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...
Oregon Suddenly Faces A Big Evan Stewart Question
Evan Stewarts status has become another uneasy subplot for Oregon, which is already managing his return from injury after he missed the recent game. The wide receiver was booked into Springfield Municipal Jail on a charge of driving under the influence of intoxicants and released about an hour later, turning what should have been a football-focused week into a fresh off-field concern for the Ducks.
Springfield Police also moved quickly to shut down the noise around the incident, saying rumors of street racing involving Oregon players were unfounded and that Stewarts arrest was not tied to a separate police pursuit. For a team counting on Stewart as part of its offensive mix after his recovery, the bigger question now is less about what happened in Springfield and more about how Oregon handles the situation from here. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Left Wondering After Two Late Replay Moments Swung Everything
Nebraska spent the final minutes of its loss to Oregon wrestling with two replay moments that ended up defining the finish. The Cornhuskers had a touchdown catch by Kwazi Gilmer upheld after review, with officials saying there was not enough clear evidence to overturn the call, and the Ducks kept hanging around until they finally grabbed their first lead with 28 seconds left.
Isaiah Mozee then became part of the late-game frustration when a potential Nebraska fumble was not reviewed, leaving the Huskers in possession and the sequence unresolved in real time. For Oregon, it was another close escape in a game decided by a handful of snaps and a couple of calls that Nebraska will be replaying for a long time. [Read more 🡒]
Oregon Is Suddenly Back In A Ranking Fight Again
Oregon spent the weekend watching a familiar kind of opening form around it, with several top-ranked teams taking losses and the door to the AP Top 25 cracking back open. The Ducks were already in the spotlight after they beat Nebraska, a result that came with a quarterback change and gave the season a different feel after Oregon had fallen out of the poll for the first time since Dan Lanning's initial year.
Now the question is whether that win is enough to push Oregon back into the rankings when the new poll is released. The Ducks still have work ahead of them, and the next few games will matter, especially a matchup with Northwestern that could become part of the conversation if the voters are sorting through the bottom of the Top 25 again. [Read more 🡒]