Nebraska Goes for Six, Gets Seven Instead
Nebraska did almost everything it could to get its sixth win Friday when the Huskers hosted Big Ten West champion (9-2) Iowa. Amazingly, a 5-6 NU team came into the game as a three point favorite.
After Tommi Hill's late game interception of Iowa QB Deacon Hill, Husker fans were thinking this might be the end of the Husker bowl drought.
Lucy wasn't going to pull the football at the last second from a determined Charlie Brown. No. Not this time. This day was going to be different.
But instead of getting their sixth win and getting a bowl invitation, the Huskers found a way to lose the game and extend their bowless streak to seven.
Close, but no cigar.
I'm not sure which adjective can adequately describe the Husker football season. Yes, disappointing would work.
Husker fans might also use words like saddening, disheartening, depressing, upsetting, distressing, regrettable, frustrating and pathetic.
Back on Oct. 28, NU had five wins in its back pocket. Most fans (including me) felt pretty comfortable that the Huskers would get win number six. Afterall, there were four more games to play. Heck, there was even talk about winning more than six games. Maybe even win the Big Ten West?!
If ever there was a golden opportunity to win more games than NU has won over the past seven years, it was this season. This was the weakest division since NU joined the league back in 2011.
Deja vu all over again
Not since Scott Frost's 2019 team had Nebraska's bowl hopes come down to the final game. That year, Nebraska came into the Iowa game sporting a 5-6 record - just one win shy of bowl eligibility
That year, Nebraska's five wins were over South Alabama (35-21) Northern Illinois (44-8), Illinois (42-38), Northwestern (13-10) and Maryland (54-7).
Nebraska didn't get its fifth win (over Maryland) until the week before the Iowa game. Beat Iowa, and Nebraska would be going to a bowl game.
The 2019 Iowa game was a tight game most of the way. It was tied at 24 late in the fourth quarter, when Iowa converted a critical fourth-down play that helped the Hawkeyes get close enough for a possible game-winning field goal. Keith Duncan nailed a 48-yarder with just one second left for the 27-24 Iowa win.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Calling Capt. Obvious: This year the Huskers let the season slip away again. Much of the blame can be linked to the landslide of Husker turnovers - most of them attributed to the QBs.
With the much-improved Tony White defense and Ed Foley's good special teams, the big piece missing is an effective quarterback room. Nebraska needs a group of QBs who can run and pass the ball efficiently, move the chains and most importantly take care of the football.
Will Chubba Purdy be the guy next fall? How quickly can incoming freshman Danny Kaelin be able to play? Regardless, it would seem Matt Rhule will carefully examine the portal for at least one QB. Finding the right one might be the biggest event of the off-season.
- Related: HuskerMax Iowa game page.
