Finally.

I mean, finally.

Nebraska has had huge pregame atmospheres in recent years. Husker fans never disappoint when it comes to creating a big-game feel inside Memorial Stadium. But Husker teams of late have just had a hell of a time trying to live up to those moments. For years, it has been build-ups for swift tear-downs. The Huskers have invented ways to lose, created ways to disappoint, and just generally made life as hard as possible for Husker fans.

But Matt Rhule’s tendency has been to win big in Year 2. Nebraska (2-0) won big in Week 2 on Saturday night.

In a rekindling of an old Big 8 rivalry, Nebraska dominated Colorado from start to finish for a 28-10 victory.

Husker fans brought the intensity all day. The atmosphere prior to kickoff was electric. And when Tommi Hill picked off CU’s Shedeur Sanders at the Colorado 7 and waltzed into the end zone to give the Huskers a 14-0 lead, Memorial Stadium exploded. NU rode that momentum all game.

Here are 3 takeaways from the evening.

Blackshirts show out

Nebraska’s defense set the tone and never let up. The Blackshirts finished with 6 sacks and 10 tackles for loss. They forced 2 turnovers. They blocked a field goal. They held Colorado to 16 rushing yards. Remove sacks from the total and Colorado still had only 57 yards on the ground.

The Buffs’ offensive line was overmatched. Nash Hutmacher and Ty Robinson made plays early. Mikai Gbayor cleaned up everything, breaking up a pass and recording a tackle for loss.

Colorado went just 4-for-14 on third down. Nebraska stuffed CU twice on fourth down. The Buffs got a consolation touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Buffs were never in the game. Nebraska’s defense made sure of that. Two drives ended on downs — both of which were of the 4-and-out variety. Three other possessions went 3-and-out. Colorado just was not able to string consecutive possessions together as the defense kept CU off balance for much of the game.

Dante Dowdell asserts himself

In the Week 1 win over UTEP, Emmett Johnson had 8 carries. Dowdell had 8 carries. Rahmir Johnson had 11 carries and Gabe Ervin Jr. had 6 carries. Nebraska shared the wealth and gave everybody a look in a blowout.

In Week 2, Dowdell dominated the backfield. Johnson still had a role as a pass-catcher, leading all Huskers with 8 catches and 49 yards. But Dowdell had 17 rushing attempts to Johnson’s 9. The ground game seems to be his going forward.

Dowdell finished with 74 yards and 2 touchdowns.

A transfer from Oregon, Dowdell had 17 carries all last season. He came to Nebraska for the opportunity to win a lead job. So far, he’s been more than productive for the Huskers, with a 5.2-yard-per-carry clip through 2 games.

Nebraska won’t be pleased with its second-half performance. The Huskers failed to score and averaged only 3.9 yards per play. They took their foot off the gas a bit. Penalties played a role as well.

But Dowdell is a positive to take from the game. He ran hard early.

Colorado’s issues are still issues

Deion Sanders completely overhauled his offensive line and brought in a new offensive line coach this offseason. Not a single starter from last year’s line is on the team, yet Colorado is still struggling to protect its offensive engine — quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Sanders had 244 yards and a touchdown, but he was constantly harassed. He was sacked 6 times. He was under pressure far too often. With no ground game to speak of, teams are waiting on the pass and teeing off on Sanders.

The transfer-heavy approach Deion has implemented in Boulder works in certain areas, but it has clearly been a massive miss on the offensive line.