Nebraska is still waiting for the kind of jump that comes with a signature win, and the rankings reflect it. After the Huskers’ 20-17 loss, they’re effectively 28th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and 29th in the AP poll.
The margin between what Nebraska almost had and what it has now feels thin. The team it fell to is sitting in the top five in both major polls - fourth with the coaches and fifth in the AP - while the Huskers sit just outside the Top 25 conversation.
And now comes Oregon, a matchup that doesn’t bring the shine it carried a week ago. The Ducks are 25th in the coaches poll, but they’ve slid completely out of the AP rankings after landing at No. 27 there.
Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings still like Oregon at No. 12, though Nebraska is right there at No. 14.
The Huskers also check in 12th in ESPN’s FPI.
Oregon’s own weekend went sideways in a hurry. The Ducks lost at home, 17-15, to Bob Chesney’s emerging UCLA team and dropped to 3-2 after opening the season No. 2 in the AP poll.
Nebraska, for its part, saw a 17-6 fourth-quarter lead disappear against the defending national champions and slipped to 5-1.
Even in defeat, Curt Cignetti came away impressed with the Huskers.
"It took everything the players and coaches had in that one to find a way to overcome," Cignetti said. "Give Nebraska a lot of credit. Really good football team."
Matt Rhule’s message was less about dwelling on the loss and more about correcting it. He made clear he sees a team with real potential, but not one that has earned anything yet.
"We're not trying to prove anybody wrong. Let's just go play.
So at the end, I was like, 'We did a lot of things tonight that were as good as anyone can do.' But we did some things that didn't win the game," Rhule said.
"I'm not going to spend a lot of time on a moral victory, I'm not going to spend a lot of time being depressed. I'm not going to spend a lot of time listening to, 'Hey, good job.'
I'm not going to spend a lot of time listening to toxicity.
"I'm going to go to work (Sunday) and be like, 'We have to fix this, this and improve this, this, this and this.' And if you do that, there's a lot of teams that lose a ballgame and go on and have a great year."
In Other News...
Dylan Raiola Just Changed The Feel Of Nebraska's Oregon Showdown
Dylan Raiolas path into Nebraskas matchup with Oregon suddenly looks a lot different than it did just a week ago. Oregons quarterback situation has been thrown into flux after a rough outing against UCLA, and the ripple effect matters for the Cornhuskers because it could change the tone of a game that already had plenty of attention attached to it.
Raiolas performance led to a late benching, while Brock Thomas steadied Oregon in relief and gave the Ducks something to think about if Dante Moore is not fully recovered from a concussion. For Nebraska, that means preparing for a showdown without a clear idea of which Oregon quarterback it will see, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already compelling matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Let A Huge Opportunity Slip Away Against Indiana
Nebraska spent much of the afternoon doing enough things to put itself in position to win against Indiana, controlling the ball longer and piling up more yards in a game that felt very much there for the taking. Still, the Cornhuskers came away empty, undone by a missed field goal, a handful of defensive coverage lapses and a few coaching choices that left plenty of room for second-guessing once the final whistle sounded.
Injuries and missing players only added to the challenge, and Nebraska never quite found the clean finish it needed when the game tightened late. For a team that seemed to have the edge in enough areas to separate itself, the result was a frustrating reminder that moving the ball and winning possession battles does not mean much if the critical moments go the other way. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Football Suddenly Has One More Thing To Watch At Oregon
Nebraska fans got a full weekend of reminders that sports mood can swing fast. The volleyball team kept its undefeated season rolling by sweeping No. 7 Wisconsin, while the basketball team used an exhibition loss to Saint Louis as an early measuring stick for Fred Hoibergs group. On the football side, though, the attention stays fixed on the Cornhuskers loss to Indiana and the questions it raised going into a trip to Oregon.
The quarterback situation is the part Nebraska will be watching closest. Dylan Raiola was benched in Oregons recent loss, and that adds a fresh layer to an already tricky matchup as the Cornhuskers try to bounce back. For a team that has already seen one setback, the next move under center could shape how it approaches the Ducks long before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]