Matt Rhule diagnoses what went wrong in blowout loss at Indiana, what needs to be fixed ASAP

It’s Ohio State Week.

This week, the national spotlight was supposed to be firing down on the Nebraska football program.

The Husker hype train leaves the station every year with the conductors hitting the gas either a little bit too hard or a lot of bit too hard, expectations get out of control, and it’s off the rails before the calendar can even hit November.

That’s most years for this program.

This year, there was reasonable evidence all over the board for it to be a special season in Matt Rhule’s second year. And make no mistake about it: This can absolutely still be a special season for the Huskers. It can.

In certain spots and from a handful of national and local outposts, though, the expectations, projections and predictions simply went a touch too far. Several reasonable analysts predicted Nebraska to be sitting at 7-0 heading into Ohio State. There’s no reason to single anyone out, and we’re not. There were multiple well-respected analysts making that prediction. It was not out of the question, sure, but it was always a step or two too far in the direction of offseason optimism.

As a result, there are many who felt like Ohio State Week was going to be THE spotlight week for the Nebraska football program to take center stage: The Huskers – led by their five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, the return of a veteran-heavy defense that ranked Top 5 in the Big Ten and Top 15 nationally in both scoring defense and total yards allowed a year ago, a few exciting additions in the transfer portal at receiver and offensive line, and a small group of ready-to-play true freshmen – were supposed to be 7-0 heading into Columbus for what would almost certainly be a Big Noon Kickoff showdown against national title contender Ohio State.

Most would have been expecting a competitive game into the fourth quarter against the Buckeyes. There also would have been a major movement of Husker fans convincing themselves they had a shot to slay the dragon in its own lair.

Now, instead of eagerly awaiting the days to tick off until a shootout at high noon in Week 9, Husker Nation is dreading it. Instead of hoping and yearning to be thrust into that national spotlight this week, they would rather their team take center stage, spit out their minimal lines and exit out the back without a curtain call.

Potential elation has flipped into pure dread. Happens a lot around here.