House of Horrors: ranking of Nebraska’s 1-score losses under Matt Rhule

The 86,907 people who filled Memorial Stadium Saturday night thought they were giving up their traditional Halloween activities to take in Huskers football. Little did they know they had entered the largest haunted house in the state.

Actually, that last part isn’t entirely true. The 86,907 volunteer participants in Washington-Nebraska on Saturday evening knew only too well what they had signed up for.

Nebraska has lost 53 games by one score since the College Football Playoff began in 2014, 11 more than anyone in college football. It would be unfair to classify this as an entirely Matt Rhule issue.

Rhule lost 15 games by one score in his four seasons on the job. They account for more than two-thirds of his defeats (and only seven of his 28 victories). It’s not just about the what, but the how. Saturday’s loss may have been its worst — not only Nebraska’s third straight loss, but also the third straight loss in which Nebraska led in the fourth quarter.

Washington 17, Nebraska 10 were so bad that it inspired me to rank all 15 (and counting), just so we could have them all in one place.

As you go through this list, count the number of times Nebraska has scored 20 points. The number of fourth-quarter touchdowns is outnumbered by fumbles, interceptions, fourth-down sacks and three-and-outs seemingly at 3 to 1. The defense isn’t immune, however, either. A unit that routinely shuts down the opposing offense for three quarters becomes a sieve in the fourth quarter, consistently lacking a killer instinct and regularly giving up long touchdowns.

Coaches, players and supporters all now know the principle. A single incompletion, a single missed tackle immediately snowballs, and before you know it, it’s 3:30 a.m., you’re staring at the ceiling wondering why God abandoned you. In the humanities, this is called a self-fulfilling prophecy. In science, this is called inertia.

In football, we call it culture.

Just as games collapse under Rhule, so do seasons. A 5-3 start became a 5-7 result in 2023. The 2024 team started 5-1 and finished the regular season 6-6. Last season, 6-2 became 7-6. And right now, Nebraska has turned a 5-0 start into the most atrocious 5-3 record in sports.

Husker fans can quibble with this list, and that’s their prerogative. They experienced it, I only observed it from afar, through my fingers, my palms pressed against my face.

There you have it, Matt Rhule’s House of Horrors, ranked from least painful to most.

15. September 20, 2025: No. 21 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27. The Huskers never led and only had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead once in the fourth quarter. This possession resulted in a 2 yard loss, a Dylan Raiola incompletion and a Dylan Raiola sack.

14. October 26, 2024: No. 4 Ohio State 21, Nebraska 17. Dylan Raiola moved the Huskers 74 yards in nine plays to give the visiting Huskers a 17-14 lead with 10:47 left, but Ohio State immediately responded with an 8-play, 75-yard TD drive of its own (converting a 4th-and-1 along the way). Nebraska’s final two offensive possessions went three-and-out, interception.

13. November 4, 2023: Michigan State 20, Nebraska 17. In Rhule’s first season, Nebraska had the entire month of November to earn just one win and end a previously unfathomable 6-year drought. The Huskers never led after 9:14 of the second quarter and needed a late touchdown to get within three of a Spartans team that would finish 4-8. The Huskers would not win again this season.

12. November 9, 2024: USC 28, Nebraska 20. Trailing 21-20 early in the fourth quarter, Nebraska’s defense held USC up 22 plays for 149 yards in the final quarter, including a 13-play, 84-yard, 7:39 march to extend the lead to eight. Nebraska drove to the USC 14 with five seconds left, but then threw a fake start-interception from there.

11. November 1, 2025: No. 23 USC 21, Nebraska 17. A 39-yard field goal gave Nebraska a 17-14 lead with 12:53 left, and the defense immediately gave up a 6-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. The offense didn’t get past its 40 on its final two possessions, ending the day with a run on 4th-and-1 from its own 27.

10. November 18, 2023: Wisconsin 24, Nebraska 17 (OT). This time, Nebraska didn’t wait until the fourth quarter to collapse. The Huskers led 14-0 in the first quarter, then didn’t score again until they kicked a 30-yard field goal to force overtime. In the extra period, Wisconsin scored a touchdown while Purdy threw a 4th interception and the game.

