Connect with us

Nebraska

Tad Stryker: Huskers Clowned by Minnesota

Published

on

Tad Stryker: Huskers Clowned by Minnesota


Was this a audition for the Penn State job? If so, P.J. Fleck looks like he just may be ready to be added to the Nittany Lions’ list of candidates.

That other head coach? The one largely responsible for a distracted, disinterested effort by a poorly prepared Nebraska football team? He’s still got enough problems to solve in Lincoln, and needs to stay right where he is.

If you were worried about Matt Rhule going home to Happy Valley, take heart. It’s unlikely he improved his chances for the job by taking a whipping in Minneapolis.

Displaying all-too-familiar softness in the trenches and poor tackling at the second and third levels of the defense, Nebraska lost to Minnesota 24-6 and looked increasingly inept as the second half unraveled.

Advertisement

They may deny it till they’re Nittany Lion blue in the face, but the Huskers looked like they were badly shaken by nationwide reporting that Rhule is a major candidate to take the place of James Franklin at Penn State.

There were several demons the Huskers had a chance to slay during a rare Friday night game in Minneapolis. They fed and nurtured those demons instead.

They had a chance to prove they can play in Minneapolis, where they haven’t won there since 2015. Instead, they threw another loss on the pile.

EJ topple

Minnesota defensive back Kerry Brown (14) tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson (21) during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

They could’ve poured cold water on the Surrender Whites Curse. Instead, they carefully saturated it with gasoline and lit a match. The Surrender Whites Curse is flaming hotter than ever.

In what was rightfully billed as a tough turnaround, with back-to-back road games scheduled at College Park and Minneapolis just six days apart, Nebraska looked clueless on the field. On a night where offensive guard Rocco Spindler ended up in the hospital, the Huskers are just lucky that Dylan Raiola didn’t follow him there. Raiola spent most of the night running for his life.

Advertisement

Nebraska lost to Minnesota despite committing no turnovers, which is typically the Huskers’ downfall. NU just got thoroughly outplayed, showing none of the “next-play” mentality that had bailed it out of tough spots in recent weeks.

Giving up nine sacks was disgrace enough, but the Huskers had fewer total yards, fewer first downs, twice as many penalties, lost the time-of-possession battle, failed to score touchdowns on both their trips to the red zone and converted a miserable 3 for 11 on third downs. They loudly proclaimed to the college football world that they don’t deserve to be rated in the top 25. There’s really not much solid evidence that the Husker coaching staff and players took this game seriously.

For the sixth time in a row, a Minnesota team with arguably less talent on the roster beat Nebraska. Minnesota won its previous four decisions by close scores. However, on this night, the Gophers clowned the Huskers, made them look foolish. If that were Curt Cignetti on the other side of the field instead of Fleck, who’s a friend of Rhule’s, he would’ve found a way to make the score more one-sided.

Rhule’s postgame assessment was blunt and to the point. “Just overall, I thought they were the more physical team tonight,” he said.

Smith roars

Minnesota defensive lineman Anthony Smith celebrates after the teams win against Nebraska. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

No, it was not a good night for the Nebraska coaching staff. John Butler was helpless in the second half. And has Dana Holgorsen ever looked worse trying to direct an offense? It’s tempting to blame Holgorsen for abandoning the run game (Husker running backs ran the ball just 16 times), but then again, the lack of dependable blocking tends to make you shy away from pounding the rock. When your quarterback is sacked nine times, you spend most of the night trying to pass your way out of trouble. And even so, Holgorsen/Raiola got the ball to Jacory Barney only once. One stinking time.

Advertisement

I had an old friend check in with me after this one ended. Glass-Is-Three-Quarters-Empty Husker Fan got in touch, although he didn’t have much to say. He seemed down. “Don’t know if I have ever seen a worse performance by an offensive line in any Nebraska game,” said my good friend. “Offensive tackles are incredibly bad. So disappointing.”

A Nebraska running game that seemed to be coming into its own, featuring Emmett Johnson, a jilted hometown boy coming back with something to prove to his friends in the stands, instead fell flat to the tune of 36 net yards rushing (although EJ did what he could, with 100 total yards on 14 carries and five receptions), while a Minnesota running game that had been on life support somehow got up out of its hospital bed and started to dance all over the Blackshirts with 186 net yards. Minnesota’s Darius Taylor, plagued by injuries much of the season, got well just in time to drop 148 yards rushing, including a touchdown, on the Big Red. His 71-yard run in the first half was the play that set Nebraska on its heels for the rest of the night.

