“Kids between the ages of 18 and 22, you’ve got to give them targets to shoot at,” McCartney said. “You can’t just give them a big picture. You’ve got to say, ‘We’re going to put it all together, we’re going to keep getting better and better and when we go to Lincoln, trust me, we are going to hit them in the mouth until we take over the place. And when we shut ’em all up, then we’ll leave.’ You have to project things like that.”

McCartney said he picked NU over Oklahoma because it’s a “neighboring state. They’re next door.” He said he’d like to talk to the players about the game because it’s more important than any other on CU’s schedule.

“Give me two minutes with them,” he said.

McCartney’s family disclosed two years ago that he had been diagnosed with dementia. But the coach didn’t hesitate to name a favorite memory from the Nebraska series — shaking hands with NU coach Tom Osborne after beating the Huskers.