Nebraska’s handling of Anthony Colandrea’s postgame media absence turned a simple situation into a needless mess.
The Huskers had already taken their third straight loss Saturday, and the game itself was full of self-inflicted mistakes. Nebraska looked like the better team for most of the night before things slipped away in the fourth quarter. But the most avoidable blunder came after the final whistle, when confusion over Colandrea’s media availability started a storyline the program didn’t need.
For nearly two days, fans were left with the impression that Nebraska’s starting quarterback had “declined” to speak with reporters after the loss to Washington. That report drew plenty of criticism, especially because Colandrea is supposed to be one of the team’s leaders. The problem was that the explanation behind his absence never got out right away.
Matt Rhule tried to clear things up Monday, saying Colandrea was meeting with the medical team after the game. Then on Tuesday, Colandrea backed that up himself, confirming that was the reason he didn’t talk to the media.
That still leaves the bigger question hanging: why did Nebraska let it sit there for so long?
If the explanation was accurate, and there’s no reason to think it wasn’t, then this was a communication failure that never should have happened. Nebraska didn’t need to put out a formal statement or make a big production of it. A quick note to the reporter who said Colandrea had “declined” to speak would have been enough to stop the noise before it spread.
The media deserves a little blame too. A bit more digging could have helped clear up the situation sooner. Still, the burden falls on Nebraska’s side to make sure the basic facts are communicated clearly, especially in a moment like this.
The timing made it worse. This came just one day after Colandrea’s agency announced he had signed an extension, which only fueled the idea that he was avoiding the media. That version of events took off fast, and even after Rhule and Colandrea explained what happened, some fans are likely to keep holding onto it.
It shouldn’t linger much longer, but Nebraska’s Sports Information Department has to know how badly this was handled. Hopefully it’s a lesson the program won’t need to relearn.
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The bigger concern is the way the last three games have gone, with losses to Indiana and Oregon helping close the door on any early national momentum. Now the path forward runs through a difficult stretch against Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa, and Nebraska needs to start turning close calls into wins if it wants to change the tone of the season before November gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]