Matt Rhule addressed Chubba Purdy’s last-minute interception against Iowa during his postgame press conference on Friday.
Purdy threw an interception with the game tied 10-10 with just under 20 seconds remaining in the game. Because of the turnover, Iowa was able to get in position to kick a game-winning field goal as time expired.
“I can’t, couldn’t, be able to say,” Rhule said when asked about what happened on the play. “You know, there was obviously no timeouts left, you’re trying to take a shot over the top. Again, kind of like a three-level flood there, they blitzed on all three of those downs there.”
Rhule further stated that Purdy “must not have seen the defender,” but that he “needed to see the tape,” to be able to see for sure what went wrong.
On the day, Purdy ended the day 15/28 for 189 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. The QB was also the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 12 times for 42 yards.
The loss is particularly devastating for the Huskers, who needed a win to secure a bowl bid. Now, the Huskers will end the regular season with a 5-7 record. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, improved to 10-2 and will face the winner of Ohio State-Michigan in the B1G Championship game.
Nebraska record in one-score football games takes another beating with Iowa loss
The Huskers missed a go-ahead field goal after a 10-play, 24-yard drive bled six minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter. Then it left 55 seconds on the clock when it punted back to Iowa after a five-play failure of a drive. Then, after the defense forced a turnover that gave NU the ball at midfield with 31 seconds to play, Nebraska did exactly what Husker fans have come to expect.
Nebraska bottled it. Quarterback Chubba Purdy was picked off on the second play of the drive. Iowa took over with 15 seconds on the clock, picked up 22 yards on the ground on the first play, then kicked a 38-yard walk-off field goal.
The 13-10 defeat was Nebraska’s 17th loss in a one-score game over the last three seasons.
Seventeen.
Nebraska has played in 19 one-score games since 2021 and it has only two wins. Considering the Huskers haven’t played in a bowl game since 2016, that’s 19 one-score games in 36 opportunities. That’s a 53% rate.
The collection of games, as a whole, is truly remarkable. Matt Rhule’s predecessor made NU’s close-game catastrophes a national storyline. Rhule has fallen victim to the same comedy of errors in his first season.
Nebraska lost four straight to end the season. It entered November at 5-3, just one win away from a bowl game. Then it lost by three to Michigan State. Then by three to Maryland. Then by seven to Wisconsin in overtime. And now by three to Iowa.
Rhule went 0-5 this season in one-score games.
