Colorado AD Rick George Says the Buffaloes Want to Play Nebraska Every Year

Colorado's athletics director says the Nebraska-Colorado game is good for the sport, but is it good for the Cornhuskers in today's race to the College Football Playoff?

Colorado Buffaloes athletic director Rick George. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Rick George is sounding an awful lot like Bill McCartney.

In the same way the old Colorado football coach manufactured a rivalry with Nebraska, the current athletic director wants Nebraska-Colorado as an annual game to bolster the résumé for the Buffaloes.

Nebraska linebacker Princewill Umanmielen sacks Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

At Big 12 Media Days this week in Texas, George joined the DNVR Buffs Podcast to talk all things Colorado football. It didn't take long before Nebraska came up, as he was asked if NU vs. CU could return.

"Not yet," George said. "We would love to play them. We'd 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 McCartney and Tom Osborne started
years ago."

To be clear, McCartney manufactured the rivalry when he took over in Boulder. Osborne was 9-0 against Colorado when McCartney was hired. Still, it worked out for Colorado. From 1989 to 1991, the Buffaloes won or shared the Big Eight Conference title. The 1990 team won the AP National Championship.

Colorado head coach Bill McCartney in 1990. | RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Their record against NU over those three seasons? 2-0-1.

Nebraska dominated the rest of the 1990s, but by the turn of the century the league had merged with several from the Southwest Conference to create the Big 12. The Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry went away as an annual affair and was replaced by Nebraska-Colorado.

As a Millennial, that's the rivalry, the hate, that I grew up on.

We want Nebraska. pic.twitter.com/uQLu1M6iGs

— DNVR Buffs (@DNVR_Buffs) July 9, 2025

But that was a different time. In today's college football climate, Nebraska has no reason to play Colorado at all, let alone every year. The Big Ten and SEC control the College Football Playoff, and until a format change makes strong non-conference games necessary, Colorado needs the game more than Nebraska does.

*Note: Fans tend to want these games, though. I want these games. I wanted Nebraska-Tennessee. Playing Colorado still gives a wave of emotions stronger than anything that happens with a Big Ten opponent.

From 1996 through 2010, Nebraska and Colorado played annually on Black Friday to close out the regular season. Nebraska went 11-4 in the series over that stretch.

Nebraska running back Roy Helu Jr. carries the ball during the Huskers' 45-17 win over Colorado in 2010. | Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

Since the team's split from the Big 12 after the 2010 season, they've met four times. Colorado won the first three meetings, but Nebraska took the latest bout.

Should the series resume on an annual basis, it won't be back in November. It would be back in early September, just like the last four meetings. It would be for bragging rights and state pride. But just like McCartney targeted Nebraska to raise his program's profile, the Buffaloes need this game back every year more than the Cornhuskers do right now.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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