Nebraska’s latest heartbreaks have sparked plenty of noise, but Matt Rhule isn’t interested in letting two narrow losses drown out the bigger picture.
The Huskers are on their bye week after back-to-back three-point defeats to No. 6 Indiana and Oregon, and Rhule made it clear Monday that the pain of those games doesn’t erase what his team showed.
“First of all, you could be really, really disappointed right now as a player, as a coach, as a fan, and also be really, really encouraged and push forward,” Rhule said in his Monday press conference. “When you look back at Saturday, Saturday’s a game that we could have won. To be honest, Saturday’s a game we should have won, and I give credit to Oregon for finding a way to win that game.”
That’s the part Husker fans keep coming back to: Nebraska is close, but close keeps turning into loss. Against Oregon, the Huskers were up eight in the fourth quarter, then watched the Ducks march down for a field goal before the offense stalled on a three-and-out that took less than two minutes.
The frustration isn’t really about losing. It’s about losing in the same way.
It happened against Indiana, too. Nebraska slowed the run, handled third downs and moved the ball well enough through the air to make the game feel there for the taking.
After Colandrea’s long touchdown run in the fourth quarter pushed the lead to 11, the Huskers just needed one more stop. They didn’t get it, and the pattern repeated a week later.
Still, the schedule is about to hand Nebraska a chance to reset the narrative. The Huskers are 5-2 heading into the bye, then come out with Washington, Illinois and Rutgers in front of them.
Washington’s situation has shifted sharply. Demond Williams Jr., who was expected to be one of the nation’s top quarterbacks after a strong sophomore season, is dealing with a significant rib injury suffered against Iowa on Oct.
- He’s now in a quarterback battle with junior Stanford transfer Elijah Brown, who has started the last two games.
Brown opened his run with 251 passing yards and three touchdowns against Iowa, then followed it up with three interceptions against Purdue.
Illinois is also dealing with a quarterback change. Senior Katin Houser will miss the Huskers’ Nov. 6 game, and Bret Bielema will turn to true freshman Michael Clayton II for his second career start.
Rutgers arrives at 2-4 and still searching for answers at quarterback.
There’s also the simple reality that Nebraska’s roster is built for this stretch. The Huskers are experienced on both sides of the ball, with only three starters listed as underclassmen: sophomore defensive back Donovan Jones and running backs Isaiah Mozee and Jamal Rule. The rest of the group has been through heartbreak, and some of them have also been part of winning programs elsewhere.
If Nebraska handles business and finishes, the path becomes a lot more interesting. The Huskers would be 8-2 before hosting No.
3 Ohio State and heading to No. 15 Iowa to close the regular season.
That would be a big jump from the 6-6 or 7-5 range many expected before the year.
More than that, these next three games could shape the way this team thinks about itself. If Nebraska starts closing out games, that carries into the biggest matchups on the schedule.
But if the Huskers can’t put away teams from the bottom of the Big Ten, then the conversation around the program changes fast.
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