Who do you point a finger at in the Oregon debacle? It’s nobody’s fault. It’s everybody’s fault. The loss against Oregon was a team loss. You can’t point at the offense, the defense, or the special teams and say ‘they cost you the game’.

All three units had failures at critical times. But they all had the opportunity to be heroes and win the game as well.

When they were up by five points if the offense had moved the ball, made first downs burned the clock and at the very least put up a field goal, it’s a different ball game.

If the defense just makes one play on the last drive, the game’s over.

As for special teams, they didn’t need to make a play, they just needed to play clean. Which they didn’t do. Had Archie not put a knee down and they had far caught every kick – they win the game.

This One is About the Blackshirts

For me things have taken a turn with this Nebraska team. Before Big Ten play I would have told you Anthony Colandrea and the offense were the strength of the team. That’s changed. Now I’ll tell you this team will go as far as Owen Chambliss and the Blackshirts can take them.

They’ve gotten better each week, and they are learning on the fly. Don’t think Aurich and his defense didn’t take some huge learning lessons away from the Oregon game.

For three quarters against Oregon the Blackshirts carried this team until they didn’t. Then they sat back following their DC’s lead and let Raiola and his Duck teammates do whatever they wanted.

When Dylan Raiola wore scarlet and cream in 2025, he was dead last nationally in completion percentage when under pressure. He was particularly susceptible to pressure from in the middle and we often saw him run out of the pocket.

We knew he struggled against man coverage. When defenses ran zone, he was in the top 20 nationally in completion percentage. Against man, he was in the bottom 15. He was also turnover prone against man coverage.

Aurich knew the combination for blowing the safe wide open, yet he refused to use it, instead electing to beat it with a rubber hammer.

He had been aggressive against Indiana and gotten burned. He was afraid of that happening again, so he went against his own motto of “Simple, Fast, and Violent”. The last two drives against Oregon the Blackshirts were anything but that.  

In the fourth quarter alone, Raiola engineered two drives of 17 plays for 69-yards and a field goal, and another 20 plays for 82 yards and a touchdown with a 2-point conversion. Oregon ran the ball 18 times at 5.1 yards per attempt and passed it 18 times. They controlled the clock for almost 13 minutes running 36 total plays and scoring 11 points. They were also 3-fo-3 on fourth down conversions.

All this after the Ducks ran the ball 12 times for 20 yards in the first half.

At the most critical time, when the Blackshirts needed to make a play to get off the field, Aurich didn’t put heat on Raiola. Not once. They tried to win with coverage, sitting back on their heels and letting Raiola pick them apart.

The Ducks were empowered by Raiola at a time when all Aurich had to do was overload the A-gap, rattle him, and let his teammates see the UCLA Raiola.

This loss isn’t about Dylan Raiola and what he did. This is loss is about Aurich and the Blackshirts and what they didn’t do.

Aurich banked on Oregon making a mistake on their 20-play drive. But teams only make mistakes when they can’t stand up under pressure. Nebraska’s defense never made Raiola or the offense uncomfortable. They let them operate at their own tempo and dictate the results.

Plainly put, the fourth quarter was a massive failure on Rob Aurich’s part. And I’m sure he took lessons from that fourth quarter that will never be forgotten. Losses like this make both coaches and player better. It has too. If not, they won’t be around for long.

One More Lesson

Hopefully threw a lesson for the team in this one as well. Some have said the players dancing to ‘Shout’ at the beginning of the fourth quarter at Oregon had nothing to do with losing the game.

I couldn’t disagree more. Everything that happens on the football field, whether it’s the first play of the game, the last play, or dancing at the beginning of the fourth quarter is all part of the game.

You were at Autzen stadium for one reason, and that was taking care of business and winning the game. Fun doesn’t win games. Fun comes from winning.

Hopefully it’s another lesson learned.

GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!

Photos courtesy of the Falls City Journal Home - Falls City Journal - Falls City, NE

Stats gathered from ESPN - Serving Sports Fans. Anytime. Anywhere.

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