Over the past three months (or three decades, depending on your perspective), Husker fans have been wondering if this is the year Nebraska returns to glory. Our team here at HuskerMax has certainly done its part in helping the Kool-Aid flow with preseason predictions and a few promising trends to keep your eyes on.
While there are many positive stories out there, none may be more exciting to the Big Red Faithful than seeing that their beloved Huskers have skyrocketed to No. 8 in the country in our EA Sports College Football 26 simulation of Nebraska’s regular season. Sitting at 7-1, Nebraska embarked on what we’re calling the “California Two-Step” since they play USC and UCLA in back-to-back games this season.
It’s also important to note that Nebraska has climbed to No. 8 in the nation without beating a ranked team on their schedule. Their only shot to this point of the year was against Michigan, which resulted in the team’s only loss of the year through eight games.
No. 20 USC makes the trip to Lincoln to give Nebraska yet another opportunity at home to knock off a nationally-ranked opponent. It’s the Trojans who strike first in this one, as Waymond Jordan barrels in from just a yard out to put USC up early 7-0.
This one had all the signs of a shootout early. The very next possession, Nebraska marched down the field to set up a short 3-yard touchdown pass. Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola finds the reliable hands of Dane Key for the touchdown to knot the game up at 7 apiece.
Back the other way we go, however, as USC’s Jayden Maiava proved he’s more than game to go toe-to-toe with Raiola. He connects with Lake McRee for the 38-yard strike right through the middle of the Blackshirt defense. Make it 14-7 Trojans.
We’re still in the first quarter, and the teams are looking to combine for 31 points in the opening frame. Thanks to the big arm of Raiola and his connection with Dane Key, they do just that. The two link up for an 82-yard bomb on 3rd & 10. After one, USC leads by three.
The two teams finally make it to the second quarter, and for a brief moment, the defenses wanted to show up. First, it’s Nebraska making a stand as Mario Buford gets through and sacks Maiava on a key 3rd & 8 play. The sack forced the first Trojan punt of the day.
The 2nd quarter proved to be much slower in terms of scoring, but after USC tacked on a few field goals, Nebraska found itself down 22-14 and needing to find a spark. However, in his attempt to get Nebraska back on track, Raiola made a play that derailed the Big Red Express instead. The Husker sophomore threw a rare pick-six to USC’s Kevin Longstreet, and the Trojan lead increased to 30-14 right before the half.
Nebraska, with its back against the wall to end the first half, delivered. Raiola got the Husker offense down the field in a hurry, and he was able to cap the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Jacory Barney Jr. The touchdown brought Nebraska back within striking distance as the teams went into the locker room.
The Blackshirts entered the second half needing to make some stops to give their offense a chance to climb back into it, but USC had other plans. On their second drive of the second half, they again handed the ball off to Waymond Jordan for his second touchdown run of the night. It again pushed USC to a comfortable lead at 37-21.
The Trojans eventually double up Nebraska to lead 43-21, but with a little more than eight minutes left in the game, here come the Huskers. Raiola slings it out to Barney Jr. for the 18-yard touchdown, and it draws Nebraska a bit closer, 43-28.
After a pivotal stop, Nebraska got the ball right back with a little more than six minutes left in the game. Again, Raiola was able to get the ball down the field quickly. It also helps when you can find a wide open Jacory Barney Jr. to take the rock 62 yards for the score. With half the fourth quarter to go, it’s an 8-point game.
With all the momentum in Nebraska’s favor, USC led a season-defining march down the field against the Blackshirts before Maiava found Makai Lemon en route to the end zone. The touchdown pushed the USC lead to 50-35, and there isn’t a coach or defensive coordinator in the country that will tell you they expect to win after giving up 50 points to anyone, let alone a nationally-ranked opponent.
Nebraska wouldn’t be able to get anything going after that, and in turn, they suffered only their second loss of the season. This is the part where NU defensive coordinator John Butler should close his eyes. In total, Nebraska allowed USC to rack up 643 yards of offense, with 478 of that being through the air.
As for Nebraska, it was another bad showing for the team as a whole, but specifically the running game. The team only rushed for 11 yards on 28 carries in the game. That part of the game simply needs to get better in this digital realm if Nebraska’s going to stand a shot of being balanced.
After dropping to 7-2 on the year, Nebraska looked to rebound in a hurry with what many would hope to be a “refreshing trip” to the West Coast to take on an up-and-coming UCLA Bruin squad that has made some nice strides this spring. In an unexpected twist of fate, Nebraska received yet another chance at knocking off a ranked foe. No. 22 UCLA welcomed in No. 17 Nebraska to the Rose Bowl. With a win, Nebraska’s playoff hopes could stay intact.
UCLA shot out to the early 3-0 lead, but just past the midway part of the first quarter, Raiola decided to call his own number. The Husker signal caller eased his way into the end zone to put Nebraska up 7-3.
The Big Red added to it moments later as Raiola returned to the air, like he’s done all season long to this point, and connected with Nyziah Hunter from 13 yards out for the touchdown. It appeared Nebraska was well on its way to bouncing back from the tough USC loss the week before.
Now a 14-9 game, Raiola decided to show off his arm strength. He set his sights on Dane Key from 83 yards out and the rest was history. Key beat his defender and outran the other defensive back in a foot chase for the Nebraska touchdown. The Big Red take a 21-9 lead into the halftime locker room.
The only problem is, UCLA came out of that halftime locker room with a great gameplan. With Nebraska stalled out on 21 points, UCLA’s Anthony Woods took the rock and found the end zone. Just like that it was a two-point ball game.
Nebraska eventually got back on the board to lead 28-22, but just as soon as Nebraska padded the lead, here came UCLA. Iamaleava connected with Rico Floes Jr. for the touchdown. to give UCLA its first lead since the first quarter.
It’s still a one-point game in favor of UCLA halfway through the final quarter, and the Bruins QB wanted to call game. Iamaleava aired it out and found Kaedin Robinson open for the 59-yard score. After the extra point, UCLA now leads 36-28.
With just a minute and a half left in the game and down 11, Nebraska faced a 4th & four that looked clunky from the start. Raiola’s pass fell incomplete, and for the second-straight week, Nebraska got upended by a ranked team.
UCLA walks away with the 39-28 win over Nebraska, marking the second-straight year the Bruins got the better of Nebraska in games where they were heavy underdogs. Iamaleava had a monster game, completing nearly 85% of his passes while also throwing it around the yard for 446 yards.
The loss sends Nebraska to a 7-3 mark that officially takes them out of college football playoff discussions, but a win against Penn State their next time out would be a great opportunity to sway some of those votes.
On Friday, August 22, we’ll wrap up the season simulation for Nebraska. Can they upset Penn State in Happy Valley (hint – Nebraska gets on the board first!)? Will they take back the Heroes Trophy by knocking off Iowa? Who will they play in their bowl game? All those questions and more will be answered next week!
More From Nebraska On SI
Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/nebraska as HuskerMax Season Sim: No. 8 Nebraska Stumbles in Back-to-Back Losses.