After a heartbreaking loss to Oregon, Coach Matt Rhule believes Nebraska needs to look internally heading into its idle week. Rhule made that clear in his nearly eight-minute press conference opening statement Monday afternoon.
The Huskers lost 17-14 to the Ducks Saturday night after leading most of the game.
“We’re a team that’s lost the last two weeks, and that’s unacceptable, and that’s not OK,” Rhule said. “I also think we’re a team that’s probably two plays away from being a top-10 program, a top-10 team, and both of those can be true …
“At the end of the day, I think it’s each and every one of us, in tremendous, humble confidence, being confident knowing what we can be and seeing what we can be. It’s also being truly humble enough to look at each one of us, our own misgivings, our shortcomings, and saying to ourselves, ‘OK, what can I do better?’”
Nebraska’s idle week comes at a good time as the Huskers are in rough shape from a health standpoint following a physical game against the Ducks.
Rhule said sophomore running back Isaiah Mozee will be out for a while with an undisclosed injury, fifth-year running back Vincent Genatone will have season-ending surgery and fifth-year defensive lineman Anthony Jones Jr. has a broken foot. The Huskers also lost senior offensive lineman Gunnar Gottula to a head injury, senior offensive lineman Brendan Black played with a broken hand and freshman running back Jamal Rule suffered an injury as well, though Rhule hopes to have him back for the Washington game.
Aside from rest and recovery, Rhule said the week off from competition gives the team time to work on addressing the fourth-quarter miscues in all three phases that cost the Huskers against both Indiana and Oregon.
“I expect us to have a chance to win every game moving forward, and I expect every game moving forward is going to come down to a winning moment,” Rhule said. “I think we are a really, really, really good team. We’ve got to be great in the important moments, and I don’t care if we’re playing this team or that team.”
Offensively, Nebraska wants to be more consistent and put more points on the board throughout the contest. In its last two games, the Huskers have scored 31 total points and have struggled to win up front and on third downs. The Huskers went 7-for-17 on third down conversions against Oregon and managed just 78 rushing yards.
“I think this week is about stepping back and looking at what we’re doing really well,” Rhule said. “What I would say is, same for defense and offense: these big-time, big-time games come down to winning moments, right? So you’ve got to make the play in the winning moment in the critical downs.”
For now, the Huskers will practice making one more play, with hopes of getting healthy before they start preparation for Washington.
“I think we’re two plays away from being in the big, big conversations, but we’re not out yet,” Rhule said. “So we’re going to just try to get better this week.”
