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Game Rewind: Latest loss most confounding

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Each of Nebraska's three losses this season has been of an entirely different variety. The BYU Hail Mary was a classic "Heartbreaker." The defeat down in Miami was the "Comeback that comes up just short."
This latest loss… who knows what the heck that was.
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There was a miscommunication that had Tommy Armstrong throwing on a late third down on a play that wasn't even supposed to have a pass option. A rush there runs another 40 seconds off the clock and just about puts the game on ice.
There was a breakdown in the secondary that allowed Malik Turner to get behind the secondary for a 50-yard gain that set up Illinois' final touchdown.
And there was Alex Lewis, a captain, who, while running off the field, blew fake kisses to some Nebraska fans, saying "I'm sorry we suck."
This game seemed out of character for Nebraska in so many ways, but maybe that's what the team is this year. In three of five games the Huskers have let a less talented opponent hang around and they lost two of them. As poorly as NU played at times, Illinois had no business being in this contest.
But Nebraska wouldn't (or couldn't) put away an Illini squad that got absolutely railroaded by an average North Carolina team two weeks ago. There were so many opportunities to deliver that knockout punch and each time the Huskers threw a weak jab or missed their target entirely.
"I don't remember ever losing a game like this," Mike Riley said. "I hope we don't have to weather any more games like this. It's very tough for (the team)… to lose three close games on the last couple plays is tough for anyone."
Flukes happen, but string enough together and you start to see patterns. Nebraska didn't let enough time run off the clock in its final series in the BYU game, allowing for the Cougars' late-game heroics. Then Riley eschewed using a timeout as Nebraska was driving during a two-minute drill at the end of the first half last week, which helped to limit the Huskers to a long Drew Brown field goal.
But those are small beans compared to the mental blunders that went down in Champaign. How are the quarterback, offensive coordinator and head coach not on the same page on the game's most important down? And after playing so well for much of the game, how does the secondary have not one, but two critical breakdowns (the other being Illinois' first touchdown) in the final quarter?
No losses are created equal. Nebraska's first two defeats felt somewhat explanatory, and there were positives to be gleaned from those performances. But this one is simply going to leave everyone involved shaking their heads.
On with the rest of the Rewind...
Three defining moments
The defining third down: The Huskers faced third and seven with about a minute left. Offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf says he called for a quarterback keeper with no pass option. But Armstrong tried to throw to Devine Ozigbo, who wasn't expecting the pass and couldn't hold on. Not only did the failure bring up fourth down, but it also stopped the clock. Even if the Huskers had just kneeled the ball, Illinois would have gotten the ball with almost no time remaining.
The 50-yard pass on Illinois' final drive: The Illini were set up for what would eventually be the winning touchdown thanks to a 50-yard bomb down the middle of the field from Wes Lunt to Turner. Nebraska somehow had miscommunication and let a receiver get deep on them, and Illinois scored a few plays later.
Final play of the first half: Both teams appeared to be content with a 10-0 score heading into the half as Illinois simply handed off to Ke'Shawn Vaughn with nine seconds left from its own 40-yard line. But Vaughn found a hole on the left, then cut back to the middle and sprinted to Nebraska's 12-yard line before he was caught be Maliek Collins. Had Vaughn scored, the Illini would have gotten a serious boost heading into the half.
Game balls
Linebacker Chris Weber: The sophomore has gotten three starts in place of the injured Josh Banderas and has taken full advantage. He piled up a team-high 17 stops against Illinois and now has 35 on the season, the most on the squad. Banderas might not automatically slot back into the lineup when healthy.
Defensive tackle Maliek Collins: Now that's the All-American candidate we were expecting to see all year long. Collins was incredibly quiet in Nebraska's first four contest, but he was a game-changer Saturday. His spectacular numbers (nine tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup) somehow underplay his significance, as he took up residence in Illinois' backfield all day long.
By the numbers
122: Passing yards by Illinois in the final quarter. Nebraska held Lunt to 129 yards in the first three periods.
4: NU's third-down conversions on 17 chances. The Huskers couldn't stay on the field offensively and let Illinois hang around.
-1: Receiving yards by Jordan Westerkamp. The junior was Nebraska's leading receiver with 351 yards coming into the game, but was held to a single catch Saturday.
11: Tackles by linebacker Dedrick Young, a career high. Young had 15 career tackles coming into the game.
They said it
"Unfortunately that's the business. If there are 80 plays in a game and it's 0-0, you can play 79 and all it does is take one. I hope when we watch the film we can see progress that we made and areas that we wanted to show up in. At the same time, it was the big play again that surfaced at times both in the run game and the pass game and that has to stop."
Defensive coordinator Mark Banker about how disappointing it was to finish the game in that manner after the defense had played so well
"You just have to return the punch. We've got a great opponent in Wisconsin coming in next week and we've got to play better toward the end of the game. We have to play to the best of our abilities. That's all we can do. We have to be able to finish games better."
Kicker Drew Brown on how the Huskers recover for next week's showdown with the Badgers
Biggest question/concern: What happened to Armstrong?
The junior quarterback was downright excellent during the nonconference slate, but he returned to his inaccurate ways Saturday. Armstrong completed just 10 of 31 passes for 105 yards, a very disappointing output considering his early-season success. The wind no doubt contributed and his receivers dropped a few passes. But as Saturday showed, the offense simply needs its signal caller to play well to generate points, and Armstrong wasn't up to the task against Illinois.
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