand up for me.”
After last year’s game, both Rhule and Sanders commented on the situation. Rhule explained that the midfield meeting was for a prayer and that Sanders was invited to join. However, Sanders saw it differently, feeling that Nebraska was disrespecting his team.
“It was extremely personal,” Sanders said. “We go out there to warm up, and you’ve got the head coach of the other team standing in the middle of the Buff. It’s one thing if a couple players do it—no big deal, just taking in the scenery. But when the whole team tries to disrespect it, I’m not going for that at all. So I went in there and disrupted it to make sure they knew, like, nah, the Buffaloes mean a lot to me. That’s what I said in pregame, and that’s when I knew it was extreme disrespect. The coach said a lot about my pops, about the program, but now he wants to act nice? I don’t respect that because you don’t hate on another man like that. So, all the respect for them and their program was gone. I like playing against their DC, I like playing against them, but the respect level isn’t there because they disrespected us first.”
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The tension from last season is definitely something to watch as Colorado football travels to face Nebraska this weekend. With the game set to take place under the lights, the atmosphere will be intense, and emotions will be running high. It’s a crucial matchup for both teams, and it promises to be a lot of fun with both sides eager for a victory.
Both the Cornhuskers and the Buffaloes secured wins in Week 1, improving to 1-0, and they’ll be looking to keep their perfect records intact.
The game kicks off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln and will be broadcast on NBC. Nebraska is currently favored by seven points.