Rhule and Huskers 'fired up' after emphatic win over Colorado but not looking far ahead

The Nebraska football team didn't want to make a big deal about Saturday's rivalry game against Colorado heading into the weekend, but it clearly meant a little more.

The fans showed it, with the student section at Memorial Stadium packed an hour before kickoff, the noise deafening at times during the game and a large group rushing the field after the win. The players showed it by setting the tone immediately, asserting their physicality throughout and making sure they got a measure of revenge after last season's loss in Boulder.

“This was a big moment," Huskers head coach Matt Rhule admitted after the game, "so it was really big for us to show up and not back down from their stars because we’re a little different, our team is our star. And while I know Dylan (Raiola) is getting a lot of publicity, our defense is our star.”

Related: Takeaways from Nebraska Cornhuskers’ 28-10 win over Colorado

That's the contrast Rhule highlighted between the two programs, who played for the 73rd time in their history on Saturday night. Colorado may have the flashy players and get the headlines but Nebraska plays as a team, and that's the key to their success as they continue their rise back to relevance.

Make no mistake, the Huskers have some very good players, too, but the way they play as a group allows them to excel, as they showed Saturday night, and they wanted to make a statement.

“We wanted them to feel us. … Defense is a real tone-setter for the game and I think we accomplished that goal today,” senior defensive lineman Ty Robinson said after the game.

“Finish them. That was the motto all week, just finish them,” senior running back Rahmir Johnson said.

"This one meant a little more to us, rivalry game, things that were said last year," Raiola, a true freshman, added. "I’m proud of our guys who went out there and handled what we needed to handle.”

Even Rhule after the game highlighted something he'd said earlier in the week about how the comments last season by Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs didn't bother him because Sanders was sticking up for his father, which Rhule said his son would do the same thing before adding, "I got some guys in there I think will too." They certainly did.

It was a dominant performance by the Huskers, particularly in the first half, showing clear improvement from last season.

“Last year, had to happen so that this year could happen," Rhule said after the game. “Sometimes bad things have to happen to you so the old you can die and a new one can be born.”

This reborn team showed they're serious about taking the next step and they aren't satisfied with what they've done so far.

Related: Huskers fans rush field after Nebraska beats Colorado at Memorial Stadium

Rhule said there is still a lot to improve, citing special teams play in particular but noting things to clean up in all facets. Plus, this team still has to learn how to finish opponents.

“We have to learn how to play with a lead," the head coach said. "That game, it really wasn’t much of a contest in the second half so you’re sitting there like, 'Hey, just don’t turn the ball over,' but we have to find that middle place of aggression so we’re still working through all that.”

And that's part of the reason the Huskers don't want to get ahead of themselves. They know they still have a lot to work on and many challenges ahead.

Asked after the game about what the win says about the team and the outlook for the rest of this season, Rhule and the Huskers repeated that they're focused on each week by itself.

“Let’s just take it one game at a time," Rhule said. "Where our players will get in trouble and everyone will get in trouble is zipping ahead to like four weeks from now, five weeks from now. We have not earned that right. We have not earned the right to start looking ahead.”

Said Robinson, “I think that’s what this team does a great job of is not really look at it in terms of the whole but really going 1-0.”

“We still learning the process. Like I said, the goal for us each week is to go 1-0,” Johnson said.

“We’re just trying to stack days and stack wins and just take it week by week," Raiola added. "I think our team, we knew what we had, just a lot of other people didn’t know what we had.”

There is a lot yet to prove but the Huskers made an emphatic statement on the field Saturday and showed they're focused on even bigger things ahead. That may be the biggest reason for celebration as this program's rise continues.

“Don’t mistake my stoic look, I’m fired up, OK," Rhule said. "I am fired up. I’m fired up but I’m fired up for the guys because those are my guys.”