Nebraska was 12 minutes away from ending its 30-game losing streak against top-25 opponents as the Cornhuskers had the defending champions on he ropes. Matt Rhule was on the verge of his first signature win in Lincoln. Then it happened again -- the Huskers let a big win slip through their fingers down the stretch.
No. 7 Indiana rallied to score 14 points in 4:48 to win the game, 20-17. As a result of that blown opportunity, Nebraska's losing streak against top-25 opponents has hit 31 games. The Huskers haven't beaten a top-seven opponent since their win over Michigan State in 2015.
Rhule is still searching for that signature win that shows real progress in Lincoln. This would have been the program's biggest win since taking down Oklahoma in 2001 -- when the Sooners were the reigning national champions. That's how long it's been since Nebraska has come up with a major win.
An entire generation of Husker fans have grown up and graduated from the school without seeing one. The Cornhuskers were tantalizingly close to changing that on Saturday afternoon, but they wound up with a familiar result. Costly mistakes here and there made the difference as the Huskers failed to execute with the game on the line.
Late in the first half, Nebraska got the ball with 6:42 remaining on the clock. It successfully drained that time on a 16-play, 52-yard drive but stalled out on the fringes of the red zone. Kicker Kyle Cunanan missed his 40-yard attempt, and the Huskers came up empty.
That miss was ultimately the difference on the scoreboard, but the Huskers made a series of mistakes that produced another gut-wrenching loss. Immediately after taking a 17-6 lead, the Nebraska defense let Hoosiers receiver Nick Marsh get behind them for a 75-yard touchdown reception. Moments later, on a critical fourth-down play, the Huskers lost Marsh again as he was left wide open for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
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