In 2024, Nebraska football was on a high note following a 3-0 start to the season. The defensive line was outstanding, Dylan Raiola, a true freshman quarterback, was finding his rhythm, and the Cornhuskers’ thrilling victory over Deion Sanders and Colorado vaulted Matt Rhule and the team into the top 25.
Still, not even all of that was going to be able to lift Nebraska out of a curse that goes back almost ten years. Nebraska has now lost 27 straight games against ranked opponents, starting with Friday night’s sad overtime loss to No. 24 Illinois in Lincoln, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
“They have now lost 27 straight games against ranked opponents 😱,” DraftKings wrote on X, the previous Twitter platform, following the match.
The disastrous overtime play on Friday night continued Nebraska’s run of failure in overtime. At this point, the Cornhuskers have lost eight straight overtime games without scoring a point. The fact that they haven’t scored a point or gained a first down in overtime since 2014 is so absurd it almost seems unreal.
They might have just had one of their worst overtime stints. Nebraska’s offensive collapsed after giving up a touchdown to Illinois in just two plays, giving them the lead. The sequence of events during Nebraska’s overtime drive was as follows: procedural penalty, sack, sack, 13-yard completion, sack. In a scheme where the possession begins at the opponent’s 25-yard line, Nebraska amazingly snapped the ball on third-and-42 from their own 43.
Missed opportunities haunt Nebraska in OT loss
Nebraska is going to regret a lot of things after they see this film. Matt Rhule’s team was plagued by missed opportunities on both ends of the ball in this game; if they had taken advantage of them, they probably wouldn’t have needed overtime in the first place.
Nebraska had the ball down inside the five relatively early in the game, setting up the first. After his defender went down, Dylan Raiola saw running back Rahmir Johnson wide open in the right flat on third-and-goal. But Johnson lost his bearings and sprinted out of bounds before the ball arrived, and Raiola arrived a bit late. Nebraska had to make do with three.
Raiola made the decision to go deep for Isaiah Neyor down the left sideline while Nebraska was once again on the drive in the second quarter. But Illinois cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. grabbed it from Neyor, gathering one of the season’s greatest interceptions.
The largest opportunity lost thus far came in the fourth quarter. Raiola threw a wide open Luke Lindenmeyer in the end zone with the game tied and Nebraska driving in the closing minutes, missing what would have been the game-winning touchdown. In an odd decision, Nebraska decided to try a field goal with their backup kicker on a fourth-and-3 play, but they missed, forcing the defense to hold and force overtime.
All things considered, Nebraska ought to have won this game. The abundance of lost opportunities in this one will hurt for a while, but they still have plenty of time to recoup this season.
