“Nebraska has its celebrities too,” said Matt Rhule after the Huskers defeated Colorado 28-10.

Rhule was referring to Omaha welterweight champion Terrance “Bud” Crawford, the undefeated champion, I should say. Crawford spoke to the Huskers on Friday night and led them onto the field in the Tunnel Walk with a championship belt over his shoulder.

Afterwards he was also presented with a game ball.

When he spoke to the players, he told them, “When he goes in the ring, he doesn’t care who the opponent is,” Nebraska cornerback Tommi Hill said. “He always stays calm and counters. When they make a play, he has to come back and counter… Just stay calm and in the moment.”

“Don’t let yourself get carried away.”

That’s how the Huskers approached Saturday night’s game, Hill said.

But we are talking about celebrities here, and Hill could be one of them.

After Brian Buschini’s 60-yard punt failed at the Colorado 2-yard line on Nebraska’s second possession, Hill intercepted a pass from Shedeur Sanders on the first attempt and returned it seven yards for a touchdown. “I think Tommi is one of the best players in the country,” Rhule said.

After Hill’s interception return, “I was pretty darn excited,” said defensive end Ty Robinson.

Celebrities? How about Robinson?

On the third play of the game, Robinson sacked Sanders for a loss of nine yards after two incomplete passes. Then, late in the first half, Robinson blocked a Buff field goal attempt. He sat out the first half of Colorado’s game last season because of a targeting call against Minnesota. “This year, I wanted to make sure they knew who I was,” Robinson said.

I’m pretty sure the Buffs knew who number 9 was.

Robinson is a “dominant, dominant, dominant player,” Rhule said.

And yes, three dominants.

Celebrities? What about running back Dante Dowdell?

On Nebraska’s first possession, first-and-10 at the Colorado 25-yard line, Dowdell made his first run, running 13 yards through the middle of the Buffalo defense. On the next play, Dowdell ran up the middle again, 12 yards for the touchdown, capping a seven-play, 49-yard run.

Then, on the Huskers’ first possession of the second quarter, he capped a nine-play, 86-yard drive by jumping over the line and into the end zone for Nebraska’s third touchdown.

Dowdell was the game’s leading runner with 74 yards on 17 carries.

Rahmir Johnson again started at running back and was the second-leading runner, but perhaps more importantly, he was the best receiver with eight catches for 49 yards and an 18-yard touchdown in which he knocked the ball out of the defender’s hands and took it into the end zone.

With just 40 seconds left in the first half, Nebraska also scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go in the first half of the UTEP game, with 2 seconds left to play.

So you want celebrities?

How about Dylan Raiola, with the highly touted Shedeur Sanders on the other side, who is certainly a celebrity, and that’s no disrespect. But Raiola completed 23 of 30 passes for 185 yards and the Johnson touchdown without an interception. He also had 12 yards on the first touchdown drive and a first down on third-and-10 from the Colorado 49-yard line.

Robinson has already been mentioned, but the defense as a whole may gain notoriety for its play on Saturday night. Colorado finished with a rushing net of 16 yards. In addition to Robinson’s sack, Nebraska had five more, totaling 41 yards including Robinson’s sack.

“I thought the defensive line came to play,” Rhule said.

Willis McGahee IV forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that Jimari Butler recovered, giving the Huskers a 2-0 lead in turnovers, a focus this season.

The Big 12 team imposed a lot of penalties on Nebraska in the scoreless second half. After being penalized three times for 25 yards in the first half, the Huskers were penalized nine times for 80 yards in the second half. But with a 28-0 first-half lead, Nebraska seemed to be in clear control.

“We need to protect better on offense while trying to build a running game and stay consistent,” Colorado coach Deion Sanders said.

There’s no question that Deion is a celebrity, and rightly so. But you could add Rhule to the list of celebrities, too. Ask any Husker fan in the sold-out 86,906-seat 388 Stadium Saturday night.

Almost everyone stayed until the end.