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Colorado Buffaloes - Nebraska Cornhuskers
History
First Meeting	November 17, 1898
Last Meeting	November 27, 2009
Next Meeting	November 26 or 27, 2010
Number of Meetings	68
All-Time Series	Nebraska: 48–18–2
Largest victory	Nebraska: 59 (59-0 in 1981)
Current Streak	Nebraska: Won 2
Longest Colorado Win Streak	3 (1956-1958)
Longest Nebraska Win Streak	18 (1968-1985)
At Boulder	Nebraska leads 23-10-2
At Lincoln	Nebraska leads 25-8-0

The Colorado–Nebraska Rivalry is a relatively recent rivalry that developed during the 1980s and was somewhat consolidated with the formation of the Big 12 conference, a development that placed the two schools in the same division and ended Nebraska's annual matchup with Oklahoma.^[1][2] The intensity of this rivalry is often disputed; while Colorado generally views Nebraska as its biggest rival, the feeling is not necessarily mutual as Nebraskans still generally view Oklahoma (and more recently, Texas) as main rivals even though they do not play every season.

When Bill McCartney was hired by Colorado in 1982, he almost immediately designated Nebraska as Colorado's primary rival, in an attempt to motivate his team.^[3] Nebraska at that time was a perennial powerhouse program and had defeated Colorado fourteen times in a row, and McCartney wanted to use the eventual defeat of Nebraska as a measure of Colorado's success. Four years later, in 1986, Colorado got their first win since McCartney had arrived.^[4], a stunning 20-10 upset of #3 Nebraska.

Colorado began to repeatedly threaten Nebraska in the late 1980's, following their 1986 upset win, and then surpassed the Huskers for the Big 8 Championship in 1989. Colorado traveled to Nebraska's Memorial Stadium to again play for the Big 8 Championship in 1990, and the Buffaloes won 27–12 en route to their first National Championship.

The 19-19 tie in the 1991 matchup was the last tie recorded in the Big 8 conference and the last by both schools. To date they have played one contest decided in overtime, a 33-30 Nebraska victory in 1999.

Historically the series is mostly one-sided, with the Huskers having won nearly three out of every four matchups. However, the last two decades have been very competitive with many matchups decided by a touchdown or less. Between 1996 and 2000, Nebraska won all five meetings by just a combined 15 points.

In 2001 Nebraska came to Colorado's Folsom Field undefeated and left at the short end of a nationally televised 62–36 loss.

Series History

^[5] Colorado victories are shaded ██ gold. Nebraska victories are shaded in ██ red.

References