Colorado Buffaloes Athletic Director Gives Strong View On Nebraska Cornhuskers Rivalry

One of the best rivalries in college football doesn't have any future games scheduled.

After facing each other four times in the past seven seasons, it's unclear when the Colorado Buffaloes and Nebraska Cornhuskers will meet again. Colorado athletic director Rick George has filled most of the Buffs' three yearly nonconference slots through the 2033 season — plus a few meetings against Colorado State through 2038 — but none feature their old Big Eight/Big 12 rival.

During an appearance on the DNVR Buffs Podcast at Big 12 media days earlier this week, George was asked if Nebraska will soon return to Colorado's schedule.

Colorado Buffaloes Athletic Director Rick George Nebraska Cornhuskers Rivalry Scheduling Game College Football — Sep 7, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) stiff arms Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Tommi Hill (6) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

"We would love to play them," George told DNVR Buffs. "We would love to play them every year because I think it's good for the game. I think it's good for the rivalry that coach (Bill) McCartney and Tom Osborne started years ago when he talked about the red letter and all that."

While the Buffs have only four nonconference slots available through 2033, the ball may be on Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen's side of the field when it comes to renewing the rivalry. Dannen spoke with Sean Keeler of The Denver Post last fall about Colorado-Nebraska and shared that his department hopes to learn more about how the College Football Playoff selection committee views nonconference games before making any firm plans.

“Obviously now, with nine Big Ten (conference) games, and we’ve got Tennessee and Oklahoma on the schedule in years to come, it’s going to be a while before (CU-Nebraska) could potentially fit into anybody’s schedule,” Dannen told The Denver Post.

Colorado and Nebraska are often described as sleeping giants in the college football world, but both programs are seemingly headed in the right direction under new-ish head coaches, making a future matchup all the more necessary. Last year, Colorado's Deion Sanders and Nebraska's Matt Rhule both led their respective programs to their first non-COVID bowl game since 2016.

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Colorado is 21-50-2 all-time against Big Red, including a 28-10 loss at Memorial Stadium last season. The year prior, "Coach Prime" beat Nebraska, 36-14, in his Folsom Field debut.

“I’ve learned the severity, the serious nature of this rivalry, and I’m embracing it 100 percent," Sanders said before Colorado's 2023 game against Nebraska. "This is personal. That’s the message of the week."

This upcoming season, Colorado will host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Delaware Blue Hens and Wyoming Cowboys in nonconference play. Future Power Four nonconference opponents on the schedule include the Northwestern Wildcats (2026, 2027), Florida Gators (2028, 2029), Missouri Tigers (2030, 2031) and SMU Mustangs (2030, 2031). Also an important rivalry game, the Rocky Mountain Showdown against Colorado State will be played six times from 2029 through 2038.

"Coach Prime" and the Buffs will open their 2025 preseason camp on July 28.