The Huskers had Oregon right where they wanted them for three quarters Saturday night into Sunday morning. Then the Ducks found another gear.
Nebraska’s defense held up long enough to keep the game tight, but Oregon scored the final 11 points and sent the Huskers home with a second straight loss to a preseason Top 10 opponent. The shift came in the fourth quarter, when the Duck offense finally took control and Nebraska had no answer.
The matchup carried a little extra intrigue because of Oregon’s quarterback situation. Dante Moore, the Ducks’ starter, was unavailable after taking a vicious hit against USC a couple of weeks earlier, and it could be a while before he’s cleared. That opened the door for some unusual quarterback decisions, including the week before Nebraska arrived.
Oregon’s game against UCLA ended up telling part of the story. With Moore out, former Nebraska starter Dylan Raiola got the nod for the Ducks.
He went 6/19 for 43 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions before being benched in favor of former walk-on Brock Thomas. Thomas finished 11/15 for 73% with one touchdown and no interceptions and nearly pulled Oregon back in that game, which UCLA won 17-15.
The Bruins are ranked No. 9 in this week’s AP poll.
That made Saturday night’s question pretty obvious: would Raiola get a shot against his former teammates? At first, it didn’t look that way.
Thomas started again and spent most of the night dealing with the Husker Blackshirts. But with Oregon trailing 14-6 in the final period, Raiola came off the bench and changed the game.
He led two long scoring drives that produced 11 straight points for the Ducks. The last one ended with a touchdown and a successful double point try with 28 seconds left, giving Oregon its first lead of the game and leaving Nebraska stunned.
On a sports talk show in Omaha this week, one critic tore into Dan Lanning for starting Thomas instead of Raiola against Nebraska. The argument was that the Oregon coach had made a foolish call. But the numbers from the UCLA game make the decision harder to dismiss.
Raiola had been shaky against the Bruins, and Thomas had given Oregon a spark. So when Nebraska came to town, Lanning went with the hot hand. Against a Nebraska defense that was making life miserable for Oregon all night, Thomas wasn’t spectacular, but the Ducks also managed only one touchdown and 17 points total.
That leaves the other obvious question: why didn’t Lanning turn back to Raiola sooner? Maybe the answer was simple.
Nebraska’s defense was wearing down late, and Oregon may have wanted to keep its five-star quarterback away from the kind of punishment the Blackshirts had been delivering all game. Given what happened the week before, maybe Lanning’s decision wasn’t nearly as questionable as it first looked.
In Other News...
Nebraska Lands A Huge Blackout Spotlight As Backfield Concerns Grow
Nebraskas Halloween Blackout game against Washington now has a stage to match the atmosphere, with the Cornhuskers set for a 7 p.m. CT kickoff on Big Ten Network. The broadcast details also are in place for upcoming games against Illinois and Iowa, while the television plans for Rutgers and Ohio State will come later as kickoff draws closer. For a fan base that has circled this stretch on the calendar, the schedule rollout adds another layer of anticipation to a month already built for prime-time attention.
The timing matters even more because Nebraskas backfield picture is getting thinner. Fullback Vincent Genatone is done for the season, and running back Isaiah Mozee will be out for an extended period, leaving the Huskers to sort through depth and roles as the schedule tightens. With Washington set for a national audience on Halloween, Nebraska will have a spotlight to go with the questions it is still trying to answer in the run game. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Suddenly Has A Big Defensive Line Opening
Nebraskas defensive front took a hit against Oregon when Anthony Jones suffered a broken foot, and the injury will keep him out for an extended period. Jones had started all seven games this season, giving the Cornhuskers a steady presence up front and a player whose impact went beyond the box score.
Former Nebraska lineman Jay Moore pointed to Jones leadership and maturity as qualities the defense will miss on the field, while also naming Kade Pietrzak as the player expected to step into the starting spot. Pietrzak has appeared in all seven games but has not started yet, so this becomes a meaningful chance for him to take on a bigger role at a time when Nebraska needs the depth to hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Bye Week Just Raised One Big Question About This Team
Nebraska heads into its bye week at 5-2, and Matt Rhules message has been pretty direct: this team is close to looking like a top-10 group, but only if it cleans up the week-to-week swings that still show up too often. The Cornhuskers have reasons to feel good about where they are. Anthony Colandrea has played well enough to spark real conversation about his future with the program, the offensive line has been sturdier in pass protection, and the defense has kept opponents in check in recent games.
Still, the bye arrives with one area demanding the most attention. The running back room has not been as dependable once conference play started, and that leaves Nebraska with a clear question to sort through before the season tightens up even more. For a team that believes it can climb higher, the next stretch may hinge less on talent than on whether the Huskers can turn that improved overall profile into something steadier on Saturdays. [Read more 🡒]