Nebraska got dominated in all phases of the game. Head coach Matt Rhule and his staff did not have the Huskers prepared. There was no energy, and when adversity struck, Nebraska folded.
“This happened on my watch (and) I’m going to be honest, I didn’t see this one coming,” Rhule said postgame. “I thought we were going to play great and they exploited a lot of things.” “Everything should be pointed right at me,” Rhule later added.
Here are the biggest takeaways:
The defense gets picked apart
The Blackshirts got exposed. They did not look like the “Blackshirts” against Indiana. The Hoosiers threw the ball well, but this so-called top rush defense significantly struggled. Indiana averaged 9.3 yards per carry in the first half. At the end of the game, Indiana finished with 215 yards on the ground. For a Husker team that prided itself on stopping the run, they lacked the same fire on Saturday.
“At times a big play would happen and everyone would have their head down,” senior defensive end Jimari Butler said postgame.
The Huskers’ defense gave up 495 total yards. They will have to go back to the drawing board. Nebraska’s perimeter defense continues to struggle. This weakness was highlighted against Illinois and fully exploited against Indiana.
Lack of running game destroys offense
The rushing attack continues to worsen. Nebraska averaged 2.4 yards on the ground. Its leading rusher was backup junior quarterback Heinrich Haarberg, who had 32 yards on five carries. Haarberg needs to be involved more, especially since the running backs can’t effectively carry the football.
Sophomore running backs Dante Dowdell and Emmett Johnson combined for 40 yards on 15 carries. The lack of a ground game continues to allow opposing defenses to blitz after freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Raiola’s three interceptions are due to the absence of help on offense.
Nebraska is still struggling to block on the perimeter. Several times throughout the game, the receivers did not seal the edge for the ball carriers, leading to astounding weakness on the ground.
What’s next?
Rhule has an important task ahead in not losing this football team. Reaching six wins is going to be a challenge. This was arguably the worst Husker performance since its 62-3 loss in 2016 at Ohio State. Next week Nebraska will be heading to Columbus to take on an angry Ohio State, that just came off a bye week, after losing 32-31 to Oregon. Rhule better flip the script.
“I just think our guys are gonna bounce back,” Rhule said postgame.
There’s not much more to say; Nebraska better burn the film.
