Four Observations from Nebraska's Loss at Minnesota

Nebraska briefly took a 3-0 lead, only to trail less than two minutes later. Minnesota would never trail after their first touchdown, dominating the game until the 24-6 final.

The Huskers are now 5-2. Here are four observations on the game.

Bully Ball

As the game wore on, Minnesota was able to do whatever they wanted.

Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Anthony Smith celebrates after the team's win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. — Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Anthony Smith celebrates after the team's win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Huntington Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers rushed for 186 yards and two scores, adding 153 yards and another touchdown through the air. Quarterback Drake Lindsey only threw four incomplete passes in the game.

"Obviously, very disappointing," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule opened his postgame press conference with. "Credit to them. They were the more physical team. They made the plays they needed to make and they beat us pretty convincingly."

Nebraska finished with just 36 yards rushing. That number looks so disastrous thanks to the 63 yards lost on sacks (more on those below).

Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor runs for a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Minnesota put together two drives of at least 90 yards. Both of theme ended in touchdowns, with one burning 8:43 off the clock. The final scoring drive for the Gophers took 4:23 before a field goal made the difference three scores.

"John (Butler) had five D-linemen in there," Rhule said. "You need to make a play; need to make a negative play. We just were never able to do it."

Raiola vs. Rome

Speaking of those sacks, Minnesota racked up nine of them in the game. That's a program record for the Gophers.

"It was a little bit of everything," Rhule said. "Just overall, I thought they were the more physical team tonight."

Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Historical context makes this stat hurt all the more. Rome, the ancient city and seat of power for one of the great empires of antiquity, was sacked at least eight times.

Yes, that means Dylan Raiola was sacked by the Minnesota Golden Gophers in one evening more times than Rome was sacked by the Gauls, Visigoths, Vandals, Ostrogoths, Arabs, and Normans in more than 1,000 years.

Not that Nebraska has protected the quarterback at a high level in Big Ten Conference play—now 22 sacks through four games—but the assignment gets tougher when backups are in the game. Elijah Pritchett left in the first half after a targeting call. Rocco Spindler was also out of the game in the first half.

"Our prayers are up for (Spindler). They had to take him to the hospital," Rhule said, adding that he was told it was a broken hand or finger, but potentially more than that.

Staying on the Field

Emmett Johnson rushed 14 times for 64 yards. That's a respectable 4.5 yards a carry.

For those wanting Johnson to get more carries and offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen to commit to the run game more, the problems came from Nebraska's inability to stay on the field.

Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Kerry Brown tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Huskers finished the game 3-for-11 on third downs, adding in a failed fourth-down conversion in the final frame as well. Four of Minnesota's sacks came on third downs, ending Nebraska's drives.

As for the other five sacks, they all came on second down. Those also proved to be drive-killers, with NU never running more than one play after a second-down sack.

That inability to stay on the field added up. Minnesota had the ball for nearly four minutes more than Nebraska did over the course of the game. In the second half alone, the Gophers had the ball for nearly six more minutes.

Operation Steel Rose

Beyond the game, good friends and head coaches Matt Rhule and P.J. Fleck organized around the contest an effort to raise awareness for breast cancer research. Nebraska wore pink cleats and accessories, as well as pink in place of red on the helmet.

Nebraska replaced the red N, stripe, and facemask with pink. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Earlier in the day, the Husker program released a video in which several players spoke about women in their lives being impacted by cancer.

It's the battles we go through that bring us together. pic.twitter.com/wyTvGa9aS1
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) October 17, 2025

Fighting for the ones who taught us how.

Tomorrow night, coaches and staff will wear custom cleats in support of breast cancer awareness month.

Join the fight → https://t.co/qIJ0lqj5QV pic.twitter.com/RSoq1Y5Jnw
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) October 16, 2025

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

Aug. 28 Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
Sep. 6 Nebraska 68, Akron 0
Sep. 13 Nebraska 59, Houston Christian 7
Sep. 20 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27
Oct. 4 Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27
Oct. 11 Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
Oct. 17 Minnesota 24, Nebraska 6
Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CBS

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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