Stukenholtz: Take Your Medicine

Picking through the wreckage of blowout loss is only way Husker football can learn and improve.

Indiana's Mikail Kamara (6) celebrates a turnover during the Indiana versus Nebraska football game at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the head coach apologizes after the game, you know everything you need to know about how it went.

Indiana smoked Nebraska 56-7 on the big stage. They took the challenge of Big Noon Kickoff and all the shenanigans that come with it, and it didn’t bother them one bit. The Hoosiers are legit, and congrats to them on their 7-0 start. 

But, as Matt Rhule always says, this is about Nebraska.

First of all, save the panic over getting beaten by iNdiAnA as if that’s beneath you as a Husker fan. If you feel like that, replace “Indiana” with “Michigan State” or “Wisconsin” and I’d bet you would feel differently. You really shouldn’t. This is a really good team.

The defense got out-played, out-coached, really out-everything’d by Indiana’s offense. It was an unacceptable performance from the Blackshirts in almost every way. Before NU pulled starters at 42-7, the Hoosiers had only failed to find the end zone on a Mikai Gbayor 4th down sack and an end-of-half interception. By the time it was over, the Huskers had allowed 215 rushing yards. Yikes.

It didn’t need to be so ugly, though. There were non-defensive plays that acted as hinges, swinging the outcome from Indiana win to IU domination:

• Jacory Barney going out of bounds at the 1 on the initial kickoff return, dooming NU’s first possession
• Dante Dowdell fumbling the ball away as he was likely converting a 4th down attempt
• Dylan Raiola throwing too late to Thomas Fidone in the red zone resulting in an interception

Add in a couple more bobbled kickoff return catches, a low snap leading to an almost-blocked punt, and Nebraska appeared unprepared. With the way Indiana executed their game plan, things snowballed quickly. Maybe it’s harsh to say NU waved the white flag, but the concerns are plentiful.

I was watching for the reaction after halftime. Could Nebraska answer in any meaningful way? The offense drove down the field in 15 plays, but then came the 4th down INT with a 78-yard return. Blackshirts? Backed up into their own red zone, they allowed an IU TD two plays later, and the rout was on. 

What comes next will define the Rhule era at Nebraska. As they take their medicine this week, and probably some more in Columbus, Ohio next weekend, there are some tweaks to make. 

On offense, why not go tempo more often? Why not more commitment to diversify the offense with more run calls? Why not just start Micah Mazzccua at left tackle if you were willing to put him in after going down 14-0?

Husker fans will be out for blood this weekend, as would most college football fans who saw that happen to their team. It’s pretty unlikely to see staff changes, but there are some adjustments you can make. They already have, too. Can’t count on the field goal unit? Go for ALL the 4th downs. Dowdell fumbles again? Play Emmett Johnson more.

Even though Marcus Satterfield may think of running the ball like being made to eat his vegetables before his dessert, the one touchdown drive featured one more run play than pass play. That’s not to say they need to pull Raiola for the Heinrich Haarberg offense, but IU was all too eager to make the Husker offense one-dimensional.

If you want to read about calls for heads to roll, you came to the wrong place. That conversation is for the offseason. 

Rhule apologized to the fans after the game. He felt bad, so said sorry. As I tell my kids, don’t just apologize, do it better next time. 

They’ll take their medicine now, and we’ll see if it cures what ails them.

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