Trivia time! Which team scored the fewest points against the Colorado football's defense last year? You would be right if you answered the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who scored 14 points at Folsom Field last year. While the Buffs struggled defensively for much of 2023, they slowed down the Cornhuskers and most do the same on Saturday to win in Lincoln.

It's too early to draw any conclusions regarding what Colorado's defense can be this year, but the 26 points scored by North Dakota State in Week 1 is tied for the third-fewest during the Deion Sanders era. I'm confident that the defensive talent brought in over the offseason will win a few games for the Buffs, and doing so against a talented freshman quarterback in Dylan Raiola would be a good start.

Here are five defensive keys for Colorado as it hits the road to take on Nebraska:

Generate some turnovers

The turnover battle largely determined last year's matchup. CU generated four turnovers, including three fumble recoveries and one interception, while the Buffs lost only one fumble. Gone is Jeff Sims, who provided three of those turnovers, and in steps freshman phenom Dylan Raiola. Raiola did not turn the ball over in his debut, and the Buffs failed to generate a turnover against NDSU. Hopefully, the dam breaks against the Corn.

The pass rush must get home

While NDSU stuck to a short passing attack to offset its power running scheme, the much-anticipated pass rush did not have the impact I hoped. Nebraska will be more inclined to let Raiola take some deep shots, but the pass rush must get to him when he does.

Keep up the good work against the run

This week's talk has been that the Buffs have not improved enough on the defense side of the ball, but I can't entirely agree regarding their work against the run game. Chidozie Nwankwo and the front seven held the NDSU run game in check. The Bison never abandoned the run, rushing 43 times for only 157 yards, an average of 3.7 yards a carry. Last year's defense gave up 4.7 yards per rush, for comparison.

Lock up the middle of the field

Coach Prime mentioned it in his postgame press conference, but the Bison attacked the heart of the Buffs' defense in the passing game to get a big chunk of their yards. If they want to slow down the Cornhuskers, the Buffs must do a better job on the crossing routes that gave them issues last season and against NDSU. How? Force Raiola to throw it outside the hashes where CU's playmakers live.

Give me more of that second half defense from Week 1

The Bison scored on their first four possessions and were only forced to punt once during the first half. CU flipped the script in the second half, only allowing one score on four NDSU possessions. The Buffs dialed up pressure and quickly got the Bison off the field to get their explosive offense back on the field. I need to see more of that second-half defense against Nebraska.

This article originally appeared on Buffaloes Wire: Defensive keys to Colorado leaving Lincoln victorious