Colorado vs Nebraska Picks and Prediction – 9/7/2024

On September 7th, Dion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes will head to Memorial Stadium to take on Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Get our free College Football Picks all season long!

For years now Colorado has had trouble recruiting top talent resulting in a weak foundation and poor results, as they have had to rely on the transfer portal to fill most of their starters. Last year the offensive line was the second-worst in the nation in sacks allowed and opposing top defenses had a field day in getting to Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes still have talent however at the wide receiver position with Travis Hunter leading the way but are thin at running back. The Colorado defense was the fourth-worst in America allowing 453 yards per game, was 124th in scoring D allowing 34.8 points an outing, and the interceptions dried up - six of the last seven games were without one - and overall the pass D allowed passers to hit 65% of their throws with 28 scores, and it’ll take several new parts to make it better. The Buffaloes gave up 449 total yards of offense in their win against North Dakota State last week.

As for Nebraska they come into this matchup after beating UTEP 40-7. The offense is led by Dylan Raiola, he’s a power-thrower with NFL skills, and the coaching staff got him instant help. Receivers Jahmal Banks (Wake Forest) and Isaiah Neyor (Texas) combined for 25 touchdowns over the last two years - Neyor’s 12 came at Wyoming two years ago; he was hurt last season. TE Thomas Fidone was second on the team with 25 catches and led the way with four scores. On defense, Nebraska returns 11 players from last years team. The pass rush was good, there were plenty of plays behind the line, and the run D was among the best in the nation. The Cornhuskers will be a all around solid defense that will give Colorado a tough game for sure. 

Nebraska is the better team here and should do enough to get the win. Colorado will struggle with the Cornhuskers pass rush and will limit the damage by the Buffaloes skilled position players. Look for Nebraska to do the work on both sides of the ball to get the win and cover the spread. Final Score Prediction, Nebraska Cornhuskers win and cover ATS 31-14.