Minnesota's Darius Taylor runs for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Minnesota’s Darius Taylor runs for a fourth-quarter touchdown. / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Losing Spindler to injury and Elijah Pritchett to ejection for a targeting call certainly played a role in the defeat, but that doesn’t account for a Husker defense that wilted pitifully in the second half, giving up a 98-yard touchdown drive that put the Gophers firmly in the driver’s seat.

Meanwhile, Raiola had one of his most painful nights as a Husker. Although he was a fairly respectable 17 of 25 passing with no interceptions, only 64 of his 177 passing yards came in the second half as he was pressured all over the field. One catch-and-run by freshman Quinn Clark was responsible for 20 percent of Nebraska’s total offense output. It was a miserable offensive performance, which may turn out to be just what the doctor ordered to get Rhule’s name run out of Happy Valley on a rail.

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.

Advertisement



Source link

Nebraska

Where to watch Nebraska vs UCLA today: Time, TV channel for Week 11 game

Published

on

Where to watch Nebraska vs UCLA today: Time, TV channel for Week 11 game


play

An intriguing Big Ten matchup will take place in the Rose Bowl in Week 11 with Nebraska visiting UCLA.

The Cornhuskers’ slim chance of making the College Football Playoff were wiped away when they lost at home to USC. Even worse, Nebraska lost its quarterback with Dylan Raiola out for the season with a broken fibula. Now, Matt Rhule turns to freshman TJ Lateef to end the campaign on a high note.

Advertisement

It’s a fresh UCLA team returning to action, coming off a bye week after it got steamrolled by Indiana. At 3-5, the Bruins are eyeing bowl eligibility while having three games against ranked opponents left, making this game an important one to win.

Stream Nebraska vs. UCLA football live with Fubo (free trial)

Here’s how to watch the Nebraska-UCLA game, including time, TV channel and streaming information, and game odds:

What TV channel is Nebraska vs UCLA on today? 

Nebraska vs. UCLA will be broadcast nationally on Fox in Week 11 of the 2025 college football season. Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Devin Gardner (analyst) will call the game from the booth, with Josh Sims reporting from the sidelines. 

Advertisement

Streaming options for the game include the Fox Sports Go app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries Fox and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Nebraska vs UCLA time today 

  • Date: Saturday, Nov. 8
  • Time: 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Nebraska and UCLA are set to kick off at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Saturday, Nov. 8 from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

Stream Nebraska vs. UCLA football live with Fubo (free trial)

Nebraska vs UCLA predictions, picks, odds

Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, Nov. 5 

  • Spread: UCLA (-1.5)
  • Over/under: 43.5
  • Moneyline: UCLA (-120) | Nebraska (+100)

Prediction: UCLA 19, Nebraska 16

Expect this one to be a defensive battle with both offenses not really having much firepower. Without Raiola, Nebraska is unable to find a rhythm and falls to UCLA for the second straight season.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Nebraska

Huskers facing upstart UCLA Bruins in late-night west coast meetup

Published

on

Huskers facing upstart UCLA Bruins in late-night west coast meetup


PASADENA, Calif. (WOWT/KOLN) – Nebraska’s crisscrossing adventures in the recently expanded Big 10 find the Huskers in a late-night showdown against the upstart UCLA Bruins.

Nebraska comes to the west coast more underhanded than usual, as star QB Dylan Raiola suffered a season ending injury in the third quarter of the loss to USC the previous week.

Sophomore Tackle Gunnar Gottula is also out for the rest of the year, suffering a knee injury and adding on to a increasing laundry-list of injuries on the offensive side of the ball.

Backup QB TJ Lateef, a true freshman with athletic upside and plying experience in Nebraska’s two big blowouts, will have to take the reins against a UCLA squad that has found new life since firing their head coach, but still boasting a 3-5 record with wins over Penn State, Michigan State, and Maryland all in sequence.

Advertisement

Head Coach Matt Rhule said the team is focused on setting Lateef up for success in his debut.

