Huskers Were Embarrassing in Minnesota: 9 Sacks and No Touchdowns

Friday night in Minneapolis, the Nebraska Cornhuskers under Matt Rhule ran into a buzz saw against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and walked off the field losing 24 to 6, wondering how it could go so wrong. Early on, Nebraska appeared to have its bearings with two long drives and respectable field position, but instead of touchdowns, the Huskers settled for field goals. That first red zone stumble foreshadowed the disaster to come. Minnesota brought relentless pressure, and Nebraska’s offensive line folded. Nine sacks allowed, a school record for Minnesota in this rivalry. Quarterback Dylan Raiola was hurried, flushed, hit, and harassed all night long. Combine that with the loss of two offensive linemen, guard Rocco Spindler to a broken finger and tackle Elijah Pritchett ejected for targeting, and you had a recipe for chaos.

What makes this one sting even more was the short week after the Maryland game, limiting preparation time, and the swirling rumors about Rhule’s candidacy for the Penn State job that didn’t exactly help keep the focus razor sharp. The sideline chatter made a difference. Critically, Nebraska didn’t score a touchdown. Not one. For the first time in the Matt Rhule era, the Huskers went an entire game without finding the end zone. Two field goals, a hushed locker room, and the palpable sense of a program stumbling.

On the flip side, Minnesota executed perfectly, including a 98-yard, 14-play drive in the third quarter. Their backs ran with purpose, and the Gophers punched through Nebraska’s front seven and pride. Nebraska had the talent on paper. Unfortunately, the game is played on grass. They can rush, they can pass, they’ve got the big recruits. But when the game got nasty, when Minnesota decided to make it a trench fight, the Huskers wilted.

The narrative now isn’t just “we lost.” It’s “we got embarrassed.” And given the fact that rumors about Rhule’s future hovered all week, one wonders if the head coach was mentally checking the calendar instead of the tape. To borrow from Carl Spackler, Nebraska came in with a license to kill Gophers but instead managed to shoot themselves in the foot. The Huskers had the targets lined up, the motivation in place, and every reason to make a statement, yet they fumbled the opportunity in spectacular fashion.

Now the question remains: can Nebraska bounce back and show up for Northwestern next week, or is this unraveling the start of something deeper? Because if you surrender nine sacks and fail to score a touchdown, you’re not just off, you’re lost. Matt Rhule needs to drop the podcast, cancel the Pat McAfee appearances, drop the special uniforms, skip the hair salon and eat some junk food. Then take Mike Ekeler to lunch and ask him how to just focus on being a great football coach. Rhule forgot about that this week, and his team paid the price. Consequently, Husker Nation has more questions than answers. Hopefully, the Northwestern game fills in the blanks for the most loyal fan base in college football.

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