What did Nebraska do to God?

A Black Friday, indeed.

In a game constructed to honor war heroes, COVID-era doctors and modern miracle workers of the Heartland, on Black Friday it was much-maligned Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz who got to play the hero.

I can’t be the only person to ask this question. What did Nebraska do to God?

Every year, Husker fans ask: Why us? When will it change? Why won’t this pain and suffering and blood-curdling ineptitude finally stop? While I certainly don’t have the answer, I know it hasn’t stopped under head coach Matt Rhule.

Rhule was hired to be the fixer, the builder, the man destined to haul the Cornhuskers from the pitfalls of obscurity, the anti-Frost if you will. And yet on the final game of the 2023 season, with bowl eligibility hanging in the balance, the man from New York faced the all-too-familiar fate as the castaway prodigal son from Wood River.

This game had a taste of everything. Blocked field goals. Awful quarterback play. Hard-hitting defense. Brutally cold and windy weather. A late game clock snafu. And punts. Lots and lots of punts.

What went wrong at the end of the game is something to truly marvel at.

With 31 seconds remaining, Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill was intercepted by Tommi Hill on the potential game-winning drive, and it felt as if God was finally shining upon the Huskers. After a sneaky bad holding call on the return, the Huskers were set up for what would’ve been a season-defining and tenure-defining drive.

What comes next will haunt Husker fans, players and head coach Matt Rhule forever.

After a three-yard run, Rhule preposterously burned his final timeout. Then came the pain and suffering. In a last-gasp effort to snatch victory, Huskers’ backup quarterback Chubba Purdy dropped back and tossed a back-breaking interception to Iowa defensive lineman Ethan Hurkett. A defensive lineman dropping into coverage to pick off the third-string quarterback. An unimaginable outcome at the very worst moment.

With what felt like a higher power in their corner, Iowa found themselves in field goal range. The Hawkeyes ran two more plays before their backup kicker (who before the next play hadn’t attempted a field goal all year), waltzed onto the field and stroked home a 38-yard field goal. The kick lifted Iowa to ten wins and a 13-10 rivalry game victory.

Simply put, this is the type of loss that doesn’t go away. Not for Rhule. Or the seniors on Senior Day. Or the 90,000 strong in Memorial Stadium who braved the cold.

After a red-hot middle stretch of the season, the Huskers dropped extremely winnable games to Michigan State, Maryland, Wisconsin and now Iowa. Unless they ass-backward their way into it, there will be no bowl game. No extra practices. No fun vacation. No good taste in their mouth.

For all the potential and promise shown this season, the Huskers head into the offseason haunted by the ghouls that have hung over this program since the days of Frank Solich and Bo Pelini.

Since 2018, today marked Nebraska’s 30th–yes 30th–loss by a touchdown or less. The Huskers are 3-18 in one-score games in the last three seasons. It’s unfathomable. That’s eight more than any other team in the country.

What comes next? Your guess is as good as mine.

If not now, in the offseason, Rhule and company will have to find the answers to some important questions. How does this team break this vicious late-game losing cycle? What happens at the quarterback position? Can they keep hold of Tony White for another season?

Many other questions remain. And there’s plenty of time to talk about that. But for now, I have only one question.

As I sat in my recliner and watched Iowa kicker Marshall Meeder’s 38-yard kick flutter through the uprights, I asked myself this.

What did Nebraska do to God?