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The Nebraska Cornhuskers welcome an old foe into Memorial Stadium on Saturday when the Colorado Buffaloes visit.
Colorado always saw Nebraska as its single biggest rival in the 1980s to the 2000s, more than even Oklahoma and more than in-state rival Colorado State. Former Buffs coach Bill McCartney certainly circled the Cornhuskers game on his team’s calendar after he took the job in 1982.
Nebraska never felt the same way back then, always concentrating more on Oklahoma. That lack of a mutual feeling can make the other team’s diehards even madder — right, Michigan State fans? — and so it was with Colorado.
There’s an argument to be made that Nebraska-Colorado is too one-sided to be a true rivalry. After all, the Cornhuskers lead the all-time series 49-18-2.
But there are still some long memories in both camps. McCartney finally beat Nebraska in 1986, breaking the Buffs’ 18-game losing streak against the Cornhuskers, and the rivalry reached its apex for the next few years.
“The number one memory was probably (Ndamukong) Suh’s pick-six against Colorado and then (Alex) Henery’s game-winning field goal (in 2008),” Cornhuskers senior defensive lineman Mick Stoltenberg, a native of Gretna, Neb., said on Monday. “Those are some cool moments I remember from the Colorado rivalry.”
So, with Saturday’s impending reunion in mind, here are Nebraska’s 5 most memorable clashes against Colorado:
1971: This was the first time that Nebraska and Colorado both were ranked in the AP top 10 when they met. The No. 1 Cornhuskers beat the No. 9 Buffaloes 31-7 … and everyone in Nebraska only needs to remember one game from 1971 anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNVq0CXTwN0
The Big Eight swept the top three spots in the final AP poll, with Nebraska grabbing the national title followed by No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Colorado.
1989: This was the first time the teams met when both were ranked in the AP top 5. The No. 2 Buffaloes took the lead for good on a field goal late in the second quarter and hung on to improve to 9-0. No. 3 Nebraska’s last-ditch attempt, a heave into the end zone on the final play, was batted away.
1990: The rematch of the 1989 thriller took place in Lincoln. This time, Colorado was ranked No. 9 and Nebraska was third. Colorado running back Eric Bieniemy lost three of his five fumbles in the game but the Buffs kept handing it to him and he responded with four touchdowns, all in the fourth quarter. The Buffaloes erased a 12-0 deficit to win 27-12 on their way to a split national championship.
1994: This time Nebraska was the team on its way to a national title. Just like 1989, Colorado entered the game ranked No. 2 in the country and Nebraska was No. 3. The Cornhuskers racked up four quarterback sacks and three different players scored touchdowns for Nebraska, which won 24-7 in Lincoln.
2001: Sorry, Nebraska fans. You had to know this one was coming. The Cornhuskers came into this game ranked No.2 and just needed to beat an 8-2 Colorado team to reach the Big 12 title game. But the Buffs ran up the score on the Cornhuskers, winning 62-36 to clinch the Big 12 North Division. Nebraska still made the national title game, sparking another round of BCS-related controversy.
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a writer and editor for saturdaytradition.com and saturdaydownsouth.com.