The Nebraska football rivalry with Colorado has taken a nasty turn this year. Not that the two schools had a ton of love for each other back in the day.
It appears absence has definitely not made the heart grow fonder. It doesn't help, when it comes to Husker fans that Colorado came into Lincoln in 2018 and beat the Huskers.
It also didn't help that one of the Buffaloes players made a tackle of quarterback Adrian Martinez that stood out to several Cornhusker fans. The tackle appeared to be with the intention of injuring Martinez.
Those are just the latest happenings in a rivalry that goes all the way back to the Big 8.
Despite most of Nebraska vs Colorado being left in the annals of history these days, it appears the current crop of Buffaloes understands what drives the hatred.
Don't wear red
After practice on Tuesday, several Colorado players spoke to the local media. The topic of conversation was the upcoming game against the Nebraska football team.
Among those was safety Mikial Onu. Onu is one of the Colorado defenders that actually had a good game against Colorado State.
His two interceptions last week make him a player to watch against Nebraska. He's also one who just recently learned about a certain color scheme that isn't to be worn at CU.
"It's funny, this happened Sunday. I had on a mostly red shirt and a red hat.
I had no idea red is forbidden. Everyone was giving me these death stares." Onu told 247Sports reporter Adam Munsterteiger.
Onu isn't the only one who recently talked about wearing red on campus. Wide receiver Laviska Shenault said he had similar experiences with the color when he arrived on campus.
Montez shakes off hate for Nebraska football in favor of desire to win
While some players have been struck by how much rage and fury fires the rivalry, Colorado quarterback Steven Montez says he just wants to win.
"We do understand how deep this hatred goes for Nebraska and I know they don't like us either. But we're just going to go out there and play the best football we can."
Montez also told 247Sports after practice.
What is clear is that Colorado wants to beat Nebraska every bit as bad as Nebraska wants to beat Colorado.
There's still a little different feel to the rivalry this time around. The Husker players have a chip on their shoulder because of the outcome of the 2018 game.
The Buffaloes want to turn around what has been a decades-long slide. Longer even, for the most part, than Nebraska's.
It's clear new head coach Mel Tucker has marked this game as important, he's just not preaching quite as much hate as former head coach Bill McCartney.
"First of all, you really can't downplay rivalry games. You have to embrace them. That is what makes this game great. However, our focus is really on the preparation. I don't want our guys talking. This is not a time to talk. That is what I expect from our guys." That's what Tucker is telling his guys heading into Saturday.