Nebraska Cornhuskers are largely responsible for heartbreaking loss to Illinois

The Nebraska football team suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Illinois, but its season is far from over. The experience exposed some flaws in Nebraska’s approach early in the season and gave the team some moments to learn from.

If Nebraska takes these lessons to heart and studies the film of this game, this loss could be a valuable and beneficial experience for the team in the long run. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at who is most to blame for the Cornhuskers’ devastating loss.

The offensive line allowed Dylan Raiola to be put under pressure

Nebraska’s offensive line just wasn’t good enough, especially when things went south in the fourth quarter and overtime. There’s a lot to be said for Raiola’s ability to step up in key moments and his performance in crucial moments, and we’ll get to that in a moment.

To be fair to Raiola, he was pressured on nearly every major play immediately after the ball was snapped. The defensive line knew its goal was to disrupt Raiola’s rhythm and put the quarterback under immense stress, and it succeeded. Illinois applied additional pressure at times, but the offensive line simply failed to maintain its protection.

In overtime, the Illini pass rushers sliced ​​through Nebraska’s offensive line like a knife through hot butter and immediately created chaos. The final play of overtime, which effectively froze the game, perfectly summed up Nebraska’s struggles. Say what you will about Raiola’s performance, but he never had a chance on that play.

Illinois sent a pass rusher down the middle of the Nebraska line and the Cornhuskers were powerless to stop the rush. Raiola found himself under immediate pressure, getting tackled before he even had a chance to make a play.

Dylan Raiola wasn’t good enough either

Raiola is a very good player and he certainly had many positive moments throughout this game. It seems a little unfair to pin the blame for this tough loss on a true freshman. That being said, when someone is touted as a future superstar with the first overall pick, that territory comes with expectations of putting a team on his back. There were times when Raiola did just that, but there were also far too many times when he struggled or missed easy opportunities to give his team momentum.

Raiola missed a lot of open receivers and overshot his target on a play that almost certainly would have resulted in a touchdown if he could have connected with the wide-open receiver running in front of the defense. Raiola needs to do better than that if the Cornhuskers want to contend for the championship.

This game was a clear reminder that as talented and enthusiastic as Raiola is, he is still a true freshman who will start at quarterback in the Big 10. He will have his bruises and aches and will have plenty of learning moments as the season goes on. Raiola doesn’t need to be perfect yet, but he needs to continue to improve. That way, the team can perform at its best when it faces top-tier teams.

EThe one who committed penalties is to blame

The Cornhuskers committed way too many penalties in this game, and in the end, those penalties ended up costing the team dearly. The penalties stifled the team’s offensive momentum and prolonged Illinois drives that allowed the Illini to put points on the board.

The Nebraska football team needs to fix this before playing the best teams in the country, or these games won’t even be competitive.

Matt Rhule dropped the backup kicker, who failed in key moments

It may seem odd to lump the head coach and the kicking game together, but it’s also a little unfair to pin most of the team’s kicking struggles on the team’s kickers. Starting Tristan Alvaro is a good kicker, but he missed the game with an injury. With backup kicker John Hohl active, he was relied on too much. Hohl missed a crucial kick from less than 40 yards out that would have kept the game out of overtime in the first place.

There’s no excuse for his performance, but coaches also need to know the abilities and limitations of their players. Rhule had to be aware of the situation and not set his player up for failure.

What this game means for Nebraska’s future

The harsh reality for Nebraska football fans is that the team may have arrived slightly ahead of schedule. The truth is that Nebraska is unlikely to win the national championship this year, and even if it can qualify for the College Football Playoff, it will likely be eliminated early.

It might be a bitter pill for Nebraska fans to swallow, but the good news is that the team will be perfectly positioned to compete for the national championship next year with a more experienced Raiola under center along with a couple of high-profile recruits who want to play with the potential first overall pick.