First off, I must apologize for the tardiness of this article. Sometimes family matters take precedent over your fandom. So, while I may not tell you anything new, I will share my thoughts on the game. Better late than never
Nebraska started the Las Vegas Bowl like a house-a-fire against Utah. But after putting up 94 yards rushing in the first quarter and leading 14-7 things went south quickly. After the first quarter, I got the feeling the Husker’s offense was doing everything they could to play complementary football. And by that, I mean protect the defense. Rhule and staff quickly realized that they were not going to slow Utah QB Deveon Dampier down, so the offense went into self-preservation mode.
Utah’s defense adjusted and Nebraska let them. Too frightened to push the ball down field they continued to try to run the ball, throw screen passes, and just play it safe. The plan was to limit mistakes, burn clock, and limit the Utes possessions. By doing that, they kept this game at 44-22 rather than 62-22.
It sucks watching your team not play to win. They feared rolling the dice and committing turnovers knowing they couldn’t stop Utah. So, they just went through the motions rather than trying to win the game.
QB TJ Lateef finished the day 15/28 passing for 182 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He also rushed for 22 yards and 1 TD on 13 carries, while being sacked 3 times. Lateef only attempted 6 passes of more than 20 yards in the game. Of those he completed 1. He went 1/3 on passes 10 to 19 yards, and 5/6 on screen plays for 76 yards. The play action seemed to work for the Huskers as Lateef was 5/6 for 76 yards when running it.
One of the more disappointing stats was passes thrown to the tight ends. In 95 offensive snaps the tight end was targeted 1 time. Over the last 4 games Luke Lindenmeyer has 3 receptions for 26 yards. It’s something that needs to be fixed in 2026.
But getting things fixed isn’t just at tight end. Failure to utilize wide receiver talent is also showing up more. Jacory Barney was targeted 6 times with 2 catches for 21 yards. He’s hasn’t recorded more than 55 yards in a game since having 120 yards receiving against Michigan.
Dan Key had 4 receptions in 6 targets for 28 yards. He finished the season with 39 receptions for 452 yards. To say he must be disappointed is probably an understatement, as those are his lowest numbers in his four-year career.
Things were slightly more positive at the running back position with Mekhi Nelson rushing for 88 yards on 12 carries for a 7.8 yard per carry average. He had a run of 38 yards for a TD. It looked early on as if he would have a career day as he rushed for 60 yards in the first quarter alone. He also had 3 receptions for 48 yards with a long of 24 yards. If he develops at the same rate as Emmett Johnson, it’s easy to imagine him having the same type of success in his second full season as a starter.
Offensively everything for Utah ran through QB Deveon Dampier. For the game Dampier went 19/31 passing for 310 yards and 2 TDs. He also rushed for 148 yards and 3 TDs for a 7.8 yard per carry average. He was everything the Huskers anticipated and more.
Against the Blackshirts Utah’s game revolved around Dampier and the tight ends. The Ute’s tight ends ate the Huskers up. Dallen Bently had 6 receptions for 105 yards and 1 TD, and a 17.7 yard per catch average. JJ Buchanan had 4 receptions for 76 yards and 1 TD with a 19.0 yard per reception average. If you exclude the yardage to the tight ends, the Blackshirts held Utah to 128 yards passing.
To magnify the importance of Dampier, if you exclude his rushing yards the Blackshirts held the Utes to 77 yards rushing. Or in other words, take away Dampier and the tight ends and the Ute’s had 205 yards of total offense. I know that is a Matt Rhule way of looking at things, but from a defensive standpoint linebacker play becomes a glaring weakness in the defense.
While I personally was disappointed in the defensive line play there were a couple of players that had one of their better games of the season. Cam Lenhardt recorded 3 QB hurries, 3 solo tackles, 1 sack, and 1 tackle for a loss. Riley Van Poppel had 2 QB hurries, 2 tackles, ½ sack, and 1 pass deflection. Seeing a slight improvement and the hopes of retaining a new defensive line coach, this is a positive heading into 2026.
From the linebacker spot Vincent Shavers continues to show up. He had 9 total tackles with 2 solos. Javin Wright logged 3 total tackles, 1 solo, 1 ½ sacks, 1 ½ tackles for a loss and 1 pass deflection. But overall, linebacker play must improve in 2026.
Eleven defensive backs saw action in the game. Last season in the Pinstripe Bowl Donavan Jones stood out. He stood out again in the Las Vegas Bowl, but for the wrong reasons. Jones had a team high 5 missed tackles for a tackling grade of 26.4. Jones wasn’t alone, Rex Guthrie had one of his worst games, having two missed tackles and allowing 2 receptions on 3 targets for 40 yards and a touchdown. Overall, of the Huskers 13 missed tackles in the game, 8 came from the defensive backs. To show how pores the Blackshirt defense was, of Nebraska’s top 8 tacklers, 6 were defensive backs with a total of 39.
On the positive side, just as Donavan Jones made an impression in last season’s bowl game, Caleb Benning did so in Las Vegas with his best showing of the year. He was the Blackshirts leading tackler in the game with 13 total tackles.
As we all know, this Nebraska team is extremely young. There will be bodies added through the portal, but maturity and experience are needed. Things to look forward to in 2026 are a new roster, OC Dan Holgorsen, now shed of Raiola, showing us what his offense can truly look like, and a revamped coaching staff that will bring the fire and physicality needed to play in the Big Ten.
There’s no place but up in 2026 Husker fans! Until you look at the schedule. Yikes!
GO BIG RED!!
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