“You know this week to me is not about TJ, at least my message to our guys,” Rhule said. “It’s about everyone else making this where every single person has to do their job at such a high level that TJ can just do his job and not try to do anything more. But TJ can do his job. He’s an excellent player and I think everyone’s going to see him play really, really well.”

FULL VIDEO: Nebraska QB TJ Lateef | USC Post-Game Press Conference (11/1/25)

While the Huskers are already bowl-bound, one would imagine a new version of the Big Red will be taking the field once Saturday rolls around.

GAME INFO

  • WHERE: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
  • WHEN: 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8
  • WATCH: FOX
  • LISTEN: Huskers Radio Network
  • VEGAS ODDS: UCLA -1.5, O/U 43.5

PRE-GAME UPDATES

PREVIOUS NEBRASKA FOOTBALL COVERAGE



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Nebraska

Chris Backemeyer runs in Nebraska’s 1st District Democratic U.S. House primary

Published

on

Chris Backemeyer runs in Nebraska’s 1st District Democratic U.S. House primary


LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Democrats have another candidate in eastern Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District primary.

Former U.S. State Department diplomat Chris Backemeyer will face renewable energy advocate Eric Moyer in the Democratic primary. Both are vying to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood.

“Frankly, I see our country is just going really in the wrong direction,” said Backemeyer.

Backemeyer has worked for the State Department for 20 years in Washington, D.C., with a focus on counterterrorism, economic policy and the Middle East. He moved back to Lincoln last month after accepting a buyout from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which thinned out the ranks of the federal bureaucracy in the early days of the second Trump administration.

Advertisement

He said he felt there was “no mission or purpose left” in working for the State Department after the DOGE cuts, and that serving in Congress was the only way to push back against Trump’s approach to governing. Backmeyer’s pitch to voters is a moderate focus on affordability, reasserting congressional authority over tariffs and addressing rising health care prices and the national debt.

“Both parties are moving in opposite directions … I think there’s a lot of people in the middle that just want good … middle-of-the-road policies that will solve the problems that they see on a day-to-day basis,” Backemyer said.

Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary will most likely face Flood, who as yet has no GOP opponent and has won his past two elections by 20 and 16 percentage points, in a seat considered safely Republican by the nonpartisan Center for Politics, The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.

The 1st District comprises 12 Nebraska counties, including heavily Democratic Lancaster County, which is often drowned out by the region’s more conservative rural areas.

Backemeyer said while it will be a “tough race,” the district being considered a safe seat isn’t a good reason not to “get into the fight.” He pointed to his work at the State Department as an example of his being able to work with people regardless of political differences.

Advertisement

One of Backemeyer’s areas of emphasis as a diplomat was Iran. He was a senior State Department negotiator for Obama’s Iran nuclear deal in 2015. During Trump’s first term, He was replaced by Andrew L. Peek in 2017 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iranian Affairs and moved to a new role. Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018.

Backemeyer was also a national security advisor to former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Daniel Bass, a spokesperson for the Flood campaign, criticized his work with former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He said Backemeyer has “spent more of his life in Washington than in Nebraska, so it’s no surprise that he was inspired to run by coastal Democrat wins this week.”

“Meanwhile, Mike Flood has fought for Nebraskans,” Bass said. “To represent us, you have to be one of us.”

During Flood’s Lincoln town hall in August, Backemeyer asked Flood a question: “Who do you work for?” referring to his vote on Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” He used it as a part of his campaign lunch video. The Flood campaign pointed out that Backemeyer was still living in D.C. at the time.

Advertisement

Moyer, asked about a new opponent, said the entrance of another Democratic candidate in the race validates that there is “no such thing as a safe congressional seat when Donald Trump’s failed policies are on the ballot.”

“My campaign is building momentum throughout the district, and a competitive primary will serve the people of Nebraska well,” Moyer said.

Backemeyer said a competitive Democratic primary will only make the Democratic nominee stronger. He said he respects Moyer, but argues his experience in Washington prepares him for Congress.

“I’ve been working on some of the country’s most difficult national security challenges … I’ve briefed presidents and vice presidents and secretaries of state. I think I have the ability to hit the ground running,” said Backemeyer.

Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending