- NCAA. Shedeur Sanders may not have expected Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola's reaction before game vs. Colorado
- NCAA. Deion Sanders and Shedeur get bad news from ESPN but will try their hardest to make sure they are wrong
The Colorado Buffaloes are eyeing a second 2-0 start in as many years this coming weekend -- and a fourth consecutive win over rivals Nebraska. But the Cornhuskers appear intent on rattling the Buffs and their start quarterback before the ball is kicked in Lincoln on Saturday.
The latest installment in the Colorado-Nebraska rivalry will see highly-touted quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Dylan Raiola square off for the first (and only?) time. While Sanders is a known quantity around college football and tossed four touchdowns in a season-opening win over North Dakota State, Raiola is a true freshman who committed to Nebraska after a heated recruiting cycle. Raiola, the son of former NFL center Dominic Raiola, was one of the top prospects in his class -- and his new teammates are telling doubters to listen up.
Mikai Gbayor targets Shedeur: You can't compare him to our QB
Cornhuskers sophomore linebacker Mikai Gbayor isn't buying the Shedeur Sanders hype, even after his strong 2023 season at Colorado and a 445-yard outing to begin 2024. Gbayor suggested to reporters that they should stop comparing the two signal-callers: he believes Raiola is far better than Sanders, and the Huskers on Saturday will play with a physicality that they don't believe the Buffs will match.
"You can't compare Dylan and Shedeur Sanders, don't do that," Gbayor said. "Dylan is a different man. Dylan is a dog, you'll see that Saturday."
Raiola's NCAA debut couldn't have gone much better than it did. The freshman threw for 238 yards and tossed two touchdowns as Nebraska kicked off the season with a 40-7 thrashing of UTEP -- warming up the Huskers for their showdown with Colorado.
You can bet that head coach Deion Sanders is listening to the critics and the talking heads after Colorado survived a scare against North Dakota State. He'll be using Gbayor's words as bulletin board material ahead of Saturday's huge matchup -- which could make or break a rising star at quarterback.