Colorado Vs Nebraska Rivalry
The Colorado Buffaloes and Nebraska Cornhuskers play each other in the Colorado-Nebraska football series in college football in the United States. The first matchup took place in 1898, but the 1980s saw a spike in tension as Colorado under head coach Bill McCartney progressed. With the establishment of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, which put the two universities in the same six-team division and put an end to Nebraska’s yearly matchup with Oklahoma, it was somewhat consolidated.
After the Big 12 was established, the game was always played on the Friday after Thanksgiving and was shown nationally on ABC. This time slot was frequently used for the Nebraska-Oklahoma game in the Big 8. (Oklahoma currently competes against Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Series at the conclusion of the regular season.)
Series History of Colorado Vs Nebraska.
From 1898 to 1907, Colorado and Nebraska played six meetings before joining the Big Seven Conference in 1948. Colorado won the series 9-4-1 from 1948-61, and after a 7-0 victory in Lincoln in 1961, they gained their only series lead (10-9-1). Nebraska, led by Bob Devaney in 1962, returned to national power in the mid-1960s, winning national titles in 1970 and 1971. Nebraska’s first five games against Colorado were 10-1, followed by Tom Osborne’s 13 wins and a record of 40-8-1 from 1962-2010.
In 1982, Colorado hired Bill McCartney as their primary rival, aiming to motivate his team. Nebraska and its fans initially denied the rivalry, but later debated its status. McCartney used the eventual defeat of Nebraska as a measure of Colorado’s success. In 1986, Colorado won their first win over Nebraska since 1967, upsetting No. 3 Nebraska 20-10. In the late ’80s, Colorado repeatedly threatened Nebraska, winning their first Big 8 Championship since 1976. In 1990, Colorado played No. 3 Nebraska for the Big 8 title again, winning 27-12. In the 1992 game, Colorado defeated Nebraska 27-12, securing their first national title. McCartney’s record against Nebraska was 3-9-1, with Rick Neuheisel 0-4, Gary Barnett 3-4, and Dan Hawkins 1-4.
The series has always been largely one-sided, with Nebraska winning around three out of every four games. The last two decades, however, had seen intense competition, with many games coming down to a touchdown or less. In five of the games between the two teams from 1988 through 1996, both teams were ranked coming into the contest (Nebraska’s last ranking was a 19-19 tie in 1991). Colorado and Nebraska played each other when they were ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in 1989 and 1994, and they tied both times. Nebraska won all five games from 1996 to 2000 by a cumulative total of 15 points (17–12, 27–24, 16–14, 33–30, 34–32). the only occasion in the series that overtime has been used to determine a game was in 1999
In 2001, Nebraska went undefeated in Boulder, while Colorado won the Big 12 North championship with a 62-36 win over Nebraska. Nebraska eventually reached the BCS title game, but Colorado was only a point behind in the BCS poll. The decade saw Colorado winning 3 of 4 games and Nebraska taking 5 of 6, starting with Bill McCartney’s first game in 1982. Nebraska went 21–8–1 against Colorado from 1982 to 2018, showcasing their strong defensive skills.
The NCAA conference realignment in 2010-2014 disrupted the Big 12 series between Colorado and Nebraska. Both teams left the Big 12 before the 2011 season, joining the Pac-12 Conference and Nebraska in the Big Ten Conference. The series was renewed in 2013 and played its next game on September 7th, 2019 at Folsom Field in Boulder. Both teams now face division and border rivals in opposite directions.
Biso Head Trophy.
A mounted buffalo skull known as Mr. Chip was traded between the Heart and Dagger Society of Colorado and Nebraska’s Innocents Society between 1951 and 1961. Similar to the Victory Bell trade between the Innocents Society and the QEBH Society of Missouri, this took place. Colorado was unable to surrender the trophy for exchange after Nebraska won in 1962 because they had misplaced it after winning in 1961.
Game Results.
