Overtime Continues to Be Futility Time for Nebraska Football

Abysmal numbers on offense and a leaky defense have defined Husker football's nearly decade-long OT drought. Friday night's loss to Illinois made it eight overtime games in a row for the Big Red without a point scored or even a first down made.

Joe Hudson | Sep 22, 2024

Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Pat Bryant scores a touchdown in overtime against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

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Nebraska Cornhuskers

Firing blanks in overtime has been an unfortunate Husker habit since 2015, and the trend continued in Friday night's 31-24 loss to Illinois.

For the eighth consecutive time, Nebraska failed to pull off an overtime win. Failed to score. Failed to pick up so much as a first down.

All this was documented last year and in 2021, but once again there are some ugly numbers to update.

The Huskers have now run 27 plays in overtime during this nearly decade-long stretch for minus-11 net yards of total offense. They've thrown nearly as many interceptions (4) as completions (6). No run has gone for more than three yards. Only twice have they needed to pick up less than eight yards on third down.

More composite numbers:

Anemic running game. Officially, the Huskers have run the ball 11 times for minus-51 yards. Disregard quarterback sacks and it's still beyond meager: six rushes for four yards.
Trouble stopping the run. Nebraska's opponents have amassed 131 rushing yards on 27 carries. Their average rushing gain is a robust 4.85 yards, which is 60% better than Nebraska's longest rushing gain (3 yards).
Disastrous passing game. Husker quarterbacks have completed six of 16 passes for 40 yards and have had four intercepted. On five other called passing plays that count statistically as runs, Nebraska has suffered quarterback sacks for losses totaling 55 yards. That means 21 called passing plays have netted minus-15 yards and four turnovers.
Add it all up. That's minus-11 yards of total offense, zero points, zero first downs and four turnovers in 27 plays.

Over the course of eight overtimes, dumb luck or the law of averages ought to get you an occasional first down or five-yard run. Yet those common achievements in football continue to elude the Huskers in OT. Instead of one measly first down Friday night, Nebraska produced the unlikeliest of stats — minus-25 yards of total offense, including a third-and-42 situation — as the Illini sacked Dylan Raiola three times.

Before the current eight-game skid, Nebraska was 8-1 in overtime games, but now the ledger stands at 8-9. The Huskers' last win in OT came in 2014 at Iowa in Bo Pelini's final game as head coach.

Below are composite stats from the eight-game streak of overtime futility. (Hold phone horizontally for better viewing of table.) Scroll down further for Nebraska's game-by-game plays on offense, plus Husker coaches' OT records and links to all 17 Husker overtime games.

	NEB	OPP
Points	0	39
First Downs	0	9
Rushes-Yards	11-(-51)	27-131
Average Gain	-4.6	4.9
Long Gain	3	23
Excl. Sacks (No.-Yds-Avg)	6 - 4 - 0.67	27 - 131 - 4.85
Passing Yards	40	16
Comp-Att-Int	6-16-4	4-7-1
Long Gain	13	9
NCAA Pass. Rating	6.25	123.49
Total Offense Plays-Yds	27-(-11)	34-147
Yards Per Play	-0.4	4.3
Penalized-Yards	4-28	2-10
3rd Down Conv.	0/7	1/6
4th Down Conv.	0/4	1/1
Sacks by-Yards	0-0	5-55
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	0-0

Game-by-game offense

2024 vs. Illinois (L 31-24)

Illinois had first possession, scored 7

• 1-10 ILL 25: PENALTY NEB False Start (Gunnar Gottula) -5 yards.

• 1-15 ILL 30: Dylan Raiola sacked for loss of 9 yards.

• 2-24 ILL 39: Raiola sacked for loss of 18 yards.

• 3-42 NEB 43: Raiola pass to Jahmal Banks for 13 yards.

• 4-29 ILL 44: Raiola sacked for loss of 11 yards.

(4 plays, -25 yards; -5 penalty)

2023 at Wisconsin (L 24-17)

Wisconsin had first possession, scored 7

• 1-10 WIS 25: Anthony Grant rush for loss of 1 yard.

• 2-11 WIS 26: Chubba Purdy pass incomplete.

• 3-11 WIS 26: PENALTY NEB false start (Nouredin Nouili) -5 yards.

• 3-16 WIS 31: Purdy pass incomplete.

• 4-16 WIS 31: Purdy pass intercepted by Preston Zachman.

(4 plays, -1 yards; -5 penalty, INT)

2021 at Michigan State (L 23-20)

Nebraska had first possession

• 1-10 MS 25: Adrian Martinez pass to Rahmir Johnson for 2 yards.

• 2-8 MS 23: Martinez pass to Omar Manning for 5 yards.

• 3-3 MS 18: Martinez pass intercepted by Chester Kimbrough.

(3 plays, 7 yards; INT)

2019 at Colorado (L 34-31)

Colorado had first possession, scored 3

• 1-10 CU 25: Maurice Washington rush for no gain.

• 2-10 CU 25: Washington rush for 1 yard.

• 3-9 CU 24: Adrian Martinez sacked for loss of 7 yards.

• 4-16 CU 31: Isaac Armstrong field goal attempt wide right.

(3 plays, -6 yards; missed FG)

2018 at Northwestern (L 34-31)

Nebraska had first possession

• 1-10 NW 25: Devine Ozigbo rush for 2 yards.

• 2-8 NW 23: Adrian Martinez pass to Ozigbo for 7 yards.

• 3-1 NW 16: PENALTY NEB false start (Boe Wilson) -5 yards.

• 3-6 NW 21: Martinez pass to JD Spielman for 5 yards.

• 4-1 NW 16: Martinez pass intercepted by JR Pace in end zone.

(4 plays, 14 yards; -5 penalty, INT)

2017 vs. Northwestern (L 31-24)

Northwestern had first possession, scored 7

• 1-10 NW 25: Tanner Lee pass incomplete.

• 2-10 NW 25: Lee sacked for loss of 10 yards.

• 3-20 NW 35: Lee pass complete to Tyler Hoppes for 8 yards.

• 4-12 NW 27: Lee pass incomplete.

(4 plays, -2 yards)

2016 at Wisconsin (L 23-17)

Wisconsin had first possession, scored 6

• 1-10 WIS 25: Terrell Newby rush for 3 yards.

• 2-7 WIS 22: Newby rush for loss of 1 yard.

• 3-8 WIS 23: Tommy Armstrong Jr. pass incomplete.

• 4-8 WIS 23: Armstrong pass incomplete.

(4 plays, 2 yards)

2015 at Miami (L 36-33)

Nebraska had first possession

• 1-10 UM 25 Tommy Armstrong Jr. pass intercepted by Corn Elder.

(1 play, 0 yards; INT)

Husker overtime games

Click to see the HuskerMax game page. Wins are in bold.

Coaches’ OT records at Nebraska

Tom Osborne 1-0
Frank Solich 2-0
Bill Callahan 2-0
Bo Pelini 3-1
Mike Riley 0-3
Scott Frost 0-3
Matt Rhule 0-2

LOOK: Photos From Nebraska Football's OT Loss to Illinois

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Published Sep 21, 2024|Modified Sep 22, 2024

JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.