The Colorado Buffaloes have found their identity

 

BOULDER — It takes quite a bit to justify rushing the field.

The rules vary from person to person, but these are my most broad guidelines:

• Your opponent must be ranked
• Your opponent must be a rival
• You have to win in the closing seconds

There are exceptions, but nine times out of ten you’ll be making the right call if these three criteria are true.

Colorado-Nebraska didn’t just check every box, the game rubbed a Sharpie into all of them until the paper turned gross and gooey and eventually there were just holes in the paper where the boxes used to be and stains on the table underneath it.

(Okay, maybe not the ranked part, because, like, c’mon, is that Nebraska team really one of the 25 best in the country?)

Saturday was a classic.

1989. 1990. 1994. 2001. 2018. Now, add 2019 to the list.

Over 71 meetings, there are bound to be some incredible games but Colorado-Nebraska has had more than its fair share. That’s because the game goes past a normal rivalry. These aren’t just two schools that sit seven hours apart and played a football game every year for 50 seasons. This is deeper.

These football programs are dead opposites.

The Huskers talked all week. The Buffs didn’t.

The Huskers came out hot. The Buffs digested their opponents’ gameplan and adjusted on the fly.

The Huskers were angry and chippy and out for vengeance. The Buffs just played football.

These programs aren’t rivals because of their history; they’re rivals because of what they stand for.

Twenty years from now, I’d guess Scott Frost wants Nebraska to be the most feared program in college football. He wants opponents to be scared of getting on the field with his guys. He doesn’t want to win by well-founded tactics, but by beating up the guys in the other color.

Mel Tucker is the opposite. He wants to build something reminiscent of his mentors. He wants Alabama or New England. He doesn’t want his guys to say a word; that would leave less time to learn and plan for the next play. He isn’t worried about scaring the other team, he just wants to win.

And he did.

Did Nebraska look like the better team on Saturday? They seem to think so, but that doesn’t count for anything.

Is Nebraska a scarier team to play this Saturday? Maybe. And if they are, then Scott Frost accomplished what he appeared to be focused on: Developing a reputation instead of racking up wins.

And they definitely built up their reputation.

“Before the coin toss, (Nebraska players) were talking, talking trash,” Buffs quarterback Steven Montez said. “At the bottom of piles they were spitting, doing dirty stuff.”

When that quote plays in Lincoln, don’t be surprised if more Husker fans call Montez a tattletale than are actually disappointed in their team’s cheap shots. That’s because Nebraska wants to play just a little dirty. That’s who they want this team to be.

Plenty of teams have built success on the back of a reputation for “edginess.” The Bad Boy Pistons. The Miami Hurricanes of the early 2000s. The Pittsburgh Steelers of the ’70s.

But Mel Tucker doesn’t see football as 11 neanderthals running around trying to inflict enough pain to force their opponent to turtle. He isn’t into psychological warfare. He wants the game to be a chess match.

And, sometimes, trying to turn football into chess will scare opponents more than spitting on them at the bottom of piles. Not responding to the trash talk may inflict more psychological damage than talking back.

The Buffs are calculated, military-esque. They aren’t loose cannons. They’re always under control. They’re well-conditioned. They know their responsibilities.

The Buffs are a “Just Do Your Job” team, like the Tide or the Patriots. It just might take a while to become a dynasty, like the Tide or the Patriots.

As we come out of the weeds of Husker week, it’s time to stop and regather our bearings. The angry voices on twitter are gone. There’s no need to worry about an opposing fan base taking over Folsom. The re-runs of past Husker games won’t play anymore.

The Huskers were the emotional roller-coaster they wanted to be, but it didn’t work. Colorado kept grinding when the Huskers’ momentum and energy died out, and the Buffs came out on top.

So where are we?

Colorado is 2-0. They’re the 32nd-best team in the country. And there’s still room to improve.

But there’s a new job now: Taking down Air Force.

Throw the X’s and O’s to the side; this is a strength on strength matchup.

Sure, the Falcons want to run a gimmick offense but that isn’t what matters here.

What matters is that both these programs want to win by being the more disciplined side. It’s easy for the Buffs to out-discipline a Jekyll-and-Hyde program like Nebraska, but not nearly as easy to out-discipline a hundred or so cadets.

This is the real test.

Two teams who want a chess match. Two teams who want to outsmart their opponents. Two teams who want to live off of the other’s mistakes.

Colorado won’t be able to wait for the Falcons’ energy to dissapear before making their run. They don’t have the highs and lows of Nebraska.

If Colorado wants to lock in its identity of being even-keeled, stable and ready to adjust, they’re going to have to beat the best at those three things.

Here’s their chance.

Turn the page. Stabilize. It’s Air Force week.