Colorado Buffaloes vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers Rivalry Game Should Be Annual, Argues Football Analyst

“This is the rivalry that I grew up on," Klatt said on his YouTube show. "This is the rivalry that made me personally fall in love with college football. We should have Colorado-Nebraska every single year. There were so many years, if you look from the middle of the 80s until about 2005, this matchup likely either decided the Big 8 champion or the Big 12 North Division champion.”

The contest was ranked No. 2 behind "Bedlam" between the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys and ahead of the Florida Gators vs. the Miami Hurricanes, the Kansas Jayhawks vs. the Missouri Tigers and the USC Trojans against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

These non-conference clashes have historical context, though Colorado and Nebraska collided every year beginning in 1948 as conference foes. The programs were mostly tame with each other until legendary late coach Bill McCartney publicly denounced the then-powerhouse Huskers as rivals in the 1980s.

Early on, the Buffs struggled to topple the juggernaut Cornhuskers. That was until 1986, when Colorado began to ascend as a school. After both teams won from the Big 8 to the Big 12, the game was traditionally held on the afternoon of Black Friday and nationally televised on ABC, peaking in intensity from 1988 to 1995.

In 1990, it reached its boiling point. The Huskers are why the Buffs share their lone national championship win with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Nebraska coach Tom Osborne did not vote Colorado No. 1 in the coaches' poll despite the Buffs beating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in that season's Orange Bowl. That year, the Buffaloes defeated the Huskers, 27-12.

Nebraska began to dominate the contest in the mid-90s en route to national titles in 1994, 1995 and 1997.

However, the tables turned again as both programs changed conferences. Nebraska realigned to the Big Ten and faded into obscurity, while Colorado ventured to the Pac-10 (later Pac-12) and dipped into mediocrity. The Buffs and Huskers did not meet from 2010 until 2018.

While the schools sparingly faced each other and saw their once-strong national standings dwindle, the bad blood never simmered.

Both programs are back on the rise, as coaches Deion Sanders and Matt Rhule have hosted higher expectations. Since Sanders was brought to Boulder, the Buffs have been on both sides of the rivalry's eternal coin.

In 2023, a storyline-fueled affair began with the birth of quarterback Shedeur Sanders' signature watch-flashing celebration amid a confrontation with Husker players and ended with thousands of Colorado fans storming Folsom Field after a 36-14 victory.

Last season, roles were reversed at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln when Nebraska punched an amped-up Buffs unit and never looked back en route to a 28-10 win.

The Buffaloes and Cornhuskers may not meet again for several years, as both sides' acquisition of extra home games mucks the nonconference schedule waters. No matter when they play, it will only continue to add to the unfiltered rivalry's storied history.