The Las Vegas Bowl Aftermath: What Happened to Nebraska?

The big question Husker football fans have been asking in the wake of NU's 44-22 loss to Utah is, what happened to the Huskers? Why was there yet another blow out loss for the Scarlet & Cream?

The answer is: nothing "happened." Nebraska's fate was sealed when the two teams were paired up to meet in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Utah is a significantly better team than Nebraska. It was a mismatch from the get-go. Why were these two teams selected? Why such a mismatch?

The purpose of bowl games for the hosts is to make money and to lure visitors to their cities. It made sense to invite Nebraska because its fans travel as well as any school in the country.

And with a 10-2 record, Utah was a no-brainer pick. Utah is also in close proximity to Vegas (421 miles). That distance would lure Ute fans to the game. While the attendance for the game was a modest 38,879 (8th in all-time attendance), it must be noted that the game was played for the first time on New Year's Eve. The all-time record of 44,615 was set in 2006.

There were many Husker fans who believed Nebraska might have more to play for than the Utes. After all, didn't Utah's head coach just leave his team for the greener pastures of Michigan and the Big Ten?

Nebraska was going to be motivated by getting Matt Rhule to his 8th win of the season at Nebraska. That would be one win better than last year's 7-6 record.

Yes, Nebraska had a lot to play for, but not a lot to play with,

NU was minus its All-America running back, Emmett Johnson. The Huskers were also without their defensive coordinator, D-line coach and O-line coach due to dismissals.

Would they have made a difference? Probably not, but we'll never know.

So what's next for the Huskers?

Matt Rhule has already found most of the replacements for his coaching staff: Rob Aurich (DC), Roy Manning (Edge) and Geep Wade (O-line).

The next step for NU is the portal. Rhule needs some QBs, LBs, D-linemen and O-linemen. He also needs to find a couple of WRs.

How about the Cignetti Way?

Great question. Why didn't NU do what Indiana did with the hiring of Curt Cignetti? Look what he's done in his first two years.

To say Cignetti has changed Indiana from the outhouse to the penthouse would be an understatement. What he's done at IU may never happen again in college football.

When Cignetti left James Madison University in late '23, he brought with him six of his assistants and 13 of his JMU players. They hit the road running at the start of the 2024 season going 11-2. And so far this season, the Hoosiers are a perfect 14-0.

But when Rhule arrived from the NFL prior to the '23 season, he didn't have a bunch of players to bring with him to Nebraska. His first staff was filled by some coaches he'd worked with at his three prior head coaching stints: Temple, Baylor and the NFL Panthers.

To his credit, Rhule has continued to re-shape his staff. Maybe his 2026 group of assistants will be the perfect blend.

Let's hope so.

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