Oh, What Could Have Been For Nebraska Football

When the disappointment, frustration and pain finally wear off — and it probably won’t be anytime soon — Nebraska should be able to look at Saturday’s loss to Indiana in a more favorable light.

The 20-17 Hoosiers win was devastating to a Husker program fighting and clawing to regain relevance in college football’s ecosystem.

And, they almost had it Saturday. A victory over Indiana would have been quite a pronouncement to the college football world

Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh runs after a catch for a touchdown against Nebraska during the fourth quarter. — Indiana wide receiver Nick Marsh runs after a catch for a touchdown against Nebraska during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Indiana trailed 17-6 into the fourth quarter before Josh Hoover connected on two touchdown passes that were catastrophic to a Nebraska defense that was stout and strong until then. Hoover connected for 75 yards and 44 yards to Nick Marsh that wiped out a generally brilliant effort by Huskers quarterback Anthony Colandrea, and the Huskers defense.

The next big question is how long will this loss linger? Will Nebraska bounce back, and quickly, with a road trip to Oregon next week?

On the defense

Nebraska’s defense was great against Indiana until it wasn’t on those two plays.

Indiana came to town touting a powerful running game plus a strong passing attack. In the two games before Nebraska, the Hoosiers gained 600 yards on the ground.

Nebraska held the Hoosiers to 65 yards.

“They pride themselves on running the ball,” Huskers linebacker Owen Chambliss said at a postgame news conference.

“They’re a physical team and we pride ourselves on stopping the run. I think just playing gaps down and execution football.

“I don’t necessarily think it got them out of running the ball, but I do think that we did a good job executing on our end.”

They did.

Then, the Hoover touchdown passes.

Devastating.

Chambliss was asked after the game what it was going to take for the defense to get over the top, after the performance against the defending national champs.

Nebraska linebacker Owen Chambliss had five tackles against Indiana. | Nebraska Athletics

“It’s going to take just staying committed to our process and continually getting better, but just having the same intensity every single play, right?” Chambliss said.

“Like we can’t play 95 percent of the plays like the No. 1 defense in the country and then play the other 5 percent like we’re not. We got to just be more consistent.

“That was a physical game. They strapped their chin strap up just like we strapped ours up and I think sometimes [when] you stop the run at a really high level and then they stop running the ball.

“They did not stop running the ball. They kept trying. So, a lot of respect to them. They definitely brought their physicality with them.”

What could have been for Huskers

After Colandrea scored on a 39-yard touchdown run to put the Huskers up 17-6 with 12 minutes to play, it sure looked as if Nebraska was about to shake up the hierarchy of college football.

I sent huskermax.com colleague Trevor Tarr this message, a rough draft, proposed top to a story about the game. I thought Nebraska was going to win at that point. There was no reason not to think that:

“Titans of college football, we’d like to re-introduce you to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

“You might remember us, titans, from a long time ago. Maybe you know us by other names: Huskers or Blackshirts.

“Not sure who we are? Google us.”

The story seemed appropriate at that moment. Geez, the Huskers, with two winning seasons in the last nine, were going to knock off the defending national champions. (Don’t ask about a jinx; I wasn’t playing in the Huskers’ secondary. Writers almost always write ahead of time, then adjust on the fly. In the newspaper/newspaper website world, deadline is a moment or two after the conclusion of the game.)

Pain can last. Nebraska faces a test of fortitude when practice resumes and the season resumes. The season isn’t over. This still can be a terrific run for Nebraska, Saturday’s loss notwithstanding.

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