Game breakdown: Colorado rolls Nebraska in home opener

Playing in front the largest crowd Folsom Field has seen in 15 years (53,241), quarterback Shedeur Sanders eventually found his rhythm while the Colorado defense applied pressure to send Nebraska packing and give the Buffs their second victory, 36-14.

Sanders didn’t repeat another 500-yard passing game, but he didn't need to Saturday as it was the defense's turn to make a statement as the Buffs (2-0) forced four turnovers to stifle the Cornhuskers (0-2).

In that regard, coach Deion Sanders' team surprised yet again with the national spotlight shining upon it, dominating on both sides of the ball this week.

"I keep saying, more and more young men as well as coaches are believing. I think we're up to probably 80 percent now of young men in that locker room as well as staff and support staff truly believing what we're capable of doing," Sanders said. "It's not believing in me -- it's believing in what we're capable of doing. That was the question I posed last week -- it wasn't about me, it was about the young men and what we possess."

Once offensive coordinator Sean Lewis got a better grasp on what he was up against, Shedeur Sanders was rolling as he completed 31 of his 42 passes for 393 yards and 2 touchdowns.

WR Tar’Varish Dawson Jr. emerged on offense with 3 catches 41 yards and a touchdown along with an 8-yard rushing touchdown, and the passing game in general remained highly-successful.

“Chick was in tears at halftime,” Sanders said. “He was just thanking me for giving him an opportunity. I said, ‘You earned that my man. You earned it and I’m proud of you.”

Xavier Weaver was the primary target this week, catching 10 passes for 170 yards and a TD to post his second 100-plus yard game in as many weeks. Two-way star Travis Hunter had 3 catches for 73 yards, and Dylan Edwards led the running backs with 9 carries for 55 yards.

"Xaiver is a dawg," Sanders said. "He is a go-getter. He wants the ball. He high points it and he can get deep."

But again, the defense made itself the story this week.

After hanging on in that 45-42 shootout win over TCU last week, the Buffs befuddled Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims all game as he completed just 9 of 15 passes for 106 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT. He did rush for 67 yards and a TD on 10 attempts, but he also lost two costly fumbles.

The teams had combined for either a turnover, punt or missed field goal on the first nine series of the game before the Colorado defense gave the Buffs a jolt of momentum when Jordan Domineck recovered a fumbled Nebraska snap at the Huskers' 19.

The Buffs only managed a field goal out of that opportunity, but with the first points of the game they never looked back.

Three players later, Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig -- making his first start for the Buffs -- intercepted Sims to give Colorado possession at the Nebraska 30-yard line. And on the next play, Sanders connected with Dawson for a touchdown and a 10-0 lead.

"They're mentally tough," Sanders said. "I mean we look for smart, tough, fast, disciplined young men to fill our locker room and our roster and majority of them feature those characteristics."

Jace Feely tacked on a 32-yard field goal at the end of the first half, after an efficient scoring drive in the final 49 seconds led by Sanders completions to Hunter (22 yards), Weaver (12) and Horn (10), to make 13-0 at halftime.

Sims got Nebraska on the board with a 57-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter, but that was really the only defensive lapse for Colorado and the offense answered right back as Sanders led another touchdown drive as Weaver hauled in a 41-yard reception and then a 12-yard touchdown to make it 20-7.

"We didn't just want to win -- we wanted to dominate," the elder Sanders said. "The first half, we weren't dominant. The second half we got it together and we began to dominate. But we wanted to really impose our will because the whole theme of the week was it's personal. One of the funniest moments in the darn game, after Shedeur took his helmet off after he made the tremendous scramble like a Heisman-type play, I went over and said 'You cannot do that. You cannot take your helmet off.' He said, 'Dad, it's personal.' I just bent over and laughed by butt off because it was in the moment and I was really upset, and he broke the monotony up with 'It's personal.' So they really took it to heart, that theme of the week."

Taijh Alston played a key role in the Buffs pass rush with 1.5 sacks while Domineck had 2.5 tackles for loss.

Overall, from front to back the Buffs defense produced a much better showing than in Week 1 holding the Huskers to 341 yards of total offense --- compared to the 541 yards TCU tallied last week.

