Nebraska football: 5 things we learned from a disheartening loss to Indiana

What happened to Nebraska football on Saturday wasn’t supposed to happen to the Huskers anymore. Not under Matt Rhule anyways.

But it did happen. Rhule said he was “embarrassed” by the way he coached his team. He didn’t say he was embarrassed by the players. He said he was “proud” of their effort.

However, Rhule looked defeated as he sat, stunned in the post-game press conference talking about how he didn’t see this coming.

Nobody did.

The problem is that we don’t know the Nebraska football team. Rhule does. It’s his job to know. It’s his job to have his team prepared and after a bye week, it just wasn’t.

It wasn’t just the worst performance of the Matt Rhule era either, it was worse than anything we ever saw under Scott Frost. The team quit in the second half, regardless of what Rhule says. The backup QB threw for two touchdowns — two more than Dylan Raiola.

If that doesn’t sum up the day perfectly, I don’t know what does.

It was jarring though to see a first-year head coach at Indiana improving to 7-0, while Nebraska still hasn’t reached bowl eligibility. After what I saw Saturday, it might not. Here are five things we learned from a disheartening loss to Indiana.

There hasn’t been enough progress

Nebraska won a close game last week. The Huskers also beat Colorado, but this team is going to be 5-3 after a loss to Ohio State, just like it was last season.

There will be four winnable games left to qualify for a bowl game. We all know what happened last season and it can’t happen again.

But nobody can look at this program, after that result, and say there is tangible progress in the second year under Matt Rhule. His team, which was ranked in the Coaches poll, lost by 49 points.

It’s unacceptable. It’s whatever adjective you want to use but it shows that the Huskers are still mired in mediocrity and are still light years away from where they want to be.

Rhule’s words can’t be trusted

When you look back at what Rhule said over the bye week, he looks clueless. Rhule said he was “excited” about special teams, which were a disaster again.

He said he didn’t see this coming, but then, what has he been looking at? The tackling problem isn’t anything new, neither are the kicking issues or red-zone woes.

All of those things could have been cleaned up over the bye week but weren’t. Nebraska receivers also can’t get open or block. It’s hard to find a single, positive thing and it’s gotten to the point where I just don’t buy what Rhule is selling.

The Nebraska football head coach has lost credibility with the fans, which is fine. But he’s going to lose it with the players soon too and that’s when you have real problems.

The Blackshirts are a disappointment

It’s time to retire the word elite when it comes to the Nebraska football defense for good. The Huskers don’t have an elite defense. I hesitate to say it’s even good.

Illinois and Indiana shredded the Huskers, which makes me wonder what Ohio State and USC are going to do. The pass rush was non-existent and Nebraska got pushed around…by Indiana.

The Hoosiers rushed for 215 yards. Their backup quarterback threw two touchdowns and it feels like the third QB could have tossed a touchdown too.

Tony White looked like he spent the bye week playing College Football 25 instead of studying Indiana. Curt Cignetti coached circles around him.

It was a failure on all levels and maybe we shouldn’t have been surprised. What’s worse is that there are nine seniors starting on defense. Nine.

What a massive disappointment.

The offense stinks

Dylan Raiola is a talented quarterback, but the offense is terrible right now. The Huskers are scoring 25 points per game which ranks 91st in college football.

Over the past three Big Ten games, Nebraska has scored 28 points total, or you know, the same amount as Indiana scored in the first half on Saturday.

The running game doesn’t exist. Nebraska football averages just 3.7 yards per rushing attempt and now the Huskers are turning the ball over 1.3 times per game. Raiola has nine touchdowns compared to six interceptions but what’s worse is there is no go-to guy.

There is no identity for this offense and Big Ten teams clearly have it figured out. Oh, and the offensive line took a major step back, so there’s that.

Some coaches need to go

The assistant coaches hired can tell you a lot about a head coach. Scott Frost whiffed on a lot of his hires. It looks like Matt Rhule has too.

Ed Foley needs to go. Rhule even got advice from a former Nebraska football assistant last week on special teams, which shouldn’t be needed if Foley could handle his job.

The special teams have been atrocious. Long snapping shouldn’t be that hard but the fact that Nebraska can’t even attempt a field goal is problematic.

Garret McGuire is also in over his head. The kid can recruit, sure. But the wide receivers don’t block. They don’t get open and they haven’t developed. Jaylen Lloyd and Malachi Coleman have each taken a frightening step back.

Jahmal Banks and Isaiah Neyor are average on their best day and they are Nebraska’s best wideouts. Barney is a gadget player and there isn’t a wideout on this roster who can consistently win a one-on-one matchup.

Someone has to answer for that and honestly, when looking at the state of things, you have to wonder if Dylan Raiola starts to regret his decision at some point.

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