Report Card: Iowa Hawkeyes 40, Emmett Johnson 16

Matt Rhule pretty owned Nebraska’s 40-16 loss to Iowa at the start of his postgame press conference:

“I’ll be the first to say that that’s unacceptable.”

Pretty much sums it up for me. I’m not sure I can honestly say that Nebraska absolutely should have beaten Iowa, but there’s no doubt that Nebraska should not have lost to Iowa in that manner. And by the title of this post, I think I’m pointing out the only person wearing red that did well on a very dark, very cold Black Friday: Emmett Johnson.

Was this the last that we’ll see of Johnson in a Nebraska uniform? I’m not sure. He could declare for the NFL draft, but I suspect that he’d be a third day pick. My Scarlet colored glasses note the lack of national recognition Johnson gets, and figures that in today’s NIL/Revenue Sharing world, Johnson would make more money in Lincoln than in the NFL.

That being said, former Husker Ameer Abdullah makes an excellent point that the wear-and-tear of another college season limits his NFL durability. There’s only so much tread on the tires.

No matter what he decides (which could also include the transfer portal, if we are honest), Emmett Johnson deserves all the accolades and, quite frankly, zero responsibility for this debacle.

Reading various comments online, there is a very real sense from some that Matt Rhule has already failed at Nebraska and his recent contract extension was a huge mistake for Nebraska. Yep, some are ready to move on from a 7-5 head coach. Nevermind the money that’s being throw out to other coaches. Nevermind that a few weeks ago, Rhule was reportedly the leading candidate for the Penn State job.

One of the takeaways I had from Rhule’s contract extension was that Rhule isn’t getting more money for his two extra years; his base salary goes flat. Instead, his ask was a commitment to NIL resources to build the roster he needs to compete in today’s era of college football.

Did Nebraska have all of the resources needed going into this season? Remember, six of Nebraska’s top nine defensive linemen are freshmen or sophomores. Four of seven linebackers as well. And six of Nebraska’s top ten defensive backs, for that matter. A really young defense that played pretty well earlier in the season, but melted down at the end. Then on the other side of the ball, four of the top six receivers are freshmen or sophomores.

In the end, veteran Iowa and Penn State squads exposed Nebraska’s youth on both sides of the ball. Matt Rhule knows what his roster needs and really doesn’t have any excuses for holes in next season’s roster, barring a rash of injuries. If he has the NIL resources to fill these holes, then Let’s Roll.

Every Husker fan should be disappointed and frustrated by results like this. And a little bit of anger isn’t out of line. The memory of Iowa fans chanting “Let’s Go Hawks!” in a nearly empty Memorial Stadium a nightmare akin to Iowa’s 56-14 beatdown in the last gasp of the Mike Riley Error at NU should become a commitment inside of the Nebraska football program: Never Again.

With that, it’s on with this week’s report card. As always, your feedback is welcome in the comments.

QB: Before learning that TJ Lateef suffered a hamstring injury early on, I probably was going to be a lot harder on the quarterback. It was not a good performance, and the thoughts that Nebraska might have a quarterback controversy this spring once Dylan Raiola recovers probably were overstated. Still, Lateef showed an awful lot of poise in his three starts. Grade: D+

I-Back: Thank you again, EJ. I hope we haven’t seen the last of you in a red #21 jersey, but we understand if it is. Grade: A+

WR: Not the greatest day catching the ball, but we do have to recognize that Emmett probably doesn’t bust out a 70 yard run without perimeter blocking. Still, Nebraska needed someone to make a play and get open. Grade: D-

OL: No sacks given up, with a hobbled quarterback, and EJ did run for 217. But the pocket wasn’t as clean as it could have been, and it might have changed things a bit if Iowa had been challenged harder to commit more resources to pressure Lateef. Grade: D-

DL: At some point, you’ve got to bring a quarterback like Mark Gronowski down behind the line of scrimmage. While Iowa struggled to run the ball early on, it was because the defensive line needed a LOT of help. Grade: F

LB: The linebackers needed way too much help with the running game, and then they kept forgetting to cover Iowa tight end DJ Vonahme, who continued a long Iowa tradition of tight ends making the Blackshirts look silly. Grade: F

Secondary: The secondary was so committed to stopping the Iowa run that they left receivers wide open all game. Grade: F

Special Teams: The only real positive was Kyle Cunanan going 3-for-3 on field goals. Jacory Barney’s fumbled punt ignited Iowa’s second-half run. I hope that Matt Rhule gets a better explanation about why Iowa linebacker Karson Sharar wasn’t flagged for targeting; in 49 other states, leading with the top of the helmet is textbook targeting. Even CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore was dumbfounded why this wasn’t even reviewed.

The one positive play on special teams was the short kickoff into the wind that Iowa neglected to field. But that was offset by not having a plan to keep the ball away from Kaden Wetjen. Grade: F

Disclaimer: The blown targeting non-call isn’t why Nebraska lost. But it gave the ball back to Iowa with all of the momentum, instead of Nebraska ball at the 27 following the penalty. The fact it didn’t really impact the final outcome doesn’t negate the fact that the refs blew this call. And for those of you claiming this was a “football play,” remember that when high schools eventually move to playing flag football because of the injury risk.

Overall: F No, the non-call on targeting wasn’t the reason Nebraska lost. Nebraska played poorly yet again, but that call turned the momentum completely in Iowa’s favor. In the first quarter, when EJ was rolling into the Iowa secondary, if you would have told me that the final was 40-16, I would have bet the mortgage payment on that being a huge Husker win. But instead, it was a sad, cold second half as this Iowa nightmare continues for yet another year.