With bowl eligibility on the line, Nebraska (5-4, 2-4) fell to UCLA 27-20 at Memorial Stadium in a disappointing and disconnected offensive effort.
The Huskers have lost three straight Big Ten games.
Here are three instant takes from the Huskers’ fourth Big Ten loss of the season:
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Huskers lose seventh straight game with bowl eligibility on the line
Nebraska has lost seven straight games with bowl eligibility on the line. Last year, NU entered November 5-2 and lost its final four games. All four of those games were lost by one possession.
The 2024 Huskers have lost three games after winning five.
Their clock management in the fourth quarter while down two scores was atrocious. NU went on a six-minute drive in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Dylan Raiola and the offense showed no urgency.
They had eight plays inside the 10-yard line and came away with six points. NU went for it on fourth-and-goal on the previous drive but Raiola was sacked for a loss of 11.
UCLA was Nebraska’s best shot at earning their sixth victory. Now, the Huskers will look to beat USC on the road, Wisconsin at home or Iowa on the road to go to a bowl game for the first time since 2016.
Raiola, offense looked disconnected
Nebraska’s offense played one of its worst halves of the season against UCLA. The Huskers recorded 86 yards and 39 rushing yards in the first half on Saturday. Outside of their 50-yard scoring driving, NU had 26 yards on the four other drives.
They managed to score two touchdowns in the second half, but it was a struggle. They spent 12 plays inside the 10-yard line and came away with six points. John Hohl missed the extra point after a touchdown and eight plays inside the 10.
The Huskers finished with 322 total yards and 113 rushing yards.
Quarterback Dylan Raiola did not play well. He went 14-for-27 for 177 passing yards. The freshman consistently missed open receivers and/or didn’t get the ball out quickly enough. He had three completions in the first half. One was a 40-yarder to Jacorey Barney Jr. that was poorly thrown.
Raiola started the second half by throwing a 38-yard pick-six on the first play. Nebraska needed a strong start to the half but gave up seven points in 10 seconds. He went 7-for-8 after the interception and helped NU to a third-quarter touchdown.
Raiola took a hard hit in the fourth quarter and was helped off the field grabbing his lower back. After Heinrich Haarberg played two plays, Raiola ran back out but went down again without playing a snap. He did not return.
Haarberg led a strong final drive until he was intercepted after Barney kicked up a ball that was caught by Kaylin Moore.
Defense settles in after bad half
Nebraska’s defense settled in more after allowing 248 yards in the first half. But they still have lots of work to do.
After a great game vs. Ohio State, the defense could not get off the field in the first half. UCLA had eight and seven-minute long drives to start the game. They settled in the second half and allowed seven points.
NU has done a pretty solid job against the rush this season. Before facing UCLA, they ranked 12th nationally with 98 rushing yards per game. They allowed 139 rushing yards against the Bruins. But NU gave up too many plays of 10+ yards.
The Bruins went 6-for-10 on third down in the first half. On 3rd-and-nine, Ethan Garbers saw an open lane and broke off a 57-yard run. UCLA ended the drive with a field goal.
Eight different UCLA players had plays over 10-plus yards. Kwazi Gilmer made a great catch for a 48-yard touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter.
Allowing longer plays was a major issue for Nebraska’s defense in their 56-7 loss to Indiana. A similar issue emerged against UCLA.
