Nebraska falls to Utah in Vegas, ends season at 7-6 for second year in a row

Nebraska lost convincingly, 44-22, to No. 15 Utah on Thursday in the Las Vegas Bowl, ending the season at 7-6 for the second straight year.

The Huskers started out strong, scoring touchdowns on their first two possessions, but then the offense stalled. Meanwhile, the defense struggled, giving up 24 points and 300 yards to the Utah offense in the first half.

The second half brought more of the same, with Utah scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions to essentially put the game out of reach.

The Utes' dual-threat quarterback Devion Dampier carved up the Huskers' defense all day, totaling more than 450 yards of total offense and accounting for five touchdowns.

The lone bright spot for NU was running back Mekhi Nelson, who scored the team's first touchdown and had more than 100 yards of total offense.

"They got the best of us today," Matt Rhule said in a postgame news conference. "Our guys just didn't quite make enough plays in the second half."

Rhule said he credited the Husker team with being physical but said execution was where the team fell short.

"I think there were a couple times, you know, maybe left the pocket just a little too early. Some other times, you went for a fourth down, and we're open, and they bat the ball down. They were playing man coverage against us and pressuring, and we just didn't hurt them enough."

Rhule said a lot of players in the bowl game were younger to fill in for injured players, and the lack of experience and play time could have affected the performance today. But he said he expects many of the younger players who hit the field in Vegas will return next season instead of running to the transfer portal.

The game was expected to be Kyle Whittingham’s final game as Utah's head coach, but he took the head job at Michigan after announcing his retirement from Utah. New head coach Morgan Scalley led the Utes against Nebraska in the bowl game and is 1-0 as head coach.

In back-to-back seven-win seasons, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule has made bowl games and winning seasons more common than his two most recent predecessors. Before last season, the Cornhuskers had sat out bowl season for seven years in a row. However, no Husker football coach in the last 60 years has stayed around long by routinely winning seven games, making a successful 2026 paramount to Rhule’s longevity in Lincoln.

Overall, Rhule’s third season fell short of expectations, mired by injuries and coaching changes.

Preseason and early season hopes

Nebraska wasn’t ranked in the Associated Press top 25 to start the year, but many pundits thought the Huskers would reach eight or more wins in the regular season. This year’s schedule looked much lighter than previous versions. Many fans circled home matchups with Michigan and USC, and a late November road trip to Penn State, as the biggest challenges on the slate. And Rhule has shown a knack for kicking it up a notch in his third seasons at Temple and Baylor, where he won 10 or more games both times. Sophomore quarterback and former five-star recruit Dylan Raiola entered his second year as the starter.

Add it all up and fans were buzzing.

Just eking past Cincinnati in a de facto home game played in Kansas City, 20-17, the Big Red started the season how they wanted with a 1-0 record. A late interception by senior defensive back Malcolm Hartzog Jr. sealed the victory and helped build a new narrative around Nebraska in close games. But even in the win, early signs of issues stopping the run were evident. Cincinnati rushed for 202 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry.

Following two blowout wins against overmatched competition, the Huskers hosted No. 21 Michigan. With CBS broadcasting the game, it felt like the stage for Nebraska to break its losing streak against ranked opponents, which dates back to 2016.

But missed opportunities early in the contest and a leaky run defense — both recurring themes for the season — amounted to a 30-27 loss. Long Michigan touchdown runs of 37, 75 and 54 yards, mixed with seven sacks – another seasonlong issue – upended the Big Red’s hopes.

Mid-season highs and lows

By game seven, Nebraska sneaked its way into the AP top 25. With a 5-1 record and a No. 25 ranking, the Huskers strolled into a road matchup with a struggling Minnesota team on a Friday night.

Rhule, a Penn State alum, was listed by many outlets as a candidate for the Penn State job, which opened in mid-October.

Having not won against the Gophers since 2018, it seemed like another opportunity to break a losing streak. But Minnesota had other plans, sacking the Huskers nine times and running away with a 24-6 victory.

Less than two weeks later, Rhule’s name cooled on the PSU opening. The Huskers signed him to an extension through 2032 and tripled his buyout to $15 million.

