Icarus also tried flying too close to the sun. Look how he fell. The Huskers under Matt Rhule have had an amazing start to their 2024 season. Winning 3 back-to-back games with massive scores, Rhule and his star QB Dylan Raiola were the talk of the town. More so after the Buffs game when Matt Rhule and his boys got a massive victory over their long-term rivals and ended the game with 28-10 on the scoreboard. However, everyone needs a reality check and for Rhule, that came when the Huskers went against Illini.

On September 23rd, at the press conference on the Nebraska Huskers’ official YouTube channel, Huskers announcer Jessica revealed what Rhule felt after the defeat. “They were disappointed because there were certain issues,” Jessica explained. The main problems that happened on the turf were the constant tackle misses and the overall rushing game. No one would want their team to suffer such a shameful loss. Especially after starting the season off so strong.

The Huskers had a rushing yard of around 48 and the Illini dominated the 2nd till 4th quarters of the game. Another visible issue was the offense’s inability to stop the rushes from the Illinois O-line. QB Luke Altmyer locked in 4 touchdowns and had 21-27 successful passes. Whereas Huskers QB Dylan Raiola had 3 touchdowns and only 24-35 successful passes. “But I think ultimately, they were disappointed because they’re better than that,” Jessica noted.

Quite true. The Huskers, till now, have managed to get a heck lot done without breaking a sweat. Now we would be lying if we said they didn’t put up a fight against Illinois. After the 17-17 tie in the 3rd quarter, Janiran Bonner managed to land a touchdown from a 1-yard pass from Dylan Raiola. However, the offensive line failed to stop Luke Altmyer and Illini managed to drag the game into overtime.

Pat Bryant sealed the deal with a 4-yard pass from Luke Altmyer and Illinois managed to grab the win with 31-24 on the scoreboard. “These are typically things that happen in year two,” Matt Rhule had mentioned when talking about the loss during an interview. This ain’t no excuse but a reality. The boys on the roster knew what they had to do. However, they just couldn’t get that done. It’s completely fine. We saw how Deion Sanders managed to turn things around for the Buffs after the Huskers’ loss, right? Rhule would be able to do the same as well.

Can Matt Rhule grab the W against the Boilermakers?

This season, the Purdue Boilermakers are struggling with a 1-2 record, and beating the 3-1 Huskers seems like a long shot. While the Huskers did fall to the 25th rank after their defeat on Friday, you still gotta keep in mind that Rhule has a much stronger roster than Purdue.

Purdue does have a 4-2 history with the Huskers, but this time around, winning the game won’t be easy. The Boilermakers’ loss to Notre Dame exposed the weak offense and defensive game and we have seen how well Rhule manages to exploit a weak O-line. He did it against Deion and he will do it against the Boilermakers as well. However, only time will tell if the Cornhuskers can manage to pull through or not.