No. 13 Nebraska sprinted out to a 28-3 halftime lead and never looked back on its way to a 28-16 win over No. 17 Colorado on Nov. 3, 1973 in "This Week in Husker History." 

The win was the third for the Huskers over ranked opposition in 1973, as Nebraska also defeated No. 14 North Carolina State, 31-14 on Sept. 22, and knocked off No. 18 Kansas 10-9 on Oct. 20

Quarterback David Humm passed for 121 of his 148 yards in the first half.  Humm finished with two touchdown passes while going 11-for-21 through the air. Tony Davis led the Husker ground game with 97 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 25 attempts.

The Huskers wasted no time sprinting out to the early lead. On the first drive of the game, NU marched 75 yards in seven plays and just 2:16.  A pair of Humm passes finished off the drive. First, a 44-yard strike to Dave Shamblin gave the Huskers 1st-and-Goal at the CU 9.  Then, Humm found tight end Brent Longwell for a nine-yard touchdown pass that gave Nebraska a 7-0 lead with the extra point.

Midway through the first quarter, the Huskers built on their lead thanks to a Colorado turnover.  Bo Matthews fumbled at the CU 14.  Two Davis runs later including a nine-yard run to cap the drive, the Huskers had a 14-0 lead with 6:39 remaining in the first quarter.

The Buffaloes scored on their first drive of the second quarter on a 31-yard field goal by Fred Lima to cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-3 with 13:07 left in the first half. NU forced another Colorado miscue to set up its third score of the game.  After a Buff three-and-out, Willie Thornton blocked a punt by Stan Koleski.  Zaven Yaralian recovered at the CU 19.  Two plays later, Humm hooked up with Frosty Anderson for a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Huskers a 21-3 lead with 8:35 to go in the second quarter. 

Nebraska would assemble a steady scoring march on its last drive of the second quarter.  The Huskers took over on their own 29 after a Charlie Davis fumble, the second of four Buffalo turnovers on the day.  After picking up a first down, Humm threw to Ritch Bahe for 25 yards, giving Nebraska 1st-and-10 at the CU 39. 

The Huskers rushed seven times to drive to the Buff 3.  A two-yard run by Ralph Powell on first down put the Huskers just one yard away from scoring their fourth touchdown of the half, but a Humm run for no-gain and an incomplete pass had the Huskers settling for a field goal.  As Nebraska prepared to kick the field goal, Colorado was called offsides.  Davis ran for a touchdown on the next play, and the Huskers all but closed out the Buffaloes by taking a 28-3 lead with 52 seconds left in the second quarter.

Colorado scored a touchdown early in the third quarter after a Tony Davis fumble gave the Buffs the ball at the Nebraska 9, but CU could draw no closer in the third quarter as their two remaining drives sputtered near midfield. 

In the fourth quarter, Colorado drew to within 12 at 28-16 on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Billy Waddy to David Williams with 11:35 to go in the game, but Nebraska would allow just two more first downs and controlled the clock for most of the rest of the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

All-time, Nebraska is 7-5 on Nov. 3.  The date is also significant in Husker History because, on Nov. 3, 1962, Nebraska’s home game against Missouri was sold out, the first in the ongoing NCAA record sellout streak which will stand at 289 straight home games at the end of 2007.