Nebraska football tries to shake the turnover blues

It’s the quietest part of the year for college football. Vacation season for coaches and players. So while they — and some of you — might be at the beach, we’ve crafted Big Ten-themed topics to explore. No firm answers, just fun — and pertinent — questions.

Nebraska has posted seven straight losing seasons, committing 138 turnovers over that span.

Which of them was most costly?

Probably the Pick 6 against Northern Illinois in 2017 — an athletic director got fired after that one — or Anthony Grant’s fumble against Minnesota last season. The Huskers have a different year if they finish off the Gophers.

Which of them was the most ridiculous?

It’s hard to beat Luke McCaffrey’s improvised, slightly backwards throw down the line of scrimmage to open the 2020 Illinois game. Or maybe it was McCaffrey’s pass off the helmet of a teammate, in the 2020 Northwestern loss, that turned into an interception.

Point is, NU’s seven-year struggles have been defined by giveaways. And that is the right word — so many of Nebraska’s turnovers have been unforced errors or poor ball security.

The troubles peaked in 2023, when the Huskers had 31 turnovers in 12 games. Coach Matt Rhule wants his quarterbacks to accept a punt as the end result of a drive, and if they do that, the expected reduction in the quarterback run game — which correlates to more lost fumbles — should leave the Huskers below 31 for 2024.

But will Nebraska be under 20? And can the Husker defense produce more takeaways? NU has 103 of those over the last seven years for a cool minus-35 turnover margin.

And you wonder why NU hasn’t made a bowl game since 2016.