Nebraska Was Close Against Ohio State but Mistakes Cost the Huskers a Victory

What needs to be fixed going forward for the Huskers to reach the next level in their development?

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Ty Hamilton (58) tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) during the second half of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Ohio State won 21-17. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The odds were stacked heavily against Nebraska heading into its road showdown with Ohio State on Saturday. However, the Huskers ended up having a chance to win the game late in the fourth quarter. That is not a situation that most people thought the Huskers would find themselves in.

Nebraska had two different drives in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead late in the game but was unable to do so. As a result, Nebraska lost the game 21-17. Head coach Matt Rhule talked on Monday about how his team was close but did not do enough to win.

“It was obviously a great football game this past Saturday," Rhule said. "As I said after the game, I’m proud of our guys and the effort and all the things they brought forth, the resiliency during the game. At the same time, we made key mistakes in all three phases that didn’t allow us to win the game. We started this morning working to correct those."

Nebraska was able to avoid a lot of turnovers against Ohio State and only committed one the entire game. However, that turnover was an interception on the last drive of the game that took away any chance the Huskers had of winning. Penalties were more of an issue for the Huskers. They committed seven penalties for 62 yards, which was nearly double the 36 yards in penalties that the Buckeyes accumulated. 

Rhule also stressed the significance of addressing some of their issues before the next game against UCLA. This shows that Rhule is a head coach who has achieved success, as he is determined to learn from his team’s mistakes rather than being content with a performance that exceeded expectations. He showed how much his team can improve after the Indiana game, now he will try and do it again this week.

"We’ll try to get better for UCLA," Rhule said. "They’re really an excellent football team that’s had a really tough schedule and is playing their best football of late, so we have our work cut out for us. We’ll try to make the improvements from the Ohio State game to the UCLA game the same way we did from Indiana to Ohio State.”

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