Nebraska coach Matt Rhule's immediate reaction to Illinois upset loss

Nebraska football suffered their first loss of the season on Friday night, dropping a shocker in Lincoln against No. 24 Illinois 31-24 in overtime. Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers had plenty of chances to win the game in regulation, but left too many points on the field and allowed the Illini to pounce at the end of the game. The loss to Illinois is Nebraska's 27th consecutive loss against a ranked opponent dating back to 2016.

After the game, Rhule was brutally honest about his team's play in the critical moments of the game, courtesy of Sam McKewon of HuskerExtra.

"The moment showed up and we didn't make the plays you need to make to win the game," Rhule said, per McKewon on X, formerly Twitter.

Nebraska left points on the field on three separate drives in regulation, including a wide open go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. After giving up an Illinois touchdown on the second play of overtime, Nebraska put together a disastrous offensive possession that included three sacks and a penalty, and never threatened to extend the game to a second OT.

Re-evaluating Nebraska football after loss to Illinois

Nebraska's loss to Illinois on Friday night in front of a sold-out Memorial Stadium crowd — the 400th consecutive sellout in Lincoln — came as a surprise to many. After the Cornhuskers' win against Colorado in Week 2, there was plenty of buzz around Matt Rhule and company potentially entering their Oct. 26 meeting with Ohio State at 7-0.

Obviously, that won't happen anymore, but expectations for Nebraska should still be high. Their execution in critical situations can be sharper, but the reality is that they're one accurate throw to a wide open receiver from winning this game in regulation.

Their next two games are against Purdue and Rutgers, both of which are winnable contests that Nebraska will expect to handle their business in. Then comes a road meeting with Indiana. The Hoosiers are tricky, and Curt Cignetti has his group playing some excellent football on their way to a 3-0 start. That will be no easy task for Rhule and company.

The final four games after the trip to Columbus bring two winnable games, home against UCLA and home against Wisconsin, and two games that are tougher tests: at USC and at Iowa. The Trojans are more well-rounded than they have been in years past, and Iowa is always a stiff test with their elite defense.

With four difficult tests left on Nebraska's Big Ten slate, a 7-5 type of season is still on the table. However, Rhule's group has shown that they can compete with very talented teams, so an eight or nine win season should still be the expectation in Lincoln.