Nebraska gets beaten in all phases of the game in their 31-24 overtime loss to No. 24 Illinois. The media and fans felt that the Huskers were back to being a Top-25 program, after last night, this proved that they’re not.
“We didn’t seem to be the more physical team,” coach Rhule said.
Mediocre Offensive Performance
Nebraska is now down to its third-string left tackle after the injury to Turner Corcoran. From what Rhule said after the game, the injury seems significant.
“Turner looked like he got hurt pretty severely,” Rhule said.
Redshirt freshman Gunnar Gottula filled in and played well. He sealed many of the only successful rushing plays as the offense struggled running through the A-gap. His pass blocking was encouraging as well, not giving up a sack. Gottula had a Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 65.7, which was above everyone on the offensive line except senior right tackle Bryce Benhart.
Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola played a solid football game but showed his first glimpses of rookie mistakes. Raiola threw the ball well. Whether his interception was a touchdown or not, wide receiver Isaiah Neyor needs to come down with the football, especially considering his size.
Raiola’s fumbles in the fourth quarter could have been even worse. His overthrow on third and three with three minutes left was one he blamed himself for, taking the loss upon himself
“I missed the throw to win the game. That was our chance to go win the game. I’ll take this game on my back and I have got to get better,” Raiola said.
Raiola taking the blame is respectable for his leadership, but this game was not lost because of NU’s quarterback play.
The offensive line struggled to say the least. The amount of A-gap pressure Illinois generated is concerning. Dante Dowdell did his best running the football but could never get going. He had 20 carries for 72 yards, which is only a 3.6-yard average. The absence of Micah Mazzccua was noticed on Friday night.
Raiola can only do so much for Big Red on offense, he is going to need help from his offensive line and running backs to create some balance and if not, it’s going to be a long season.
Defense Looks Ugly
As bad as the defense played, they did give the offense a chance to win at the end. I will defend them on that point, but in overtime, the lack of effort from the Blackshirts stood out. Illinois picked apart the scheme of Nebraska defensive coordinator Tony White, this did not look anything close to one of the best defenses in college football.
Defensive lineman Jimari Butler seemed to be battling what Rhule called “soreness,” throughout the game, limping off the field at times. Butler only played 36 snaps but when he was in, he was one of the only bright spots on defense. He had the highest grade among the Blackshirts on PFF at 82.1. It will be interesting to watch the status of Butler for Purdue next week; his “soreness” could be more significant than initially thought.
John Bullock made a few plays; his strip fumble was textbook early on in the game. The other linebackers were subpar, to say the least. Mikai Gbayor was graded on PFF at 53.6, the worst among the linebackers. The lack of filling gaps showed last night and Illinois exploited it, rushing the football effectively in the second half.
The defensive line was pushed around the entire game, and as Rhule noted, the Huskers were not the more physical team. This was surprising to many, as it was thought to be the biggest strength of the entire team.Illinois averaged 4.4 yards per carry – not what anyone expected from a team that had been struggling to run the football against lower-tier teams.
The secondary was frustrating; their lack of containing the perimeter killed the Blackshirts. Isaac Gifford had a rough outing, his PFF tackling grade was 31.3, which is not good at all. The defensive backs didn’t get burned deep, but they sure let the Fighting Illini have everything they wanted to on short passing plays.
Defensive back Tommi Hill was in street clothes during the second half.
“Tommi has plantar fascia inflammation,” Rhule said.
Hill seemed to be off, getting beat by the Fighting Illini’s receivers repeatedly. I wonder if this was an injury he was dealing with before the game.
USC junior transfer Ceyair Wright came in and held his own. He was the highest-graded defensive back on PFF scoring an overall 73 and the strip sack at the end could have been the game-changing play for the Huskers to go win. I think Wright has earned himself an increase in playing time after how lackluster the defensive backs looked against the Fighting Illini.
Special Teams
Nebraska’s lack of a place-kicker who can make a consistent chip-shot is incredible. In the NIL era, the Cornhuskers have been pathetic in this ever-so-important position in the Big Ten. Both Tristan Alvano and John Hohl are not getting it done. Whether it’s mental or not, change is going to be needed.
At punter, Brian Buschini continues to pin the ball deep. Coverage is another story, even though it appeared that Jeremiah Charles was blocked in the back on Illinois’ 37-yard return in the 3rd quarter, Nebraska is going to need to do something to fix special coverages on both punt and kickoff.
My Overall Take
Matt Rhule’s motto is to play blue-collar football: win the line of scrimmage, play tough defense, protect the football and wear down opponents in the fourth quarter. On Friday night the Cornhuskers did the polar opposite.
Yes, the referees were bad, but Nebraska did not deserve to win this football game. The effort in the second half was disappointing and personal fouls from some of the leaders of the team did not look good – a testament to where the culture is, will be seen next week.
It is concerning that Rhule and his staff haven’t beaten: losing the close game. The offseason motto of “Chasing 3” – to win one-possession games – is still a work in progress. The offense could not run up the middle, the defense looked like they were playing to 50 percent of its ability and the place-kicking continues to worsen. Nebraska will not win one-score games if they don’t address these issues. Big Red got a taste of humble pie last night, and perhaps this will work out in their favor.
