Nebraska left Champaign with a 24-13 loss to Illinois, and the night had a little bit of everything Husker fans have been trying to avoid: a scoreless first quarter, a defense that spent too much time chasing, and another late-game result that never really tilted back Nebraska’s way.
The Huskers came in on a three-game skid, and for once the script changed early. Nebraska did not spend this one leading at the start of the fourth quarter.
Instead, Illinois had the edge after three, and that mattered. Matt Rhule pointed straight at the details afterward.
“Usually we hold the opponent to less than we gave up tonight,” head coach Matt Rhule said postgame. “You want to go on the road.
You have to win the turnover battle… You have to win those routes of man coverage, and not only one person, not any one guy. They had some plays that they ran that they just won on them.”
Even in defeat, a few Nebraska players stood out.
On defense, Cameron Lenhardt was one of the most active Huskers on the field. The senior defensive lineman had been quiet against Indiana and Washington, but he showed up against Oregon with five tackles and kept that momentum rolling Friday night with three tackles and a sack. He helped set the tone up front as Nebraska blanked Illinois in the opening quarter and limited the Illini to 84 rushing yards.
Jordan Ochoa also made his presence felt in the trenches, picking up the first solo sack of his career early in the second quarter.
In the secondary, Andrew Marshall had a strong opening stretch while matching up with one of the best receivers in college football. But Collin Dixon eventually took over.
He finished with 129 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and he also set the single-season receiving-touchdown record in Illinois program history. His 58-yard catch in the fourth quarter felt like the final gut punch for Nebraska.
Dawson Merritt said the defense had to keep its composure once the game started slipping.
“Even without the cushion that we normally have, a football game is a football game,” sophomore linebacker Dawson Merritt said postgame. “We know there’s ups and downs to a football game. So just staying levelheaded and going out there and playing one play at a time, even if we’re up or down, regardless of the score.”
Freshman running back Jamal Rule also gave Nebraska a lift. After missing the Maryland game with an ankle injury suffered against Michigan State, he looked much more like the player who earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors earlier in the season.
Rule ran for 69 yards on 15 carries and flashed the kind of easy burst that makes his limited usage stand out even more. He still does not have a touchdown against a Big Ten opponent, and Mekhi Nelson was the only Nebraska running back to score, doing it on his lone carry.
On the perimeter, Jacory Barney Jr. helped give the passing game a different shape than it had last week. Junior wide receivers Kwazi Gilmer and Barney combined for 10 catches on 17 targets and 151 receiving yards, and Barney was the only Nebraska wideout to find the end zone.
“I know it sucks,” Colandrea said postgame. “It’s awful seeing guys come in day in and day out, just work their ass off, and for the result to lose?
It’s awful. I think at the end of the day, we’ve got to come in and just go back to work, right?
Just keep trying, keep going to practice.”
Nebraska’s next chance comes on the road again, with Rutgers up next Saturday, Nov. 14.
Kickoff is set for 11:30 a.m. CT, and Big Ten Network will carry the game.
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