Hopeful Huskers

119 yards in penalties, four turnovers, questionable officiating, on the road as a double-digit favorite. That sounds like a recipe for disaster, and it sounds like a crushing season-ending loss in the Mike Riley, Bo Pelini or Bill Callahan eras. But that was not the case on September 21 in Champaign, IL, as Scott Frost’s Nebraska football program showed serious growth in his 16th game as head coach. 

No matter what happened against Ohio State, the game before showed that Nebraska has taken a step forward while it tries to once again become nationally relevant. The much anticipated second season under Frost got off to a rocky start after a dreadful performance against South Alabama, a 35-21 Husker win in which the Jaguars outgained the Huskers. Things seemed to be better when Nebraska held a 17-0 halftime lead in Boulder, CO the following week. But in front of a stadium where Nebraska fans outnumbered Colorado fans, the Huskers collapsed spectacularly in the final 17 minutes of the game, before losing 34-31 in overtime.  

In Week 3, the Huskers blew out an FBS opponent for the first time in 3 years, with a 44-8 drubbing of Northern Illinois, a program that infamously beat Nebraska two years ago, and set in motion the series of events that led to Frost’s hire that December. Through 3 games, the Blackshirts made a noticeable jump from year 1, but the offense, especially sophomore quarterback Adrian Martinez, has not made the much-anticipated year 2 jump.  

The same day Nebraska got its revenge on the Huskies, Illinois lost to Eastern Michigan at home. Head coach Lovie Smith was in year four of a disastrous tenure in Champaign. The following week, the two programs clashed in their conference opener in Champaign. Going into the game, the Illini had won a grand total of 4 conference games under Smith. Nebraska was installed as a 12.5 point favorite, and the Huskers had a majority of the crowd for the primetime kickoff. Even though, going into the night, Frost had not won a game as Husker head coach away from Lincoln, many thought this would be over by the end of three quarters, and nobody expected anything close to a loss. 

Things got off to an unexpected start when Illinois running back Reggie Corbin went 66 yards untouched on the second play of the game. Then, a few minutes later, Martinez fumbled the ball away, and the Illini took over in Nebraska territory. A few plays later, Illinois scored a touchdown and led 14-0. Things were not going to plan. On the ensuing possession, the Big Red went right down the field and made it 14-7. After the two teams traded punts, Nebraska found itself with the ball on its own 2-yard line. Then disaster struck. Running back Dedrick Mills fumbled on first play of the drive, and Smith’s group recovered. A few plays later, it was Illinois 21, Nebraska 7. Martinez managed to lead a touchdown drive before halftime to cut the deficit to 21-14 through 30 minutes. 

Nebraska had a chance to put away Colorado in the third quarter, but they failed to do so and lost the game. The Huskers had to come out fast after halftime. They got the football to begin the second half and went three and out. Illinois took the ball back and 6 plays later it was 28-14. DEFCON 1 had been reached. The Big Red responded with a TD drive of its own to make it 28-21. Then things got wacky. Wideout JD Spielman and Martinez both fumbled on the next two times Nebraska touched the ball, the latter being a very controversial call that turned into 7 Illini points. It was 35-21.  

In the fourth quarter, Nebraska did something that they have not done enough of in the last 20 years: they scored touchdowns on 3 consecutive possessions and held Illinois out of the end zone the rest of game. After the Husker defense stopped Illinois’ last drive to try to stun the Huskers, Nebraska had won its 900th game in school history, joining Texas, Alabama, Ohio State and Michigan as the only schools to have accomplished the feat as of Sept. 27. 

Martinez finally woke up, accounting for 445 yards of total offense, and Nebraska outgained Illinois 690-299. The games was only kept close because of the –3 turnover margin and the 119 yards in penalties. For the first time in at least 5 years, Nebraska went on the road, made a ton of mistakes, but still found a way to win the football game. That is a serious sign of progress for Frost’s program and a massive confidence boost for everyone involved. An hour after the game ended, news came that ESPN’s College Gameday was coming to Lincoln the following week for the Ohio State game. That game was broadcast on ABC’s Saturday Night Football that night.  

Nebraska is back in the national spotlight where it rightfully belongs, and it only happened because the Huskers overcame their mistakes and found a way to win a football game on the road. This is a sign of great progress midway through Frost’s second season in Lincoln.