Nebraska’s loss to Illinois feels more like disaster than disappointment

That was one of the first words out of Nebraska coach Matt Rhule’s mouth after the No. 22 Huskers lost to No. 24 Illinois 31-24 in overtime.

That’s one of the words safety Marques Buford Jr. used postgame.

While the sentiment is on the right track, neither variation of the word feels strong enough for this situation.

Nebraska was up 24-17 early in the fourth quarter with momentum on its side. Even after Illinois scored on the following drive to tie things up with roughly 11 minutes to play, a win didn’t feel out of the realm of possibility. Sure, Nebraska went three-and-out after that, but Nebraska’s defense forced a fumble near midfield.

The fleeting hope present in Memorial Stadium throughout that ensuing drive all but evaporated when freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola made a rare miscue on third-and-3 by overshooting a wide-open Luke Lindenmeyer for what would have been a touchdown.

Backup kicker John Hohl — who had made a chip-in field goal attempt earlier in the game — hooked his 39-yard attempt wide left after a miscue on the snap-and-hold operation had him kicking the laces.

Illinois ball. Tie game at 24-24. Less than three minutes to play.

The overwhelming feeling in downtown Lincoln was that Illinois was going to drive and win it — either on a field goal or a late touchdown.

Neither happened. Not in regulation, anyway.

What actually unfolded was somehow worse.

The only thing that went right for Nebraska in overtime was that linebacker Isaac Gifford won the toss.

Illinois’ first play of overtime? A 21-yard rush that had running back Kaden Feagin shedding tackles and nearly dancing into the end zone before Nebraska cornerback Ceyair Wright (playing for the injured cornerback Tommi Hill) pushed him out of bounds.

Seconds later, a perfectly executed play for Illinois.

With quarterback Luke Altmyer under center, he hit the play-fake to Feagin before throwing the ball to receiver Pat Bryant, who was unguarded as he ran the corner route into the end zone.

Untouched. Touchdown. Two plays. That’s it.

Surely Nebraska had something dialed up to respond, right?

Well, the Huskers were going to dial up a shot-play on their first play, but a false start on redshirt freshman offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula (playing for the injured Turner Corcoran) on first down had Nebraska playing behind the sticks.

First-and-15. Nebraska’s in the shotgun. Four wide. Illinois brought four. Illinois’ outside linebacker Alec Bryant came off the edge before cutting back underneath to run past Justin Evans. Sacked. Loss of 9.

Second-and-24. Nebraska’s in the shotgun. Four wide. Illinois blitzed five. No one is open. Raiola was dancing backward as the pocket collapsed. Illinois defensive lineman Dennis Briggs Jr. broke free. Illinois linebacker Seth Coleman broke free. Illinois linebacker Gabe Jacas broke free. Raiola scampered all the way back to the Nebraska 43-yard line before Briggs brought him down. Loss of 18.

Actually, let’s sit with that for a second and let it simmer.

Third and what? Third-and-42? That’s not just third-and-extra long. That’s third and extra, extra, extra, extra long.

Coaches like to prepare for everything, but what’s the protocol for third-and-42? Is there one? What do you even do there?

Third-and-42. Nebraska’s in the shotgun, in 11 personnel. Illinois brought four. Briggs, again, had Raiola in his sights and nearly wrapped up for what would have been a third consecutive sack. But Raiola wriggled free and found receiver Jahmal Banks for a gain of 13. Normally, a gain of 13 is great. But on third-and-42? Gonna need a miracle.

Fourth-and-29. Nebraska’s in the shotgun. Four wide. Illinois blitzed six. In the blink of an eye, Illinois linebacker Dylan Rosiek came from up the middle and wrapped up Raiola on the N. Loss of 11. Game over.

“The moment showed up and we didn’t make the plays you need to make to win the game,” Rhule said.

Yep. That about sums it up.

“It felt like you had something special that was taken from you,” receiver Jahmal Banks said. “And you can’t get it back. You gotta learn to live without it.”

Yep. That’s pretty accurate, too.

Friday night was supposed to be special.

It was supposed to be a celebration. The 400th consecutive sellout of Memorial Stadium. A ranked team facing a ranked team in this building for the first time in over a decade. Perhaps the first win over a ranked team for Nebraska since the Mike Riley administration. Perhaps the first win as a ranked team over a ranked team since Bo Pelini roamed the sidelines.

But alas. The various droughts continue.

Still haven’t beaten a ranked team since 2016. That’s 25 straight losses to ranked squads, the second-longest drought for a Power 4 team. (Rutgers sits at 40 straight losses.)

Still haven’t won in overtime since 2014. Heck, still haven’t scored in overtime since 2014.

It’s understandable to see why some in the fanbase feel like the team is cursed.

It’s easy to be frustrated by what was, once again, a single-digit loss.

If there’s any silver lining to take from this single-digit loss, it’s that this one wasn’t like the others.

The season is far from lost. There’s still some hope to be found for the future.

Raiola, even with the crushing late-game sacks, still has this team in a much, much better position. The same can be said for receivers Isaiah Neyor, Jahmal Banks and Jacory Barney. The same can be said for running back Dante Dowdell. The same can be said for those on defense.

They’re good. They have the potential to be great.

But they’re not there yet.

“It hurts because we really kind of beat ourselves,” defensive lineman Ty Robinson said. “Especially on defense.”

Yep. In a close game like this, the defensive personal fouls sure didn’t help.

But, in true Robinson fashion, he found a positive.

“What’s awesome is we get to come back next week and clean up a lot of the mistakes we saw on the field, and get better.”

We’ll see if that holds true next week at Purdue.