"Yeah, they're not happy or satisfied with how they performed last week. That's not indicative to who they were. [Defensive coordinator Charles] Kelly called an excellent game, I'm hearing it on the headset, and guys got out of their gaps, they missed tackles. They just didn't do what they're capable of doing, but today early on, just starting out the game the way they started was phenomenal. They truly believed that they could be a dominant force," Sanders said. "Mix in a few more sacks and pressures and keep the quarterback in the pocket -- Coach Kelly went crazy when that guy slipped out of the pocket, I wish you could have heard him, he was about to lose his mind.

"But overall, they really played well and we're proud of them, but we still have to fix some things if we want to be who we want to be."

RELATED: Everything Deion Sanders said after the win

First quarter

Second quarter

CU: Jace Felly 31-yard FG, CU 3-0

CU: Tar’Varish .Dawson Jr. 30-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders (Jace Feely PAT), CU 10-0

CU: Jace Feely 32-yard FG, CU 13-0

Third quarter

Nebraska: Jeff Sims 57-yard rush (Tristan Alvano PAT), CU 13-7

CU: Xavier Weaver 12-yard pass from Shedeur Sanders (Jace Feely PAT) CU 20-7

CU: Jace Feely 30-yard FG, CU 23-7

Fourth quarter

CU: Tar'varish Dawson 8-yard rush (2-pt pass failed), CU 29-7

CU: Shedeur Sanders 6-yard rush (Jace Feely PAT), CU 36-7

Nebraska: Thomas Fidone 4-yard pass from Heinrich Haarberg (Tristan Alvano PAT), CU 36-14

Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig's interception late in the second quarter came just three plays after the Buffs turned that Nebraska fumbled snap into the game's first points, and with good field position again Colorado capitalized on the next play on Shedeur Sanders' 30-yard touchdown to Tar'Varish Dawson to make it 10-0.

At that point, Colorado had all the momentum and never looked back.

Wide receiver Xavier Weaver

Weaver, the transfer from USF, looks like Shedeur Sanders' No. 1 target after tallying 16 catches for 288 yards and a touchdown through two games.

Weaver had a career-high 53 catches for 718 yards and 6 touchdowns last season for USF and looks like he's going to top those numbers this fall.

Defensive back Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig

Silmon-Craig got the start at nickel in place of injured Myles Slusher and made the most of it with 3 tackles and that pivotal interception.

But Silmon-Craig isn't new to making big plays for a Deion Sanders team. He was a first-team All-SWAC selection last season when he had 63 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a fumble recovery and 2 interceptions.

This was his sixth career interception.

It means Deion Sanders and Co. earned a few more believers -- as he likes to say -- Saturday.

This is Colorado's first 2-0 start since 2020 and incredibly the Buffs have already surpassed the win total from last season's dismal nadir.

The Buffs look like a legitimate bowl team, which would be the program's first since 2020 and just the second in seven seasons.

Up next is a home game against an 0-2 Colorado State team that has been blown out by Sacramento State (41-10) and Washington State (50-24).

Meanwhile, Shedeur Sanders deserves to be in the early Heisman Trophy discussion. Of course, Colorado will have to keep winning for him to have a chance in the end, but his performance has put him in that mix early on. Sanders has completed 77.5 percent of his passes for 903 yards, 6 TDs and 0 INTs through two games and has a rushing TD as well.

Passing

Shedeur Sanders: 31 of 42 for 393 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT

Rushing

Dylan Edwards: 9 carries for 55 yards

Anthony Hankerson: 6 carries for 26 yards

Tar'Varish Dawson: 1 carry for 8 yards, TD

Receiving

Xavier Weaver: 10 catches for 170 yards, TD

Travis Hunter: 3 catches for 73 yards

Jimmy Horn Jr: 8 catches for 64 yards

Tar'Varish Dawson: 3 catches for 41 yards, TD

Defense

Omarion Cooper: 6 tackles

Shilo Sanders: 5 tackles

Travis Hunter: 4 tackles, 1 PBU

Jordan Domineck: 4 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 fumble recovery

Marvin Ham: 4 tackles, 0.5 tackle for loss, PBU

Taijh Alson: 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks

Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig: 3 tackles, INT