For 55 minutes and 31 seconds, the game was NOT played in snow, rain and ice, but you couldn’t tell by watching the Washington and Nebraska offenses slog around the field on a mild and dry night.
Then Nebraska slapped that same old VHS tape in the video player and the real pain began yet again.
Except it wasn’t.
For the last three weeks, the Huskers have played different movies that somehow all meet up for the same damned ending, another eyes-wide, jaws hanging open 4th-quarter collapse. It has truly
been insane. Tonight I happened to be watching with a former Husker who simply said after, “I have no words.”
So let’s relive this one.
The score was only 7-3 after 55 minutes and 31 seconds. For Washington, it was being completely smothered by the Blackshirts who stuffed them again and again. For the Huskers, it was their inability to stop shooting themselves in the foot. Chief offenders were first Anthony Colandrea who, a day after his deal to return for 2027 was announced, celebrated by tossing three picks. it would have been four, but he was bailed out of that one by a Washington offsides flag.
The other was kicker Kyle Cunanan, of whom fans had grown weary weeks ago, but coaches kept sticking with him. He missed a 40-yarder against Indiana in a 20-17 loss. He also missed one against Oregon in a 17-14 loss. See where I’m going with this?
Tonight, it was a 36-yarder after a 14-play 68-yard drive which would’ve given the Huskers a 10-3 lead. Following that, the Huskies embarked on an 81-yard TD drive, but without missing the short attempt, the game would still have been tied at 10.
And let’s talk about that to close this section out – The Huskers had only surrendered 186 yards prior to that drive. But Washington’s Jedd Fisch decided to try Dylan-ing Nebraska as Oregon did for the win. He replaced former backup Elijah Brown with regular starter Demond Williams who threw, scrambled and led the winning drive on a suddenly porous Blackshirt defense. 10-7 Washington. Colandrea then fired his final interception for a pick-6.
17-7.
Opponents will be starting their backups for the remainder of 2027.
The final was 17-10 as Rhule pulled a “shut the barn door” by bringing in John Hohl to kick. He drilled a 42-yarder for the game’s final score and possible the end to the Cunanan Era.
(MORE TO COME)