No. Date Location Winner Score
1 November 17, 1898 Boulder Nebraska 23–10
2 October 4, 1902 Boulder Nebraska 10–0
3 October 24, 1903 Lincoln Nebraska 31–0
4 October 8, 1904 Boulder Colorado 6–0
5 November 11, 1905 Lincoln Nebraska 18–0
6 October 26, 1907 Lincoln Nebraska 22–8
7 October 9, 1948 Boulder Colorado 16–9
8 November 19, 1949 Lincoln Nebraska 25–14
9 October 14, 1950 Boulder Colorado 28–1
10 November 17, 1951 Lincoln Colorado 36–14
11 October 25, 1952 Boulder Tie 16–16
12 November 14, 1953 Lincoln Colorado 14–10
13 October 23, 1954 Boulder Nebraska 20–6
14 November 12, 1955 Lincoln Nebraska 37–20
15 October 27, 1956 Boulder Colorado 16–0
16 November 16, 1957 Lincoln Colorado 27–0
17 October 25, 1958 Boulder No. 12 Colorado 27–16
18 November 14, 1959 Lincoln Nebraska 14–12
19 October 22, 1960 Boulder Colorado 19–6
20 November 18, 1961 Lincoln No. 8 Colorado 7–0
21 October 27, 1962 Boulder Nebraska 31–6
22 October 26, 1963 Lincoln Nebraska 41–6
23 October 24, 1964 Boulder No. 5 Nebraska 21–3
24 October 23, 1965 Lincoln No. 3 Nebraska 38–13
25 October 22, 1966 Boulder No. 7 Nebraska 21–19
26 October 21, 1967 Lincoln No. 4 Colorado 21–16
27 November 16, 1968 Boulder Nebraska 22–6
28 November 1, 1969 Lincoln Nebraska 20–7
29 October 31, 1970 Boulder No. 4 Nebraska 29–13
30 October 30, 1971 Lincoln No. 1 Nebraska 31–7
31 November 4, 1972 Boulder No. 3 Nebraska 33–10
32 October 3, 1973 Lincoln No. 13 Nebraska 28–16
33 November 2, 1974 Boulder No. 9 Nebraska 31–15
34 October 25, 1975 Lincoln No. 4 Nebraska 63–21
35 October 9, 1976 Boulder No. 6 Nebraska 24–12
36 October 22, 1977 Lincoln No. 18 Nebraska 33–1
37 October 21, 1978 Boulder No. 5 Nebraska 52–14
38 October 27, 1979 Lincoln No. 2 Nebraska 38–10
39 October 25, 1980 Boulder No. 9 Nebraska 45–7
40 October 10, 1981 Lincoln Nebraska 59–0
41 October 9, 1982 Boulder No. 7 Nebraska 40–14
42 October 22, 1983 Lincoln No. 1 Nebraska 69–19
43 October 20, 1984 Boulder No. 5 Nebraska 24–7
44 October 26, 1985 Lincoln No. 5 Nebraska 17–7
45 October 25, 1986 Boulder Colorado 20–10
46 November 28, 1987 Boulder No. 5 Nebraska 24–7
47 November 12, 1988 Lincoln No. 7 Nebraska 7–0
48 November 4, 1989 Boulder No. 3 Colorado 27–21
49 November 3, 1990 Lincoln No. 9 Colorado 27–12
50 November 2, 1991 Boulder Tie 19–19
51 October 31, 1992 Lincoln No. 8 Nebraska 52–7
52 October 30, 1993 Boulder No. 6 Nebraska 21–17
53 October 29, 1994 Lincoln No. 2 Nebraska 24–7
54 October 28, 1995 Boulder No. 2 Nebraska 44–21
55 November 29, 1996 Lincoln No. 4 Nebraska 17–12
56 November 28, 1997 Boulder No. 2 Nebraska 27–24
57 November 27, 1998 Lincoln No. 14 Nebraska 16–14
58 November 26, 1999 Boulder No. 3 Nebraska 33–30OT
59 November 24, 2000 Lincoln No. 10 Nebraska 34–32
60 November 23, 2001 Boulder No. 14 Colorado 62–36
61 November 29, 2002 Lincoln No. 13 Colorado 28–13
62 November 28, 2003 Boulder No. 25 Nebraska 31–22
63 November 26, 2004 Lincoln Colorado 26–20
64 November 25, 2005 Boulder Nebraska 30–3
65 November 24, 2006 Lincoln No. 23 Nebraska 37–14
66 November 23, 2007 Boulder Colorado 65–51
67 November 28, 2008 Lincoln Nebraska 40–31
68 November 27, 2009 Boulder Nebraska 28–20
69 November 26, 2010 Lincoln No. 16 Nebraska 45–17
70 September 8, 2018 Lincoln Colorado 33–28
71 September 7, 2019 Boulder
Series: Nebraska leads 49–19–2
Where the Colorado vs. Nebraska rivalry stands today?
Colorado and Nebraska have maintained resentment, with Saturday’s game declared a sellout in July. Deion Sanders, the son of Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders, has expressed his passion for the rivalry, stating that Colorado doesn’t like Nebraska and plans to remove red items from his online store. Deion Sanders, just nine months into his stay at Colorado, is embracing the serious nature of the rivalry.
