Matt Rhule Talks Shedeur Sanders Video; Says He's 'Never Disrespected an Opponent'

Nebraska may be off to an 0-2 start, but head coach Matt Rhule stressed that he has "never disrespected an opponent" despite postgame comments from Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders following the Buffaloes' 36-14 victory on Saturday.

As David Ubben of The Athletic explained, Sanders took issue with Nebraska huddling on Colorado's logo at midfield prior to the game. He even walked into the huddle in an effort to break it up and commented on it after the game.

"It was extremely personal," Sanders said. "We go out there and warm up, you've got the head coach of the other team trying to stand out in the middle of the Buff. It's okay if, like, a couple players do it, it's fine. Like, just enjoy the scenery. But when you've got the whole team trying to disrespect it, I'm not going for that at all.

"I went in there and disrupted it. So they knew I'm for real. The Buffaloes mean a lot to me. Personally, that's what I was saying pregame and that's when I knew it was just extreme disrespect."

Yet Rhule explained it is something his team does before every game.

"We do that at every stadium," Rhule said. "We go there. We pray for blessings. When they came in, I asked them, I asked (Colorado quarterback) Shedeur (Sanders) if he wanted to pray with us. I pray over everything. I'm a public official, but I can have my own faith. I say pray; it's not (secular). We take a moment as a team. I want that field to be safe for everybody."

Colorado ended up pulling away in the second half and securing the win, which prompted the home fans to storm the field in the aftermath.

Rhule said it was important for him to still make it over to Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders and shake his hand.

"When you're losing, people are going to say all kinds of things about you," he said, per Ubben. "I know exactly who I am. I know exactly who I am. And I'm coaching this team with class. And I'm not changing. I went over there, and I shook that man's hand. I whispered in his ear. I've never disrespected an opponent a day in my life. And I never will."

Rhule, who previously coached Temple, Baylor and the NFL's Carolina Panthers, is not off to an ideal start at Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers are 0-2 with a three-point loss to Minnesota and the 22-point loss to Colorado. There is certainly some rebuilding to be done considering the program's last winning record came in 2016, but Saturday was a missed opportunity to make a national statement against another program that figured to be in rebuilding mode with a new head coach.

Instead, the Buffaloes are one of the biggest stories in all of college football with wins over TCU and Nebraska to start Sanders' tenure.

Shedeur Sanders threw for 393 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions while adding another score on the ground. It was the second straight incredible performance for him after he threw for 510 yards and four touchdowns in the win over the Horned Frogs.

While his postgame comments about Rhule were notable, they will likely fade from focus if he continues to perform at such a high level and leads Colorado to bigger wins down the line in Pac-12 play.