9. November 2, 2024: UCLA 27, Nebraska 20. Playing a 2-5 Bruins team at home, Nebraska built a 27-7 deficit, but pulled it close late. After gaining 38 yards on their previous four possessions, the Huskers gained 235 on their last four opportunities. However, only two of them ended in touchdowns: a first-and-goal resulted in a turnover on downs, and backup quarterback Heinrich Haarberg threw an interception in UCLA territory on Nebraska’s final drive. Sensing the moment, Nebraska kicker John Hohl missed a PAT after Nebraska’s final touchdown, forcing the Huskers to fight for the tie, not the win.

8. November 11, 2023: Maryland 13, Nebraska 10. A dominant third quarter (10-0) gave the Huskers a 3-point lead, but the Huskers offense did just about everything possible to lose this game on their own. Jeff Sims turned the ball over on consecutive plays and was removed. After his defense forced a fumble near its own end zone, backup Chubba Purdy guided an 11-play, 90-yard drive but threw an interception on 3rd-and-goal with 3:37 remaining. Maryland then drove 75 yards in 12 plays to kick a game-winning 24-yard field goal at the buzzer.

7. September 20, 2024: No. 24 Illinois 31, No. 22 Nebraska 24 (OT). A rare fourth-quarter touchdown (scored on the first play of the game) gave Nebraska a 24–17 lead, and a 39-yard field goal would give the Huskers the lead with 2:59 remaining. It’s a failure. Illinois scored on two overtime plays, while true freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola was sacked on three of the Huskers’ four plays.

6. November 29, 2024: Iowa 13, Nebraska 10. Having already won a too-elusive bowl trip, Nebraska appeared poised to avenge last year’s loss at Lincoln with a 10-0 halftime advantage. You know the principle from here. The offense didn’t score after halftime, the defense gave up a 72-yard touchdown pass to tie the game, then a Dylan Raiola strip-sack set up Drew Stevens’ 53-yard game-winner at the buzzer.

5. August 31, 2023: Minnesota 13, Nebraska 10. There is no disappointment like the first. In Rhule’s very first game, Nebraska peaked with a 94% win probability in the fourth quarter, holding the ball with a 1st-and-10 near midfield and a 10-3 lead with less than five minutes to play. From there: a fumble, a Minnesota touchdown (on 4th and 10, no less), an interception and a Gophers field goal.

4. November 24, 2023: Iowa 13, Nebraska 10. Nebraska entered the game having lost three straight, but needed a win over its biggest rival to cap off Rhule’s first season with a trip to the bowl game. And it looked like it might happen when Tommi Hill intercepted Iowa’s Deaon Hill (no relation), giving the Huskers the ball at their 45 with 31 seconds left. Chubba Purdy threw his own interception two plays later, and Iowa’s Leshon Williams broke free for a 22-yard run – it was Iowa’s longest gain since the second quarter; the Hawkeyes had 40 yards of offense in the second half until this play – setting up a 38-yard field goal for the Hawkeyes.

3. October 17, 2026: Oregon 17, Nebraska 14. It wasn’t just about the how, but the who. Leading 14-6 in the fourth quarter, Nebraska’s defense allowed Oregon to run 37 plays in the fourth quarter. THIRTY-SEVEN GAMES IN THE FOURTH QUARTER. A 17-play, 69-yard drive brought Oregon within five with 7:18 to play. Any sort of drive from the Huskers offense would likely end the game, but instead they went 3 and out, turning a completed pass on 3rd-and-8 into a 5-yard loss. Then, Oregon drove 82 yards on 20 plays in just 5:03, when none other than Dylan Raiola hauled in a 4-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left.

2. October 10, 2026: No. 7 Indiana 20, Nebraska 17. Anthony Colandera’s 39-yard touchdown run gave 5-0 Nebraska a 17-6 lead over the defending national champions with 12 minutes left. Indiana scored on the next play, then drove 80 yards in five plays on the ensuing possession to take a lead they would hold for the rest of the game. The Huskers haven’t broken 50 in their last three possessions, and Indiana hasn’t produced a single touchdown of more than 25 yards in its two games since.

1. October 31, 2026: Washington 17, Nebraska 10. With 1:42 left, Nebraska led 7-3 and put Washington on 4th-and-18 at near midfield. Twenty-seven seconds later, Washington led 17-7. Anthony Colandrea, who had just re-signed his rev-share contract to return to Lincoln for the 2027 season the day before, went 24 of 44 for 255 yards with one touchdown, three interceptions (including a backbreaking pick-six), good for a QBR of 33.3.

And remember, kids: these are the 15 worst single-score losses. so far.