How does Nebraska shake back from humbling loss to Indiana?

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — In the immediate aftermath of Nebraska’s loss to Indiana, defensive lineman Jimari Butler delivered a message that would’ve made a certain fictional soccer coach proud.

“Ted Lasso” popularized the saying “be a goldfish” to demonstrate that like the fish, athletes should discard the bad memories from losses quickly in order to move on and be their best moving forward.

Butler had a similar take on things.

“Having a quick memory (is important) because we’re back on the road and going to be in this same position again next week,” Butler said.

Indeed, things may only get more difficult for Nebraska next week with another nationally televised game on Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff.” Whereas the Huskers were humbled in a 56-7 loss to an Indiana program experiencing a rapid one-year turnaround, its next opponent is an even tougher nut to crack.

Next up is a visit to No. 4 Ohio State, a team with conference championship and national title aspirations that recently suffered its first loss of the season. The Buckeyes will also be coming off a bye week in which they had additional time to scout the Huskers, meaning every day and moment of preparation could be crucial for NU.

“It starts tomorrow,” freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola said of how the team will regroup from the loss. “I don’t doubt that we’ll come back from this loss and be ready to go come next week. We’ve got an exciting opportunity ahead of us, and I know we’ll take advantage of it and make something happen.”

That’s a sentiment shared by Raiola’s head coach, Matt Rhule, who applauded his team’s effort despite the lopsided final score.

Rhule said that while he’s been on teams “where guys are on the sidelines throwing their helmets and quitting” during blowouts, there was no such reaction from the Huskers.

Instead, their willingness to compete to the final whistle, even in a loss, showed Rhule the Huskers have plenty left to give ahead of a big test next weekend.

“They’ll come back and they’ll fight; I have no doubt that we’ll fight all five games,” Rhule said.