(Above: Nebraska offensive lineman Matt Slauson)


Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh distinctly remembers it as one of the low points of his career, sitting in a locker room in the middle of the Flatirons, realizing he and his Nebraska teammates wouldn’t be heading to a bowl game after the 2007 regular season.



“And it was dealt to us at the hands of Colorado,” the junior said. “That’s probably the worst.”



Oh, yes, some of these NU players are recalling the CU rivalry this week. No, Nebraska coach Bo Pelini isn’t busting out a buffalo head and parading it around. There will not be any screenings of “Dances With Wolves.” And Colorado has toned its approach to the game, too. No more “red letter” game on the schedule.



But hard Husker feelings over last year’s 65-51 Buffalo victory that sent Colorado to the Independence Bowl and Nebraska to its collective dorm room? You bet. Just hard feelings in general. It’s another year of NU-CU.



“There’s a little bad blood between us,” Suh said. “There always has been and probably always will be. It’s always a team we want to beat.”



Especially for senior offensive guard Matt Slauson, who has an “extreme distaste” for the Buffaloes that goes back to when Slauson, a Colorado native, was recruited by then-coach Gary Barnett, who told Slauson’s high school coach CU would only offer a scholarship if every other lineman prospect decommitted.



When Colorado learned Slauson was considering Nebraska, he said CU “disrespected” the Huskers.



“Being recruited there a little bit, they recruit guys for one reason only,” Slauson said, “and that's to beat Nebraska. So if you take that away from them, they have nothing.”



Slauson went further, calling CU “irrelevant” in the Big 12 when compared to Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska.



He then admitted it was “bulletin board material.”



Since 2001, Colorado has played in four Big 12 Championship games. Nebraska has played in one.



A CU team seeking its sixth win and a bowl berth provides a little extra motivation for quarterback Joe Ganz, who called Friday’s contest “a redemption game.” At 7-4, Nebraska has already qualified and is looking toward a spot in the Jan. 1 Gator Bowl.



“The one thing in our mind is ‘see how they’ll like it,’ sitting at home watching everybody else play like we did last year,” Ganz said. “We have to come out and play our best football because we want to do everything we can to keep them out of a bowl like they did to us last year.”



Said Suh: “It’s a tremendous opportunity. We’d love to do it.”



Told of Ganz’s comments, Pelini said “I wish Joe would just worry about Joe.”



“Everybody’s going to be motivated by during things,” Pelini said. “Different things make people tick…I don’t worry about all that. You can want something as much as you want. Your deeds and how you go about things better equate to accomplishing that goal. Ultimately, that game’s going to be decided between the lines.”



One notable dissenter among Husker players seemed to be senior defensive end Zach Potter.



“No, I don’t think so,” Potter said when asked if Friday was a “redemption” game. “We’re a completely different team and they’re a completely different team, too. I don’t think it’s redemption at all. Obviously a lot of people say it’s a rivalry. It is rivalry – because we play them every year.



“ We’re Nebraska – we get everybody’s best shot. Especially Colorado.”

Permanent Link to this Blog Post