A backbreaking three-game losing streak has dropped Nebraska toward the bottom of the Big Ten and will raise the scrutiny on coach Matt Rhule to new heights heading into another decisive November.
Last year’s team was 6-2 before dropping four of five, the final three by a combined 73 points.
After starting this season 5-0, the Cornhuskers are reeling as they head into one of the most important final months in recent program history.
Nebraska outplayed No. 4 Indiana at home on Oct. 10 but lost 20-17. (Minnesota can commiserate.) A week later, former starting quarterback Dylan Raiola tossed the game-winning touchdown for Oregon with 28 seconds left.
On Saturday, the Cornhuskers led Washington 7-0 after the first quarter and 7-3 with just over a minute
to play before Demond Williams Jr. came off the bench to deliver the go-ahead score. Given the chance to respond, Nebraska quarterback Anthony Colandrea tossed a pick-six for good measure.
Things could get worse. This century tells us that things will get worse, actually.
Now 5-3, Nebraska goes on the road to Illinois and Rutgers to open November. Getting out of Lincoln might be good for the Cornhuskers, even if Big Ten road games are a recipe for disaster.
They end the year against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 24 Iowa. If 5-5 at this point, Nebraska’s not even getting to a bowl game. You can see why November could determine the program’s future.
Southern California, Ohio State and Oklahoma lead this week’s biggest winners and losers:
Winners
Lincoln Riley
No. 25 Southern California’s 30-18 win against Ohio State could get Riley off the hot seat. Whether that keeps him with the Trojans is something else entirely. But this by miles is the program’s best win since joining the Big Ten and a potentially impactful one for determining the conference and the College Football Playoff. The Trojans’ offense was very good on a per-play basis and the defense held up against Jeremiah Smith and new quarterback Luke Fahey, holding Smith to 8.3 yards per catch and Fahey to 6.8 yards per attempt. Had things not turned so sour the past few weeks, this might’ve been the type of win that solidified Riley’s future.
Texas Tech
The No. 14 Red Raiders’ 34-26 win against No. 21 Arizona is quite the response after last week’s ugly loss to Cincinnati. Facing off against one of the most underrated teams in the Power Four, Texas Tech turned the offense over to transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who threw for 144 yards, ran for 117 yards and scored three times without a turnover. Beyond giving the offense a different look, Castellanos delivered the type of spark that had been missing behind former starter Will Hammond. A second loss in a row in conference play would’ve been a death sentence for Tech’s playoff hopes. Instead, the Red Raiders delivered the type of win that should land them in the top half of the debut playoff rankings.
Iowa
Saturday’s 30-0 blanking of Wisconsin speaks to Iowa’s chances of nailing down a two-loss regular season and an at-large playoff spot. Facing off against an opponent climbing the Big Ten ladder thanks to four wins in five games, the Hawkeyes allowed just 52 rushing yards and nine first downs while quarterback Hank Brown nearly had a perfect day, connecting on 20 of 24 throws for 222 yards and two touchdowns. Iowa now heads into a November slate of Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois and Nebraska.
Wake Forest
This is a seriously good team that will almost certainly be under-ranked in the debut playoff rankings. That will be attributed to a weaker schedule: Wake Forest has played just two teams with a winning record in No. 1 Miami and Louisville, playing the Hurricanes tighter than most and beating the Cardinals by a field goal. But the No. 15 Demon Deacons are just destroying teams, including the past four by a combined score of 187-31. Taking on Virginia, Wake put up 538 yards and scored 24 points in the third quarter to run away with a 51-7 win.
Penn State
Running backs Cam Wallace and Carson Hansen combined for 231 yards and Penn State beat Purdue 31-17 to avoid what would’ve been a brutal fifth loss in a row in the Big Ten to open the Matt Campbell era. Amid some legitimate questions about the state of the roster, the Nittany Lions played their most complete game of the year by running for 269 yards overall on 5.3 yards per carry, holding the Boilermakers to just 2.8 yards per play and avoiding any turnovers for the first time in conference play. Penn State can get to bowl eligibility by splitting games against Washington, Minnesota, Rutgers and Maryland. Despite a rough start, reaching six wins would help the program build some momentum heading into the offseason.
