Nebraska’s defenders—deranged, vicious and relentless—hounded and bullied the nation’s best passer across the court until Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders knelt on the court in exhaustion and frustration after a second-half drive.

And at the end of NU’s 28-10 not-so-pretty-but-feels-so-perfect win over Colorado, fans from every corner of Memorial Stadium spilled onto the court for laughs, smiles and hugs with Husker players. Amid the celebration, a song blared over the speakers: Zach Bryan’s “Revival,” which the crowd seemed to know, singing along to at the top of their lungs as the team entered their tunnel.

“We’re having a reviiiival all night long!” they sang.

For nearly four hours, the Huskers played like a team just emerging from a long winter’s sleep, avenging last year’s loss in Boulder and earning their first non-league victory over a top-ranked team since 2016. NU went into halftime up 28-0, holding off Sanders. CU was strong enough in the second half to open up 2-0.

“This one meant a little more to us,” quarterback Dylan Raiola said. “Rivalry game.”

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule may have seemed stoic afterward, but he told reporters to ignore that. Inside, he was excited.

“This was a big moment,” Rhule said. “This was really big for us to show and not shy away from their stars. Because we’re a little bit different. Our team is our star … our defense is a star.”

For 86,906 fans packed into Memorial Stadium, it was certainly the Blackshirts.

>>They had six sacks, five of them by Sanders, who left late in the game with CU trailing by 18 points.

“Our goal was to get one more, one more, one more,” said defenseman Ty Robinson, who had the game’s first sack and also blocked a field goal.

>>Cornerback Tommi Hill intercepted a pass from Sanders and returned the interception for a score.

“I said it before we went into the game,” Hill said. “I said, ‘There’s going to be a Pick Six.'”

>>The Buffaloes (1-1) ran for 16 total yards and were stopped twice on fourth-and-shorts. Near the end of the game, when they still had a chance to win, they sent Sanders to the bench as a precaution, effectively depriving Nebraska of the win.

“We just wanted to make sure we got him checked out and we took every precaution because now you’re looking forward to next week,” Deion Sanders said. “That was over. By the time he got out of the game, it was over.”

Nebraska (2-0) set the tone with its opening defensive sequence — a batted ball, a Buff pass drop, a sack — and its opening offensive drive, a seven-play, 49-yard march for a touchdown. Dante Dowdell finished it with back-to-back 13- and 12-yard runs, the latter for the score.

“We had 75 yards that way,” Rhule said of NU’s rushing game, which would struggle with penalties in the second half.

The Huskers extended their lead from 7-0 to 14-0 thanks to Hill’s interception, which was set up by a 60-yard punt from Brian Buschini to the 2.

Raiola’s 36-yard pass to Jaylen Lloyd set up the Huskers’ third touchdown, a short Dowdell run.

Aided by CU targeting and pass interference penalties, Nebraska moved to the CU 18, where Raiola made his first mistake of the night. He attempted to squeeze a pass to Johnson, who was being covered by Buff linebacker LaVonta Bentley. Somehow Bentley dropped the gift, so Johnson grabbed it, spun into the end zone and scored the Huskers’ final touchdown of the first half.

“A miracle just happened, I guess,” Johnson said. “It just fell into my hands … he had it and I just tapped it and the ball flew, I caught it and the rest is history.”

Nebraska’s offense in the second half was slow, sloppy and even timid, in the way Raiola consistently opted for checkdowns instead of mid-range or deep routes.

The penalties piled up as NU’s culture of execution underwent a mini-revolution against itself. Nebraska began a drive at the CU 28 — and marched back to the Buffaloes’ 43 before punter Brian Buschini had a punt partially blocked in front of a one-yard net.

The Buffaloes turned that mess into their first touchdown drive of the game, highlighted by a five-yard pass from Sanders to LaJohntay Wester. NU lost linebacker Mikai Gbayor on a targeting call.

But Nebraska took enough time off the clock there to force Deion Sanders to pull his son from the game. CU ended the game with a reserve stripped of the ball on his final pass attempt. NU’s offense went down the field, made a few shallow plays and got into the winning formation.

Rhule said he was happy and, frankly, not entirely surprised.

“We expected this score,” Rhule said. “We expected this to be the case. We have a good team.”

One that was celebrated on Saturday night with the Husker fans turning out in droves.

“I heard the PA guy say, ‘No rush on the field,'” Raiola said, laughing. “And that didn’t work.”