Late-night heartbreak came in familiar fashion for Nebraska, which watched a 14-6 lead disappear in a 17-14 loss at Oregon after the Ducks scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Nebraska had controlled the game through three quarters, holding Oregon’s offense to 91 yards. But Dan Lanning made a quarterback change, bringing in Dylan Raiola after starting with Brock Thomas, and the former Nebraska quarterback helped fuel the comeback. Oregon’s winning march was a long one - 20 plays, 82 yards - and it ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to Jamari Johnson, followed by a two-point conversion with 28 seconds left.
It was the second straight week Nebraska had watched a tight game slip away. A week after losing 20-17 to Indiana, the Huskers dropped another one by three points, and both losses came against teams with elite defenses. Nebraska scored 17 against Indiana and 14 against Oregon.
The game swung on the kinds of mistakes that have been haunting Nebraska all season. Archie Wilson’s knee went down on a punt, gifting Oregon the ball in Nebraska territory.
Anthony Colandrea’s interception did the same thing. In a 17-14 game, those small errors loomed large.
Colandrea finished 18 of 33 for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Nebraska totaled just 207 yards of offense.
The larger issue, as the game made clear, was a ground game that never materialized. Oregon showed the blueprint for slowing Nebraska: stop the run, pressure Colandrea, and wait.
The offense never found a rhythm, and that left Colandrea carrying too much of the load. He was Nebraska’s leading rusher for a third straight week, a sign of how often the pocket turned into a problem and how often the run game failed to take pressure off him.
Early in the season, against weaker opponents, he was getting rid of the ball quickly. Over the last two weeks, that urgency has faded.
Receivers were coming open downfield, but he often held the ball instead of letting it go.
The blocking hasn’t helped. Nebraska has improved in that area compared with the last five or six years, but it still isn’t enough against a good opponent. The inconsistency showed up across the line and even from some receivers, who weren’t finishing blocks or, on some snaps, appeared not to block at all.
That said, the defense did enough to win for most of the night. Holding Indiana to 20 and Oregon to 17 is a strong two-week stretch against quality offenses, and Nebraska’s defense did its job for three quarters. The problem is that the offense could only manage 14 points, and the late wear showed up at the worst possible time.
Even after this one, the season isn’t gone. Nebraska came into the game expecting a fight, not a runaway, and the result fit that script.
The wider college football picture also showed how unpredictable Saturdays have become, with No. 2 Notre Dame, Alabama and Texas all losing, and Ohio State beating Indiana but losing starting quarterback Julian Sayin for several weeks.
Looking ahead, Nebraska still should have a path to a decent year. Maryland, Rutgers and Illinois appear to be games the Huskers can win.
Ohio State looks unlikely, though Sayin’s injury changes the picture. Iowa remains a tough ask, because Iowa is disciplined and plays together all the time.
That discipline, more than anything, is what Nebraska keeps coming back to. The mistakes show up in penalties, bad snaps and moments like a punter’s knee touching the turf at the wrong time.
Nebraska is no longer the old version that kept losing one-score games every week. But this team still finds ways to lose them.
In Other News...
Matt Rhule Sends Clear Message After Nebraskas Painful Oregon Finish
Nebraska came up just short against Oregon, falling 17-14 in a game that turned late when junior quarterback Dylan Raiola entered in the fourth quarter and hit tight end Jamari Johnson for the winning touchdown. Afterward, Matt Rhule made it clear he was not interested in turning the loss into a referendum on his quarterback or his program, instead framing it as the kind of game that can teach a team where it still needs to grow.
Rhule pointed to fatigue and Oregons effective run game as part of the reason the Cornhuskers were unable to close it out, while also brushing aside any notion that the late kickoff was an excuse. For Nebraska, the bigger takeaway may be the standard these matchups provide, since Rhule emphasized the value of lining up against strong programs even when the result stings. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Gets A Clear Opening As Nebraska Brings Real Concerns
Nebraskas latest loss was another frustrating one in a season that keeps slipping at the edges, with the Cornhuskers falling 17-14 to Oregon after letting a fourth-quarter lead get away for the second straight game. The timing only adds to the concern, because the issues have started to look familiar: special teams havent been steady, the rushing attack has faded in recent weeks, and the injury list has made it harder to patch things together.
A bye week now gives Nebraska a little breathing room before Washington comes to Lincoln, but it also leaves a clear set of problems to sort through. The Huskies will see a team that has been competitive late into games and still found a way to lose them, which makes the next stretch feel especially important for a group trying to stop the slide and reset before the home matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraskas Defense Did Enough But One Problem Still Cost Them
Nebraska had every chance to turn a solid defensive effort into one of its biggest wins of the season, but the offense never quite matched what the defense gave it. The Cornhuskers led entering the fourth quarter and kept Oregon within reach for most of the afternoon, yet the Ducks were able to survive a tight, physical game and leave with a 17-14 victory.
The issue for Nebraska was up front, where the offensive line struggled to consistently hold up and let the game slip away despite the way the defense kept battling. Oregon got late help from Dylan Raiola, who came off the bench and sparked the comeback, leaving Nebraska to wonder how different things might have looked with even a little more protection and consistency on offense. [Read more 🡒]