Nebraska Lost Its First Close Game of the Season... How Concerning is That?

Every game the Huksers have played this year has been a breeze, except the one game they have lost.

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) passes against Illinois Fighting Illini linebacker Jojo Hayden (30) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska has found itself with a 3-1 record through four games. Those three wins had virtually no suspense at all.

The Huskers easily took care of UTEP in the season opener by a score of 40-7. Their next game with Colorado was expected to be more of a battle, but instead, the Huskers jumped out to a 28-0 lead, and the game was over by halftime. Nebraska also cruised to a drama-free 34-3 victory over Northern Iowa to start the year 3-0.

Nebraska was not tested at all in its first three games, but against Illinois, things were very different. The Huskers found themselves in a dogfight. They did not look prepared for the battle they were in the middle of. Coach Matt Rhule talked about his team's mindset in that game earlier this week.

“It’s the chicken and the egg, how do you learn to win if you’ve never really won," Rhule said. "Our guys are winners, and that’s the biggest thing for me. Our guys do winning things. I just want them to be themselves in these moments and stop worrying about all this other stuff, and just go out and compete. Illinois came here to compete. Illinois wanted to beat us, and we wanted to beat Colorado."

Sometimes a coach's message cannot settle in until what he was warning about actually happens. Rhule is hopeful that, going forward, his players will be better prepared for a game like the one they found themselves in against Illinois.

"You start getting into these games, and it’s the disease of, they’re going to be this record going into this game, and I’ve tried hard to get them to not listen to that," Rhule said. "They don’t listen to me, necessarily, because they’re 18-22 and they have their own brains. I love them and I believe in them, but that doesn’t get you anywhere. Just go compete against this team and play as well as we can. Hopefully, this was a good wake-up call, and again, I have to own the fact that our team went out there and didn’t execute in crucial situations. I have to own that.”

So, how concerning is it that Nebraska lost the first close game they played this season? Well, it is not time to panic yet. However, if those bad habits tend to linger throughout the season or show themselves in the next few weeks leading up to the Ohio State game, that would be a reason for major concern.

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