Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
The Nebraska Cornhuskers suffered their first loss of the season to No. 24 Illinois Friday night, caving in during overtime to drop to 3-1.
Despite producing 345 total yards on offense, along with three touchdowns and a field goal, the Huskers struggled to keep Illinois at bay throughout the night. The Fighting Illini racked up 381 yards on offense, four touchdowns, and a field goal.
Nebraska also committed ten penalties, resulting in a total loss of 89 yards and five first downs. Now that the Huskers are in Big Ten play, they must clean up their mistakes to produce more wins.
But with this being the second week in a row the defense has struggled and the offense has had a few strokes of bad luck, Nebraska needs to be more cautious than ever if they are to earn their first Big Ten win.
Here are the position grades for Nebraska’s 31-24 overtime loss to No. 24 Illinois.
Quarterbacks: B+
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) drops to throw against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
This game showed why Dylan Raiola’s status as a true freshman quarterback means there’ll be some growing pains.
Though he didn’t make any catastrophic mistakes in the loss, he did miss a wide open touchdown and lost the ball twice in one drive late in the game but recovered both.
But when compared to quarterbacks of the past, that’s practically nothing. Even his interception in the second quarter was the result of another contested catch.
Though he threw 24-of-35, he still produced 297 passing yards and three touchdowns, both season highs. Overall, he did a lot for the Huskers Friday night.
Running Backs: B-
Sep 7, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) hands the ball off to running back Dante Dowdell (23) during the third quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Taking Raiola’s sack yards out of the equation, the rushing game only managed 102 yards, with 89 yards from running backs.
Dante Dowdell carried the rock 20 times in the loss and only gained 72 yards. But he still broke out a few solid runs. Rahmir Johnson delivered the rest of the running room’s yardage, gaining 17 off four carries.
There were times Dowdell missed a lane to run, which needs to be addressed. But given the difficulties the ground game faced against the Illinois defense; it was an average night for the running game.
Wide Receivers: B+
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Torrie Cox Jr. (5) intercepts a pass to Nebraska Cornhuskers wide receiver Isaiah Neyor (18) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
For the second week in a row, Nebraska’s receiving core lost a contested catch. This one however ended up being critical.
Neyor lost a touchdown catch when attempting to haul it in, which would’ve put Nebraska ahead by two touchdowns at the time. But he redeemed himself with a toe-tapping touchdown near the end of the second quarter, adding to his 90-yard, two-touchdown night.
Jahmal Banks also made a big catch in the drive, which highlighted his big night of eight catches for 94 yards. Thomas Fidone II also snatched two big catches to tally up 46 yards and Jaylen Lloyd grabbed a reception, this time for 17 yards.
Outside the contested catch, the aerial game produced. But it needs to be careful on those contested catches, otherwise, more defenses will get opportunities to halt Nebraska’s drive.
Offensive Line: B-
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini defensive back Terrance Brooks (8) smiles after the Fighting Illini defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
The offensive line took a step back in the loss to Illinois. While it stood its ground for most of the night, small cracks in the foundation led to a total collapse in overtime.
It began with a false start before the pipeline burst open, surrendering three sacks across four plays. But even before overtime, the line wasn’t perfect.
The run game struggled behind it, and the line offset a defensive holding penalty with a holding of its own. On the very next play, Nebraska’s drive ended on the interception.
It did lose a key lineman, Turner Corcoran, during the game, but with Nebraska now in Big Ten play, the pipeline needs to step up and not surrender five sacks a game.
Defensive Line: B-
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive lineman Jimari Butler (1) grabs the face mask of Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer was sacked twice Friday night. But neither sack came from the line. The Huskers couldn’t touch Altmyer for most of the night, only getting to him on runs or an uncalled facemask.
The line did throw Altmyer off rhythm a few times and kept the running game in check for a majority of the game, except for the opening play in overtime.
However, penalties played a big part in the defensive front’s performance. The group coughed up two offside penalties and three personal fouls, not to mention the no-call facemask.
These mistakes added fuel to Illinois’ fire on the night, which added up in the end. The defensive line needs to step up to win the battle in the trenches, but it also needs to clean up a bit when coming across flag-friendly referees.
Linebackers: B-
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini offensive lineman Brandon Henderson (94) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
John Bullock once again made a name for himself on the second level. He ripped the ball out on Illinois’ second drive and delivered the Huskers’ only defended pass on the night. He also led the team with nine tackles, six solo tackles and a sack.
Mikai Gbayor and MJ Sherman were also both solid in the game, both recording six tackles in the game, though Sherman did draw a personal foul on a fourth down play.
However, the red zone is where the linebackers struggled. All of Illinois’ touchdowns occurred off wide-open receivers and wide-open tight ends. Though the second level played solidly, this was the only hiccup on their night.
Defensive Backs: D+
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini wide receiver Collin Dixon (17) runs after a catch against Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive back Marques Buford Jr. (3) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
For the second week in a row, Nebraska’s secondary let the passing game get the better of them.
This time around, however, Illinois capitalized big time—four touchdowns through the air and all of them to receivers who were practically all alone. Luke Altmyer was 21-of-27 for 215 yards, and only one incompletion was in part due to the defense, as the other five were dropped passes.
There were also numerous occasions with a receiver being wide open but the defensive line and linebackers obscured Altmyer’s view, or receivers straight up dropped the pass. The defensive backs also coughed up penalties which only added to the struggle.
In other words, it could’ve been much worse and that only adds to the issues this secondary has. But it still acted as a massive burden for the offense to overcome on the night.
The only good thing it managed to do was strip Altmyer on a corner blitz, resulting in a turnover. But that was the peak of the secondary’s performance against the Fighting Illini, and it needs to figure out how to fix it.
Special Teams: C+
Sep 20, 2024; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini flags are waved after a touchdown against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
The missed potentially game-winning field goal was mixed. Tristan Alvano was injured for the game which led to John Hohl needing to make the kick. He did hit one earlier in the night, but he has to be weary of kicking mistakes.
Nebraska didn’t do much better in the punt and kicking game. It gave up 60 punt return yards off three punts, including one for 37 yards and 59 kick return yards off three kicks, including one for 24 yards.
This isn’t the worst performance by Nebraska’s special teams in the last five years, but it can’t be slipping up against Big Ten opponents.
This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Position grades from Nebraska’s 31-24 overtime loss to No. 24 Illinois
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Publish date : 2024-09-23 23:15:00
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