Poor Tackling Again Highlighted in Nebraska's Loss to Minnesota

It’s not hard to pinpoint the reason Nebraska lost Friday night at Minnesota – they were flat-out beaten at the point of attack from the opening kickoff.

While the 24-6 loss raised plenty of red flags about anything from coaching to the team being distracted all week to the offense’s inability to move the ball after Minnesota made their adjustments, possibly the most concerning trend that keeps creeping in is Nebraska’s poor tackling.

On multiple occasions in Minneapolis, the Huskers took poor angles at the Gopher rushers, including on a game-altering 71-yard run from Darius Taylor that came up just short of Minnesota’s first touchdown. They punched it in immediately after.

Nebraska’s defense had some strong individual showings, but it wasn’t enough to overcome missed tackles and a non-existent pass rush.

Full PFF defensive snap counts and grades from the Minnesota loss… 🌽🏈

🔗: https://t.co/2x1WYjkAd3 pic.twitter.com/qJ6yKrV3hi
— Robin Washut (@RobinWashut) October 18, 2025

Despite the poor angles, Nebraska only trailed by one at the half with a score of 7-6, and it ended up being the biggest talking point in the locker room.

“At halftime, we kept saying tackling,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “When they ran shallow crosses versus man, we were missing the tackles. Even the long touchdown run has to get tackled. You have to tackle those plays. We have the players to do it. We have to make those plays. You need to make a negative play, and we just were never able to do it.”

In total, Minnesota ran with ease against the Huskers, totaling 186 yards. 148 of those yards came on just 24 attempts from Taylor, which resulted in an average of 6.2 yards per carry.

The Huskers didn't have an answer for Minnesota's rushing attack Friday night, and NU's poor tackling didn't help. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In contrast, Nebraska ran for just 36 total yards, which is heavily skewed thanks to Minnesota getting after NU quarterback Dylan Raiola. They sacked him nine times, pushing the Huskers back 34 yards on those sacks.

The script was also there for Nebraska to simply feed running back Emmett Johnson, who was returning to his hometown, but the game flow didn’t allow them to keep feeding him. What’s worse is that he was effective, running for 63 yards on just 14 carries. The issue there – he had just 14 carries.

Nebraska instead took to the air 25 times, which was really 34 times when you account for the nine sacks on top of the 25 passes Raiola was able to get off. Ultimately, the game spiraled after the tight first half, and it caught Rhule by surprise.

Nebraska attempted 34 passes compared to just 14 Emmett Johnson rushes in their game against Minnesota. The key word is attempted, as the Gophers sacked Dylan Raiola nine times on the night. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

“I thought we had a really good week of practice,” Rhule said. “We traveled really well. There’s nothing that led me to think that this was going to be like this, but I don’t want to minimize that on their end. I think they played really well. They had a good plan. They just ran the football.”

The reason Minnesota just ran the football was due to its success. When your top running back is averaging more than six yards per carry, you don’t really need to do much else. Even on plays that looked like they were stopped for a loss, Minnesota backs were able to wrestle free and make them anywhere from a few yards to longer first-down runs.

Senior defensive back Ceyair Wright admitted a lot of their struggles were due to poor technique.

NU senior defensive back Ceyair Wright says Minnesota ran as well as they did because their tackling technique left a lot to be desired. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

“We just have to be better at running through, not diving on the ground, (which) is something I’ve done sometimes – just running through our opponents,” Wright said. “I think that’ll solve the problem.”

You could also lead into how physical Minnesota was at the point of attack. Ultimately, Nebraska didn’t come close to matching the intensity of the Gophers.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised,” Wright said. “At the end of the day, it’s the Big Ten. Everybody’s a good team. Everybody’s competitive. Everybody’s going to be physical, and they did a good job of executing.”

It’s now back to the drawing board for a Nebraska football team that is looking to avoid falling into the same trap they did in 2024. After starting 5-1, the Huskers lost their next four games before securing their bowl eligibility in a win over Wisconsin in their second-to-last game of the regular season.

Northwestern had no problem with Purdue Saturday, shutting out the Boilermakers 19-0. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Up next is a Northwestern team that may be a more difficult test than Minnesota was. The Wildcats are coming to Lincoln riding a 4-game winning streak after starting the year 1-2, which included a 23-3 loss to Tulane.

The last two games of their four-game winning streak might be their most impressive. They went to Happy Valley and upset Penn State 22-21, which led to the firing of James Franklin. They followed that up with a 19-0 shutout win over Purdue.

Saturday’s showdown will be a match-up of two 5-2 teams, which means the winner will get to leave with their bowl-eligibility secured, and the two programs couldn’t be on more different paths heading into the game.

It's back to work for Dylan Raiola and the Huskers, who will watch the film of the loss to Minnesota, then hope to flush it out of their system. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

“Adversity – it’s part of the season,” NU running back Emmett Johnson said. “We’re going to go through ups and downs. One week you’re going to be on top of the word, and next week, people (are) going to be hating on you.”

The Huskers are certainly at the low part of the 2025 rollercoaster, but with five games remaining, the season is still very much in front of them. For all of those who drank the offseason Kool-Aid and started dreaming about a playoff spot, you can exit stage right.

For the actual players, though, there’s still a chance to right the ship, and it starts with an uncomfortable film session, followed by what you can only hope is a physical week of practice.

Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson calls the upcoming week crucial for the program following their 24-6 loss to Minnesota. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“This next week’s crucial for our program,” Johnson said. “This next week will be extremely crucial in bouncing back and playing against Northwestern. We’ve got to focus on learning from this and then flushing it and moving on to the next game.”

“The message is just making this next week our best week,” Wright added. “It’s difficult when you lose, and we have to figure out how to see where we went wrong. It’s about picking our heads up and coming together and making sure that we unite from moments like this.”

Sometimes, it’s embarrassing losses like Nebraska just suffered that can be the most uniting part of a season. Raiola, who admitted he was a little banged up after taking nine sacks in the game, said he knows this team has the resolve to bounce back from this.

“We’re a lot closer,” Raiola said of this year’s team compared to 2024. “The guys know how we’re going to respond, and we’re excited. We’re excited to get back to practice. You know, this one stings, and we (got Saturday) off, so it’s going to sit on us for a little while before we get to practice and get this one out of our system.”

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