Renewed Nebraska-Colorado rivalry becomes one of the nation’s must-watch games in Week 2

Deion Sanders and his Colorado Buffaloes surged to the forefront of college football with their dizzying opening performance, and now fans and non-fans want to see what they do next.

It will be a big stage for Saturday’s home opener at Boulder. The Buffs (1-0) feature for the second straight week in Fox’s Big Noon game, they’re in the AP Top 25 this week at No. 22 and the opponent is the former longtime Big Eight rival and of the Big 12, Nebraska (0-1).

All eyes will be on Deion’s son, Shedeur Sanders, to see what he does for a recall after throwing for 510 yards and four touchdowns against TCU. Will the two-way phenomenon Travis Hunter be able to be on the field again for more than 120 games? And will freshman sensation running back Dylan Edwards be able to start the ground game after playing wide receiver last week?

Nebraska fans would love nothing more than to see the Cornhuskers spoil the party at Folsom Field. The teams are in the middle of a four-game non-conference series that began in 2018, and the Huskers have lost the first two meetings. A win here would boost freshman coach Matt Rhule’s efforts to bring the program back.

BEST GAME

No. 11 Texas (1-0) at No. 3 Alabama (1-0), 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

This is a rematch of last year’s thriller in Austin, which Alabama won 20-19 on a late field goal.

The “Texas is back” trope started long before the season among Bevo’s home crowd, but anxiety peaked in Game 1 before the Longhorns pulled away to beat Rice, 37-10.

Alabama lost two regular season games last year for only the second time since 2011, and there was a pre-season expectant mood with the Crimson Tide set to replace Bryce Young and nine other draft picks from the NFL.

New starting quarterback Jalen Milroe had five touchdowns last week, but that was against Middle Tennessee State.

HEISMAN WATCH

Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. is set to post even bigger numbers when visiting Tulsa. The sixth-year quarterback is in his second season with the Huskies and has recorded three of the four best passing performances in program history. He threw for 450 yards and five touchdowns last week against Boise State, with 11 of his passes going for at least 20 yards.

FIGURES TO KNOW

3-145 — Louisville’s record as they trailed by 15 or more points in the second half before overcoming a 28-13 halftime deficit to beat Georgia Tech 39-34.

16 — Michigan’s winning streak going into its game against UNLV, third longest behind Alabama (21) and Georgia (19).

18 — Years have passed since Oregon, visiting Texas Tech, played a real road game in the Lone Star State.

111 — Arkansas’ total points in its last two games, a 56-13 win over West Carolina last week and a 55-53 win over Kansas in the Liberty Bowl.

72 — Michael Pratt’s career-high number of touchdown passes for Tulane after throwing four against South Alabama.

UNDER THE RADAR

Texas A&M in Miami, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EST.

Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and Miami’s Mario Cristobal wanted mulligans after each went 5-7 last season. Both are picking up easy wins in their first games and can use this game as a first progress report.

The Aggies beat Miami 17-9 at College Station last year, shortly before the start of a six-game losing streak. Two disappointing back-to-back seasons have made A&M’s 12th man nervous.

HARNESS

New Mexico’s Danny Gonzales opened his fourth season with a 52-10 loss to Texas A&M and now faces a must-win home game against team FCS Tennessee Tech.

The Albuquerque native and former Lobo player has lost 25 of his 32 games and has three wins at Mountain West. He’s in the fourth year of a five-year, $3.5 million deal, and his $400,000 buyout won’t stop UNM from making a switch if things don’t improve.

Gonzales sells hope after welcoming more than 40 newcomers. Among them is UAB transfer Dylan Hopkins, who leads what has been the nation’s worst offense in two straight years.

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AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll