As Nebraska football and the Colorado Buffaloes prepare for their rematch on Saturday afternoon, it appears the CU administration realizes things might have gotten out of hand. There has been quite a bit of back of forth talking.

There have even been quite a few insults thrown. Some Husker fans have even managed to trick CU backers into selling them tickets. More than once.

Now Colorado Athletic Director Rick George is trying to calm things down. Earlier this week, he spoke to Adam Munsterteiger of 247Sports about the situation. He made it clear that he wants “civility” from a fan base most Cornhuskers fans think is among the worst in college football.

Calls for civility about to go unanswered?

“Yes, it is Nebraska and we know the history and tradition (or the rivalry0 but I think it is important that we have civility. There is enough negativity out in our country and when Nebraska fans come here, we ought to be respectful.

This call is an interesting one considering the university recently ran an ad showing its mascot trapsing around Boulder making sure he didn’t see anything red. There is also the tag line that has been floating around town again. “Better dead, than Red.”

Some might claim those kinds of things are all in good fun. Just a part of college football. Others see Colorado going after Nebraska football fans on a personal level. Then saying they were just giving into the rivalry.

Nebraska football fans called cowards

Husker fans have certainly not only been victims in what has turned rather hurtful. There was the brief period of time when Twitter users were tweeting out “Sal is dead, Go Big Red.”

That slogan harkens back to the times when Colorado and Nebraska faced off every year and things got quite heated.

The Sal, referenced here is Sal Aunese. He was the quarterback for the Buffs just as the rivalry took off.

He died, at the young age of 24 of cancer. Needless to say, older CU backers who remember that era have taken offense.

On the other hand, Husker players have been careful not to engage with Buffaloes’ fans. The same can not be said for the starting center for CU.

Tim Lynott recently talked to the Denver Post about how some NU fans have been going after one of his teammates on Twitter.

In last year’s game, Jacob Callier tackled Adrian Martinez in a way that caused him to be injured. Most fans believe he did it on purpose. Lynott believes those who have said so to Callier online are cowards.

It’s comments like this that make one wonder just how hard Rick George is working to promote civility. Nebraska football fans are due to find out right around 2:30 PM on Saturday afternoon. How the game goes will likely also determine how friendly everyone is.