Nebraska and Colorado. Huskers and Buffaloes. Hate week is back.

The Huskers will once again make the trip to Boulder, Colorado, this weekend to take on one of the hottest teams in football. The Buffs, now ranked 22nd nationally, upset TCU on the road in Week 1 after entering the game as a 20-point underdog.

Now, Colorado will play its first game at home under head coach Deion Sanders.

Nebraska is still looking for its first win under first-year coach Matt Rhule.

Things should be hot. 

The Colorado roster this offseason saw a huge amount of turnover. More than 80 new players joined the program. More than 50 of them were transfers. But Sanders said on Tuesday that he is making sure his guys know this game means more to the respective fanbases.

“I’ve learned the severity, the serious nature of this rivalry and I’m embracing it 100%,” Sanders said. “This is personal. That’s the message of the week.”

Of course, the nature of the rivalry didn’t stop Sanders from paying NU some respect.

Sanders said Nebraska is well-coached and physical. He said he admires NU coach Matt Rhule and he expects a dogfight at Folsom Field. He also remembers the Huskers from when he was a player.

“They were unbelievable,” he said.

Sanders considers former Nebraska All-American Broderick Thomas one of his dearest friends. During a bye week when he was in college, Sanders said he made his way to Lincoln to see Thomas play.

“I saw the crowd and the way they responded. It was unbelievable,” Sanders said. He also remembered playing in Lincoln as a freshman in 1985, when the Seminoles visited the Huskers for a September game. “It was a tremendous sight to see how they love football in Lincoln.”

But there will be no love during the week.

“Don’t wear red in the facility, and I’ve gotta take the red shirt off my website for my clothes this week. I’ve gotta make that call when I get in the locker room,” quarterback Shedeur Sanders said with a smile. “We just know the history of it. Colorado, we don’t like Nebraska. Simple. That’s just what it is.

“That’s not really gonna change the preparation or anything like that because we prepare like nobody likes us because we know we’re going to get everybody’s best game.”

The Buffs have won two straight against the Huskers, both of which came during a home-and-home series under Scott Frost in 2018 and 2019. Before that, Nebraska had won 15 of its last 19 games against CU.

Kickoff is at noon ET on Saturday, and it can’t come soon enough.