Dylan Raiola
Since replacing an injured Dante Moore last month, the former Nebraska transfer has delivered in relief to beat No. 25 Southern California, put together an all-time stinker in a loss to UCLA, tossed the game-winning score against the Cornhuskers and led Oregon into the end zone just once in a loss to Illinois. This up-and-down run stabilized with his best performance to date — and one of the best of his career — against Northwestern, going 22 of 31 for 336 yards and three touchdowns with several key throws as the Ducks climbed out of a 20-6 deficit and won 34-26.
Losers
Ohio State
The loss will force OSU to run the table to ensure a spot in the Big Ten championship game and an at-large playoff berth. It also revealed how things are going to change with Julian Sayin out of the lineup. For one, the Buckeyes are not going to be a team that can commit 11 penalties and turn the ball over and win on the road against a tough opponent. (Before, they were one of the few who could.) The offense is not going to have the same explosiveness. The defense will need to carry more of the load but gave up 6.9 yards per play and 9.7 yards per attempt to the Trojans.
Oklahoma
The Sooners dropped to 4-4 with an incredibly ugly 42-25 loss at home to South Carolina, showing not just the same putrid lack of offensive production but a surprising collapse on defense, too. Oklahoma was under 300 yards of offense until there was a minute left and scored just two offensive touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter with the game out of hand. LaNorris Sellers did his Cam Newton impersonation with 397 yards of total offense and five scores, while the Gamecocks had over 300 yards at halftime and finished with 521 yards overall. After opening the year at No. 9 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, there is no valid excuse for the Sooners being this terrible. But this is something that has happened before: South Carolina won 35-9 in Norman two years ago.
Indiana
Things are getting shakier by the Saturday for the defending national champions, which needed a 60-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime against Minnesota — after the Gophers made a 60 yarder on their own to take the lead with 19 seconds — before winning 23-16 in the first extra frame. There are obvious issues with quarterback Josh Hoover, whether because of injuries or general ineffectiveness. He went just 8 of 19 for 119 yards before being replaced by backup Grant Wilson, who had 156 passing yards and the game-winner to Charlie Becker in overtime. The decision Curt Cignetti makes moving forward at quarterback will decide the Hoosiers’ season.
SMU
We can toss No. 16 SMU out of the at-large playoff debate. The Mustangs lost 30-27 to Syracuse after giving up the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds remaining and now have only one realistic way to get back into the tournament: by winning the ACC. Just getting there will require wins at home against Virginia Tech and No. 15 Wake Forest, and that might be too much to ask of a team that has struggled to put things together despite spending most of the regular season in the Coaches Poll. The loss does fit a larger theme, though. Since joining the ACC three years ago, four of the Mustangs’ five conference losses have come by a field goal.
Wisconsin
Needless to say, Wisconsin will not be moving into this week’s rankings. The Badgers not only exposed by the Hawkeyes but will come out of Saturday with a quarterback dilemma, too, after pulling transfer Colton Joseph in favor of backup Ryan Hopkins in the third quarter. Hopkins did better, completing 8 of 13 attempts for 93 yards and an interception to Joseph’s 92 yards on 5 of 14 passing, though Hopkins’ numbers came with the game already in doubt. The bigger picture is even worse: Wisconsin has dropped all four matchups against Iowa under coach Luke Fickell by a combined 124-16 score.
Central Florida and Cincinnati
From the highs of last Saturday — the Bearcats beat Texas Tech and the Knights stunned No. 9 Brigham Young — to the lows of lopsided losses: Cincinnati fell behind No. 5 Utah 42-6 at halftime on the way to a 49-25 loss and UCF lost 41-9 to Baylor on Friday night. UCF probably got the Cougars at the right time, fresh off an emotional win against No. 6 Notre Dame, and was always going to slide back to mediocrity. But the Bearcats are solid, so the Utes’ domination cements their place as the leader of the Big 12.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska, USC headline college football winners, losers in Week 9
