Halloween night at Memorial Stadium ended the way October did: close, and wrong. Washington scored 14 points in a 15-second window late in the fourth quarter and beat Nebraska 17-10, the Huskers’ third straight loss and third straight loss by one score (huskers.com, ESPN box score).
Nebraska is 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten, per the official schedule page. That page also lists the streak as L3.
How it slipped away
The scoring summary is short enough to quote in full (ESPN):
| Qtr | Time | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1:40 | Carter Nelson 24-yard pass from Anthony Colandrea (Kyle Cunanan kick) | NU 7, UW 0 |
| 2nd | 0:41 | Tyler Robles 50-yard field goal | NU 7, UW 3 |
| 4th | 1:30 | Chris Lawson 25-yard pass from Demond Williams Jr. (Robles kick) | UW 10, NU 7 |
| 4th | 1:15 | Alex McLaughlin 48-yard interception return (Robles kick) | UW 17, NU 7 |
| 4th | 0:31 | John Hohl 42-yard field goal | UW 17, NU 10 |
Nebraska led for roughly 58 minutes. Then Washington took the lead with 1:30 left, and on the next possession a Colandrea pass went the other way for six.
The numbers that matter
Team totals from the ESPN box score:
| Nebraska | Washington | |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 387 | 267 |
| Rushing | 132 on 29 | 32 on 19 |
| Passing | 255 (24 of 45) | 235 (26 of 43) |
| First downs | 21 | 17 |
| Third down | 6 of 13 | 5 of 15 |
| Turnovers | 3 (all interceptions) | 0 |
| Penalties | 8 for 74 | 8 for 44 |
Colandrea finished 24 of 44 for 255 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Jamal Rule ran 13 times for 72 yards. Jacory Barney Jr. led Nebraska with six catches for 65 yards. On the other side, Chris Lawson caught 12 passes for 155 yards and the go-ahead score (ESPN). Attendance was 86,097.
The hard take: this is an offense problem now
The defense held a Big Ten opponent to 32 rushing yards and 1.7 yards per carry. It allowed one touchdown drive all night. That is a winning defensive performance in almost any league.
The offense is the issue, and the three-game sample is not subtle. Using the scores on the official schedule:
| Stretch | Games | Points scored | Points per game | Points allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First five (Ohio through Maryland) | 5 | 218 | 43.6 | 71 |
| Last three (Indiana, Oregon, Washington) | 3 | 41 | 13.7 | 54 |
The losses were 20-17 to No. 7 Indiana, 17-14 at Oregon and 17-10 to Washington. Combined margin: 13 points. Nebraska allowed 18 points per game in that stretch and lost all three.
At Oregon, the pattern was the same. Nebraska led 14-6 entering the fourth quarter, Oregon outscored it 11-0 in the final 15 minutes, and the Ducks won on a touchdown with 28 seconds left after an 82-yard, 20-play drive (huskers.com recap). The Huskers managed 242 total yards that night.
Two things are true together. The schedule turned: Indiana, Oregon and Washington are a different tier than Ohio, Bowling Green and North Dakota. And the offense did not answer the tier change. Five scores in Big Ten play against good defenses is not enough to protect a lead, and three interceptions in a one-score game is how leads die.
What comes next
Nebraska plays at Illinois on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. CT (schedule). One more win makes the Huskers bowl eligible. Postgame comments from Matt Rhule and players are posted on the official quotes page; HuskersToday is not quoting them here until each line is pulled from that transcript.
