In a game where Nebraska needed to prove that it had fixed the problems that have plagued it over the last month, Matt Rhule's team instead continued making the exact same mistakes over and over and over.
The only problem Nebraska fixed this week was blowing a 4th-quarter lead. They never had a 4th-quarter lead. They trailed 14-7 after Illinois' first third-quarter drive and never looked back. A 29-yard run by the punter on a fake field goal sucked all the wind out of the Huskers' sails. Why they looked lifeless after that score is for another day. Friday night's discussion is all about Matt Rhule, Dana Holgorsen and the rest of NU's coaches not fixing the biggest problems this team has, at all.
Things started going wrong almost immediately, as Nebraska was flagged for two illegal formation penalties in their first five snaps of the game. The first one wiped out a big gain that might have set the tone for the game the other way. The second was on a special teams unit that has been an utter disaster this season.
Kicker Jason Hohl was elevated to the starting job this week after the season's starter, Kyle
Cunanan missed another kick last week, falling to 4-for-9 on the season, and promptly picked up where Cunanan left off, missing two field goals. One was a 54-yarder in his defense, but the other was a chip shot.
Two of the biggest and most costly errors in the first half have become a bafflingly consistent problem. Wide receiver blocking penalties have come at a ridiculous pace; they're also completely unnecessary and usually mind-bogglingly dumb. A holding penalty and an offensive pass interference penalty were the night's specialties on Friday, and both wiped out big gains.
No comedy of errors would be complete of course, without offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen trying to look like the smartest guy in the room and failing to accomplish that and failing spectacularly.
That Holgorsen should no longer be employed by the University of Nebraska has never been more evident than when the Huskers drove down the field in an attempt to answer Illinois' go ahead touchdown. Things looked okay until the Huskers were faced with a 4th and 1 deep in the Illini territory.
For reasons beyond understanding or apparent logic, Holgorsen decided that it was the perfect time to run an empty backfield pass play. Yes, for some reason, the offensive coordinator decided the best idea was to let Illinois know they didn't have to worry about a run play. And of course, the play ended up being an incomplete pass to air. It was impossible to tell who the intended receiver was.
Even when Nebraska was able to score a touchdown on their next drive, it was more of a fluke than good execution. A sort of YOLO ball into double coverage where two receivers were essentially in the same spot ended up as a 51-yard touchdown. Of course, just in case Nebraska was gaining momentum, a failed two-point conversion was yet another error in a night full of them.
The final mistakes came on Nebraska's last-gasp drive down 24-13. The first mistake was a blindside block by Mekhi Nelson on a defender Anthony Colandrea had already run past for a first down, which was once again wiped out. Then, on the same drive, the Huskers had 4th and 3 and once again went with an empty backfield. This time it was a Colandrea error, who tried to force a throw 20 yards downfield, rather than throw to the open receiver just beyond the first-down marker.
When the final whistle blew on Nebraska's fourth straight loss, one thing was very clear. This isn't working, and Nebraska is moving backward.
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