Nebraska never scored in the second half of its rivalry contest Saturday night at home against Deion Sanders' Colorado squad.
The Cornhuskers had done all their heavy lifting in the first half, and second-year coach Matt Rhule knew as much.
Nebraska led 28-0 at the break in a game it won, 28-10, and denied Colorado what would have been the program's first-ever four-game winning streak in the long-running border rivalry.
"Not that many people thought we were going to beat them by this much," Rhule said postgame on NBC.
"It wasn't really a contest in the second half. Defense played great. We had the blocked punt that led to their only score (touchdown). Probably went a little too conservative. Apparently we had a lot of penalties in the second half. Called back some big, long runs."
Nebraska was penalized a dozen times for more than 100 yards in a contest that saw both teams amass triple-digit yards in yellow flags.
But the Huskers forced Shedeur Sanders to throw a pick-six early in the game and held the Buffs to a scant 260 yards.
Both Shedeur Sanders and Shilo Sanders exited the game with injuries; Deion Sanders said that Shilo Sanders broke his forearm and would be out an extended time.
"We're going to have to play a lot better; we're going to play some really good teams. Let me say this: I'm hopeful and prayerful that Shilo and Shedeur are okay," Rhule said.
"We're not turning the ball over. It might look ugly in some ways, but I don't know; 28-10 tonight doesn't look ugly to me."
Rhule, who expressed his displeasure with the officiating postgame, also touted his defense.
"Well, they have great players. Everyone kept talking about their stars," Rhule said. "Our defense is a star, and you know what, we were challenged at times, but for the most part, our defense controlled the game."
Nebraska, now 2-0 and seeking to end an eight-year postseason drought, host Northern Iowa and Illinois in the next two weeks before it travels to Purdue.