Brutal mistakes by Husker seniors doom Nebraska football

This didn’t just happen again, did it? Is Nebraska giving away another football game to a powerless Iowa team?

Oh yes, that was the case, and even less justified than the nearly identical 13-10 loss last year.

With Nebraska seemingly in control of a 10-0 game at halftime, awaiting kickoff in the second half, and the Blackshirts playing extremely well, one had to assume that only a series of brutal mistakes could somehow tip the game to Iowa.

The Cornhuskers obliged, with three seniors playing infamous central roles, paving the way for the Hawkeyes to somehow pull out a come-from-behind win without a viable quarterback.

And yes, keyword: “Groundhog Day” credits. The Iowa kicking game won another 13-10 game for the Hawkeyes, who likely narrowed it to one thanks to another walkoff field goal – this time a 53-yarder from junior kicker Drew Stevens that stayed inches inside the right upright heading for another loss in a bowl game on New Year’s Day in Florida with their 8-4 record.

Did Iowa just beat Nebraska despite being 334-164 outyards, 144-49 outrushes, 20-5 on first downs, 0-for-10 on third downs and despite being only 65 total fourth quarter, was defeated? Yards? Yes, yes, it did.

Nebraska, 6-6 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten, which could have had a winning season, must now do so by winning a cold-weather bowl game against another mid-major team because its offense is back to normal reverted to her previous identity and failed at critical moments in a game that could have decided more than once.

Matt Rhule and the Huskers missed a golden opportunity to gain tons of confidence and prepare for a dynamic offseason. Instead, Rhule and his staff barely scraped by, reaching the minimum that could be considered an improvement over last season, although bowl eligibility was a big step for a program mired in a losing mentality. Thank heavens that inept Luke Fickell took his powerless Wisconsin team to Lincoln last week.

Nebraska had a chance to put this game away, but the Huskers couldn’t close the deal. Early in the second half, they missed their chance to pull away and got sucked back into the rock fight that Iowa wanted.

Perhaps the most brutal unexpected mistake came from senior John Bullock, the Huskers’ best linebacker, who appeared to pin Iowa’s star running back Kaleb Johnson to the sideline but allowed him to get away and beat the rest of the Huskers’ defense all the way to the sideline end zone for a stunning 72-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the fourth quarter that tied the game. Although he finished the game with just 45 yards rushing, Johnson gave Iowa just enough offense to keep its pulse going. To his credit, this should be viewed as an All-American effort by Johnson rather than a mistake by Bullock.

Nebraska’s other brutal mistakes came from less surprising sources: senior wide receiver Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda, who this season emulated Santino Panico by reducing the role of punt returner to punt catcher, and the ever-inconsistent senior right tackle Bryce Benhart. who made his 52nd start, more than any other Husker offensive player in history, and he did his part to prove that an experienced offensive line is not necessarily an effective offensive line.

No, Garcia-Castaneda didn’t blow the punt. Instead of getting into good position to make the catch, he played the ball tentatively, allowing it to bounce and roll back toward the goal line. The most generously optimistic assessment of his efforts must admit that he willingly gave up about 10 to 12 yards of valuable field position. But he was so close to the ball that everyone else thought he blew it, including the Husker Sports Network radio team, so you can’t blame rookie Vincent Shavers for trying to retrieve what looked like a live ball , and in the process he touched it, allowing the Hawkeyes to gain possession inside the 5-yard line, although a fantastic quick response from the Blackshirts prevented Iowa from a field goal.

No, Benhart didn’t fumble the ball on Nebraska’s final series, but he did allow Iowa reserve defensive lineman Max Llewellyn to quickly rush around him and hit Raiola from behind, making the strip sack and recovery all in one motion on the 36- Yard of Nebraska line. Raiola’s biggest mistake wasn’t just falling back into the habit of overthinking things in the final minutes of the game, but trusting his senior right tackle to do his job. Instead, Benhart rolled out the red carpet for the Hawkeye victory.

Another brutal mistake, a botched long snap by junior Aidan Flege on a field goal attempt that could have given the Huskers a 13-0 lead at the end of Nebraska’s first drive of the second half, was another Nebraska collapse -Kickspiels also resumed its former identity. The Huskers allowed 25 punt return yards while getting none, and allowed 56 kickoff return yards on two attempts while getting just 36 on two returns of their own.

The multiple missteps in the kicking game will surely finally convince Rhule to change things up at special teams coordinator. He should immediately name Ed Foley as the state’s recruiting coordinator and hire Bill Busch and see if Busch can get a 15-bowl start to the 2025 season. If Busch turns him down, Rhule should look for another good option. Keeping Foley in his current role would be a coaching mistake, as would retaining wide receivers coach Garret McGuire and former offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Marcus Satterfield. Nebraska’s offense and kicking game this season has played poor complementary football, to say the least.

It would be entirely possible for Donovan Raiola to be fired, but that won’t happen. Its offensive line improved slowly over the last two seasons and had the Hawkeye defensive line on its heels at times but couldn’t keep up the pace consistently. Much the same could be said about running backs coach EJ Barthel. Nebraska’s running performance has been frankly disappointing over the course of this season, although it ended up being promising.

Will Dana Holgorsen return for another season as offensive coordinator? A positive answer would be the best news Nebraska football could get next week.

Holgorsen is good, but it became clear against Iowa that he is not a miracle worker. He relied too heavily on an east-west short-passing attack, something Iowa’s defense generally enjoys, and which betrayed Holgorsen’s understandable lack of confidence in the Huskers’ offensive line. Technically, he lost a head-to-head matchup against Iowa defensive star Phil Parker, who himself was outpointed by his Nebraska counterpart, Tony White. But if Raiola doesn’t miss a wide-open Jalen Lloyd on a deep route early in the game, or if Nebraska senior Isaiah Neyor can catch a ball that goes right through his hands at the Iowa 25-yard line late in the fourth quarter went, Nebraska probably wins and Holgorsen’s stock would have continued to rise.

Should Rhule have intentionally let time expire at the end of the fourth quarter? Should he have played for overtime? That’s really not a serious question considering how Nebraska has played in overtime for the past decade. No, with good field position you trust your players to make plays to win the game. In the final minutes of the game, Nebraska’s players let their coach down, showing they weren’t ready to make big plays at a crucial time.

The month of December presents an opportunity for improvement in a scattershot, underperforming Husker offense and kicking game. If handled correctly, the Huskers could gradually eradicate the brutal mistakes from their portfolio and learn to capitalize on opportunities to differentiate themselves from Big Ten teams that hope for nothing more than tough battles.

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