NU bounced back at home against Northwestern, leading to a matchup of 6-2 teams against No. 23 USC in a night game televised on NBC and with a sellout crowd rocking in a blackout.

Again, a great opportunity for the ranked losing streak to end, it seemed.

As the game turned to the third quarter, everything was going the home team’s way. Leading 14-6, the Big Red secondary shined throughout the night and nabbed an interception to put NU in business early in the second half.

The injury

Following the interception, Nebraska converted a first down to the USC 23-yard-line. Then, quarterback Dylan Raiola dropped back, was sacked and lost a fumble. But even worse than the result of the play was the way he got hit, with his leg twisting underneath him.

He was out for the game, and eventually would be ruled out for the season with a broken fibula.

Backup quarterback TJ Lateef held his own but couldn’t extend a last-minute drive. Another tough loss for the Big Red, this time by a count of 21-17. The losing streak against ranked competition extended to 29 games.

The Raiola injury changed the team’s offensive gameplan in its next matchup. With the quick-footed Lateef running the show, offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen kept UCLA off-balance with a steady run game and effective screen passes and rollouts.

NU defeated UCLA, 28-21 on the road, to improve to 7-3. The freshman Lateef and junior running back Emmett Johnson looked like a dynamic duo in the backfield, and that eight- or nine-win goal was still well within reach.

Johnson had 129 rushing yards, 103 receiving yards and three total touchdowns in a career game under the Los Angeles night sky. Lateef completed 13 of 15 passes for 205 yards and three scores.

Late November disappointment

The Penn State game that looked so daunting in the preseason was suddenly a completely different contest. After starting the year ranked in the top five, PSU fired head coach James Franklin. It entered the contest at 4-6 with interim coach Terry Smith leading the way.

Despite everything working against the program, the 2025 Penn State team still had talent. Following a close loss to No. 2 Indiana and their first conference win over Michigan State, the Nittany Lions welcomed in the Big Red with renewed confidence and as the betting favorite.

They embarrassed the Huskers, 37-10.

Multiple fourth-down failures on offense in the first half and a porous run defense spelled the demise of the Huskers on the road. They allowed 231 yards on the ground and 412 yards total.

It was one of the first times the veteran-laden Husker secondary also showed cracks, giving up 15.1 yards per pass to Penn State’s backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer.

Issues on both sides of the ball carried over into the final regular season game against Iowa.

Lateef injured his leg early. Even though he kept playing, his mobility was limited. Despite the Huskers getting more than 200 yards rushing from All-American running back Emmett Johnson, Iowa looked like the more well-rounded team. The Hawkeyes rolled to a 40-16 rout, on senior day in Lincoln.

Nebrasked ended the regular season 7-5, a one-game improvement from last year’s 6-6 squad. Late season struggles continued for Rhule, who now holds a 2-10 record in the month of November at Nebraska.

Coaching changes and portal chatter

Shuffling on the coaching staff defined early December.

Defensive coordinator John Butler was fired just three days after the loss to Iowa. Offensive line coach Donovan Raiola, Dylan’s uncle, was let go later that week. And defensive line coach Terry Bradden was dismissed the following week.

Geep Wade from Georgia Tech filled the vacant o-line position. Rob Aurich of San Diego State accepted the job as defensive coordinator for the 2026 season, while associate head coach Phil Snow ran the defense for the bowl game.

About two weeks ahead of the Las Vegas Bowl, Rhule hired Lonnie Teasley as the running game coordinator, and Roy Manning was officially brought on to coach edge rushers along the defensive line. Rhule pitched in on coaching the defensive lineman for the bowl game.

As for portal action, one big decision was already looming. Late in the season, CBS Sports reported that Nebraska was preparing for quarterback Dylan Raiola to enter the transfer portal.

Those reports turned out to be accurate, with coaches all but confirming Raiola’s decision to move on in mid-December. The portal officially opens Jan. 2.

In another big roster move, running back Emmett Johnson decided to enter the NFL Draft following a breakout season. That announcement means the Huskers will need to replace their starting backfield for next season.

Whether it be the transfer portal or players already on the roster, Rhule has to hit more often than miss in 2026. In a season that will include games against Indiana, Ohio State and Oregon — all College Football Playoff participants this year — the task at hand for Rhule’s staff will be a difficult one.