And here are the replies we got from the guys at
Better Off Red
AllBuffs.com: CU/NU has been played for a long time, talk about some of your first memories of the series?
[From BOR’s Seattlehusker] I’ve seen Nebraska play in person a dozen times but only once in Lincoln. In 1985 at the age of 12 my Dad drove me the 8hr drive from Scottsbluff to Lincoln to see the Buffs play the Huskers. I was excited because NU’s starting QB Travis Turner was a Scottsbluff HS grad. (Sidenote: For what little he played Travis Turner is still revered in his hometown for those few games of stardom.) Coming off a 1-10 season the year prior, CU walked into Lincoln to play the #5 ranked Huskers with a solid 5-1 record. Colorado was also a run dominated team at this point led by Craig Keenan. Nebraska boasted a backfield of Doug Dubose (still one of my favorite Huskers of all time) and Tom Rathman. Sending a message to the Huskers that they were on their way back, the Buffs scored from 2yds out on their first possession to take the 7point lead. Nebraska wasn’t able to match them until they finally put a drive together that ended with a 2yd plunge from Dubose. That was all the scoring in the first half. It wasn’t until late in the 3rd that Nebraska finally pulled ahead. While the TV’s were still at commercial (they didn’t stop the games back then for TV timeouts) Tom Rathman took a FB trap 84 yards for the go ahead TD. We were sitting in the endzone where Rathman was running right towards us. I remember seeing the hole open up, the CU LBs neglecting the FB as they raced outside to stop the option and Rathman rumbling through the hole with no safety in sight. The ‘skers added a FG in the 4th for the final difference in the 17-7 win. Though in the large scheme of things that game was meaningless because Nebraska would finish the season 9-3 ranked on the fringe of the top 10 it cemented the Husker love for this fan. Living in Seattle I attend every game the Huskers play out West and usually travel to Texas every other year to catch them there. I’ll miss CU because they were a strong rival during my formative Husker years.
AllBuffs.com Most CU fans can call a single game that sticks out in their minds during this series for you as a Nebraska fan which would that be, and what about it sticks out?
BOR: That’s easy –1992: Nebraska 52 Colorado 7. It was incredibly cathartic because of what had happened in the three years prior to that one.
First was the 27-21 loss in Boulder in 1989. We outgain the Buffs almost 2-1 but there was Flannigan's 70 yard run in the 1st quarter and two long punt returns by Jeff Campbell. And we recall the Buffs and their fans becoming cocky, loud and mouthy. A little hatred is definitely starting to simmer there...and not just because they are upsetting our comfortable little Big 8 pecking order.
Then came 1990. 27-12 on a rainy Halloween night. Eric Bienemy fumbles 5 times and loses 3 -- and then scores 4 touchdowns in the 4th quarter. Other than letting Johnny Mitchell slip loose for a 46-yard TD, the Buffs defense is dominant. Players are yapping before, during and after. We hear the first references to the University of Miami at Boulder.
Next comes the snowball game, a 19-19 tie in 1991. No satisfaction there.
Then comes 1992. From the outset, we can just tell that this is going to be different. Maybe it's the way Koy Detmer flipped the ball over his shoulder to Travis Hill while fleeing from another furious rush – it didn’t exactly give off an aura of confidence. But probably the moment that announces that Colorado's run is over comes when Thorpe Award winner-to-be Deon Figures steams up to drop a freshman QB named Frazier flat on his ass...followed by Frazier bouncing right to his feet and jawing hard with Figures mask-to-mask. To say the crowd goes ballistic is an insult to the term "understatement".
And you know what? I miss it. I did not care for early 90's Colorado. And like us, CU fell off and it's just not the same. It's wonderful to love your team, but the REALLY big wins...you know - the drunk, screaming, crying, hugging other men, friend-shot-buying, same-replays-for-days-watching, sports page saving and brutally hungover the next day and smiling wins? Those only come when your hatred for them burns as strong as your love for yours.
AllBuffs.com: What are some NU traditions CU fans may not know about but would shed light on what this game means to your fans and your team?
BOR: There aren't any traditions specific for the yearly matchup of the Buffs and the Huskers. I know most Husker fans look forward to this game, though, because it's usually been one of the most intense we play all year.
The two traditions that most CU fans will witness during the game are the releasing of the balloons after our first score, which has been a tradition since 1967. The other one is the Blackshirts. As the defensive line coach (George Kelly) said the origin of the Blackshirts was just “an accident of availability.” Following the 1963 season the NCAA allowed football teams to install the two-platoon system, creating separate offensive and defensive units. After the ’64 opener, then-coach Bob Devaney decided he wanted to use the new system and tasked one of his assistants with buying a set of pullovers to help coaches distinguish who’s who on the list. Legend has it that the assistant purchased black shirts because they were hard to steal and he could get a good deal on them. The pullovers were originally handed out before practice to starters and then handed back at the end of the day in order to encourage competition.
AllBuffs.com: The Friday after Thanks Giving has been a great tradition for CU and NU and given us both a national platform to show case our teams, going forward in the Pac-12 it seems as though CU wont be continuing to play on this day, has Nebraska or the Big-10/12 had any discussions about playing a rivalry type game say NU/Iowa on black Friday?
BOR: For the 2011 and 2012 seasons, we play Iowa on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, rather than on Black Friday. I know that Wisconsin initially expressed interest in playing Nebraska on Black Friday, but that was before the divisions were formed and the permanent cross-division rivals were designated. At this point it's hard to say if the Friday football tradition will continue with our move to the Big Ten after the 2011-2012 seasons, but anything is possible.
AllBuffs.com: With us both moving to new conferences next year it is unlikely that we'll play each other much if at all in the future, the death of these long standing rivalries is really the only downside to conference re-alignment, what parts of our series will you miss the most?
BOR: When I look back at growing up in Nebraska, I usually use Nebraska football games as a sort of landmark for what year it was and what I was doing. And it is usually the Colorado games that supply those waypoints. Although Oklahoma holds a spot in my heart as the most hated rival, Kansas as my favorite road trip and Missouri as the most recent nemesis – it is the games against Colorado that supply the majority of my memories: Rathman rumbling, phantom fumbling, early 90s stumbling, Bienemy, Frazier, snow-ball interrupted tie games, 1994’s Epic, Crouch’s overtime run, the agony of 62-36, stands clearing and Henery’s kick. This series has been ridiculously competitive and memorable and I will be sad to see it go.
I will also miss the unique contrast of teams and cultures that existed between Lincoln and Boulder. The rest of the Big 8, and then the Big 12, were at least familiar to Nebraskans. With Colorado - the town, the fans, the culture, and the setting were completely different. As game day television cameras panned the playing field and surrounding areas - it became obvious that the opposing team had traveled to a very different place. There was something special when you blended these differences with the history, the time of year and the emotion.
It will take some time for both teams to build up these types of memories and traditions in our respective conferences. It would be great if we could renew our rivalry in Pasadena over the coming years.