The week 10 jump didn’t bring any good for the Cornhuskers. Coach Matt Rhule and the team had a hard time fighting off UCLA last Saturday, undermining fans’ hope for a return to the glory. The massive blow in the final month of the regular season hit like a tremendous missed opportunity to Rhule, but to the former NFL great, Adam Carriker, it was a non-excusable mess for the sloppy Cornhuskers. After the recent losses against Indiana and Ohio State, the UCLA Bruins predictably fell heavy on a team that has been circling to slide into the bowl game for seven years now. But it could be a different reality for the home favorite if they would take the NFL vet’s warning a bit more seriously.

The brutal UCLA wound has already gotten under the skin of the faithful. Fans have been high on their demand to replace Rhule and ain’t ready to take any justification from him. No exception for former Husker Adam Carriker. Before week 10 popped up, the veteran issued a warning to the Huskers, wanting them to score one more point than UCLA to be in the safe zone. But Rhule failed to make it work.

Consequently, the pent-up frustration of a fan and player burst out with some triggering words. ‘

‘I did think we would score one more point than UCLA, I mean, I made it clear that’s all I wanted, I didn’t want anything else, own a billion, I didn’t care, I just wanted to score one more point, I did think it would be ugly.’‘ said Adam on the latest episode of his Carriker Chronicle.

UCLA came fresh off a bye week, having their energy at its peak on a chilly, overcast fall afternoon, and rightly capitalized on the opponent’s poor offensive output and slippery defense. In the final minute at Memorial Stadium, they closely held off the Huskers from scoring a game-changing touchdown. But it’s not the Bruins’ heightened momentum for the rest that cost Rhule the match. ‘‘It’s hard to know exactly what to expect from a team that is especially coming out of a bye, which is why I thought it would be ugly but I thought we would win, there’s really no excuse not to win,” concluded the dejected NFL guy.

The legend has been quite vocal about the Blackshirt’s play this season. When Matt Rhule and the team had a quintessential victory over Colorado, Carriker was the man to give a huge shout-out to coach Rhule, saying, ‘‘Nebraska stomped a mud hole on Colorado and finally shut the Buffaloes down…” But all these are nothing but a faded memory now, as Rhule is paying the piper for his casual-going approach.

Matt Rhule hopes for a sixth win amidst the dwindling scorecard

Things graded out really poorly for the Huskers this weekend, leading them to end the bowl eligibility streak. The momentum reminded fans of the tragic recurring reality since 2016. But it’s what it is. The beating heart of the offense, Dylan Raiola, had a rough game all along. He was shrunk with an acute back hurt after a nasty hit in the last quarter. When he tried to bounce back, he fell down to the turf. ‘‘I don’t want to speak for him, but with all the things he was saying, I don’t think he was real comfortable”, the coach subtly justified the lackluster performance of his impact guy.

Rhule also blamed UCLA QB Ethan Garbers’ hyper legs and arms, ruling for Nebraska’s unbearable hurt. While he finished 17-of-25 for 219 yards, he also ran for 68 positive yards, including a 57-yard scramble on a third-and-9 in the first half. ”They were just all-out zero blitzing us and we weren’t answering it the way that you need to,” the coach on the gunpoint ranted about a below-the-average offensive line output that got the game over for the day.

However, Rhule is still looking for at least a single elusive win in the rest of their schedule against USC, Wisconsin, and then a Black Friday game at Iowa as he believes the team will be back to football real soon.

What’s your take on Matt Rhule taking the wrath of former Husker for ignoring red flags prior to the risky UCLA game? Let us know in the comments.