Nebraska’s offense never found a steady rhythm against Oregon, and the numbers tell the story. The Huskers put up 242 yards on 67 snaps Saturday night, a line that came up well short in a game where the unit needed more than scattered flashes.
Only 21 players logged offensive snaps for Nebraska, and the group’s final Pro Football Focus grades reflected a night where too many pieces failed to click at once. Whether the root issue was play-calling, personnel, injuries, or something else, the offense did not resemble the group that had taken the field earlier in the season.
Anthony Colandrea still gave Nebraska a chance to hang around. The senior completed 18 of 33 passes for 164 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, while also rushing for 38 yards and another score on 13 carries. Even with that production, it was the kind of night where he had to do far too much on his own.
Oregon got him under heat on 13 of his 40 true dropbacks, but blitzed him only nine times. Against the blitz, Colandrea managed just three completions on nine attempts for six yards. After sacks were factored in, he finished with 10 rushing attempts for 71 yards.
For Nebraska, that has become a troubling pattern. Colandrea has now led the team in rushing in three of four Big Ten games, and that is not the kind of formula a productive offense wants to lean on.
The run game had a rough go of it again, even with a few isolated bursts. Isaiah Mozee and Colandrea each popped a run of 20-plus yards, but Nebraska’s backfield trio of Mozee, Mekhi Nelson, and Jamal Rule still combined for only 58 yards on 18 carries.
Mozee’s 26-yard run on third-and-22 was one of the night’s few offensive high points. It helped set up a touchdown late in the third quarter and gave Nebraska a 14-6 lead, a moment that briefly made it seem like the Huskers might finally be ready to pull away.
Rule’s injury added another hit to an already thin running game. With the bye week coming next, Nebraska will get a chance to try to get its backs healthier before the final stretch of the regular season.
Kwazi Gilmer was an important part of the touchdown drive before halftime, finishing with six catches for 74 yards. But he was also charged with two drops, and that has become an issue. Over the past four games, he has been charged with six drops, giving him eight on the season.
Jacory Barney Jr. and Nyziah Hunter each chipped in as well, but Nebraska’s receivers had a hard time creating separation downfield. Colandrea can buy time, but only so much of it, and the passing game paid for it when the receivers couldn’t consistently make Oregon pay.
Luke Lindenmeyer kept his recent uptick in the passing game going. After tying his career high in receptions a week earlier against Indiana, he followed that with three catches for 25 yards against the Ducks.
The tight end group otherwise stayed mostly quiet. Cayden Echternach was targeted once on an RPO, but PFF charged the throw as uncatchable. Carter Nelson was on the field for just one snap, his first since getting hurt against North Dakota.
Up front, Nebraska had little margin for error. Colandrea was sacked three times and pressured all night, and PFF charged the offensive line with allowing one sack and five pressures. The group also drew four penalties.
The line was also shuffled throughout the game. Gunnar Gottula started at left guard for the second straight week, but he exited early with an injury.
Brendan Black was replaced by Paul Mubenga after giving up a sack. Then, with Gottula out, Black returned and Mubenga slid to the left side.
If Gottula is out for a while, Tyler Knaak, Gibson Pyle, and Sam Sledge look like the most likely candidates for rotational snaps.
In Other News...
Matt Rhule Sends Clear Message After Nebraskas Painful Oregon Finish
A trip to Oregon ended in another close, painful loss for Nebraska, but Matt Rhule came away focused on the bigger picture as much as the final score. The Ducks edged the Cornhuskers 17-14, and Rhule pointed to a combination of fatigue and Oregons run game as factors in how the evening played out, while also making it clear he did not want to hang the result on the late kickoff time.
Rhule also made a point of backing Dylan Raiola, the junior quarterback who entered in the fourth quarter and guided Nebraskas go-ahead drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Jamari Johnson. Even with the disappointment of letting a winnable game slip away, Rhule emphasized the value of going toe-to-toe with one of the nations better programs, a reminder that Nebraskas margin for error against top competition remains razor thin. [Read more 🡒]
Washington Gets A Clear Opening As Nebraska Brings Real Concerns
Nebraska walked away from its 17-14 loss to Oregon with another missed chance, and the sting was familiar. For the second straight game, the Cornhuskers had a fourth-quarter lead and still could not finish, a frustrating pattern that has started to expose some real issues in a season that has suddenly become less forgiving.
Special teams inconsistency and a rushing attack that has sputtered in recent games are the biggest worries heading into a bye week, especially with injuries adding to the strain on the roster. Washington will come to Lincoln after that break, and the Huskers will need the extra time to clean up a few problems that are becoming harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Left Wondering After Two Late Replay Moments Swung Everything
Nebraska had reason to feel like it was in control of the moment when the officials sorted through a pair of late replay decisions in a tight loss to Oregon. The Ducks, who had been trailing deep into the final minutes, grabbed their first lead with 28 seconds left, but the finish was shaped as much by the review booth as by the action on the field, with Kwazi Gilmers touchdown catch standing after replay found no clear evidence to overturn it.
The game also featured another tense sequence on Nebraskas side when a potential fumble by Isaiah Mozee went unreviewed late, leaving the Huskers to keep possession. In a contest decided by slim margins, those two moments became the center of the postgame conversation for Nebraska, which was left to sort through what was called, what was reviewed, and what ultimately swung the outcome. [Read more 🡒]