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Honestly, the vibes were so high for about fifteen minutes. Nebraska fans flocked to Allegiant Stadium on New Year’s Eve, turning the Las Vegas Strip into a sea of wandering red jerseys. We all thought, "Maybe this is it." Maybe Matt Rhule finishes Year Two with a statement win and a winning record.
Then the second quarter happened.
The final score of Nebraska football game ended in a lopsided 44-22 loss to No. 15 Utah in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. It was a game that felt like a microcosm of the entire 2025 season: flashes of brilliance, followed by a slow-motion car crash on defense. The Huskers finished the year 7-6, which is technically a winning season, but that New Year’s Eve hangover hit a little early for the Big Red faithful.
The First Quarter Tease
Nebraska actually looked like the better team early on. No, seriously.
TJ Lateef was dealing. The Huskers scored on their first two possessions, jumping out to a 14-7 lead. The highlight was an eight-yard touchdown pass to Jacory Barney Jr. that had the Nebraska section shaking the rafters. Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee were ripping off chunks of yardage on the ground, and for a second, it looked like the Utah defense—usually a brick wall—had no answers for the speed Nebraska was putting on the perimeter.
But Utah is Utah. They don't panic. They basically just waited for the Huskers to start making mistakes, and boy, did they.
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Why the Final Score Got Out of Hand
Utah’s Devon Dampier basically decided he was the best player on the field and nobody was going to argue with him. He accounted for five total touchdowns. Five.
By the time halftime rolled around, the Utes had flipped the script to a 24-14 lead. Nebraska’s defense, which had been the backbone of the team for most of October and November, looked gassed. They couldn't get off the field on third down. Utah outgained Nebraska 535 to 343 in total yards. You aren't winning many games when you give up over 500 yards of offense, especially to a team as disciplined as Kyle Whittingham’s squad.
- Total Yards: Utah 535, Nebraska 343
- Time of Possession: Nebraska actually won this (31:39), which makes the score even more frustrating.
- Third Down Conversions: Utah was 7-of-13; Nebraska was 4-of-11.
The second half was just a clinic. Utah opened with a 75-yard drive that took the wind out of Nebraska’s sails completely. The lead ballooned to 38-14 before Lateef managed a late touchdown run and a two-point conversion to Quinn Clark to make the final margin 44-22.
The Dylan Raiola Elephant in the Room
It’s impossible to talk about the final score of Nebraska football game without mentioning the chaos happening off the field. Leading up to the bowl game, news broke that sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola was expected to enter the transfer portal.
That’s a gut punch.
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TJ Lateef played admirably in the bowl—throwing for 182 yards and two scores—but the cloud of Raiola’s departure loomed over the entire trip to Vegas. It felt like the program was winning on the field by getting to a bowl, but losing the "optics" war. Fans were checking Twitter for portal updates as much as they were watching the scoreboard.
What Most People Get Wrong About 2025
A lot of national pundits look at 7-6 and say, "Same old Nebraska." That’s lazy.
The Huskers beat Colorado. They beat Michigan State. They won a gritty road game at UCLA. This wasn't the 3-9 or 4-8 era where the team looked lost. They were competitive in almost every loss, except for the late-season drubbings by Penn State and Iowa. The 40-16 loss to Iowa in the regular-season finale was arguably more painful than the bowl game because it happened at home.
The reality is that Nebraska is "kinda" back, but they aren't "back" back. They are at that awkward middle stage where they can beat the bottom half of the Big Ten but get bullied by the Top 15 teams.
The Offseason Reset
Since the clock hit zero in Las Vegas, the roster has already undergone a massive facelift.
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- The QB Carousel: With Raiola and Marcos Davila hitting the portal, Matt Rhule moved fast. He landed Anthony Colandrea from UNLV. Colandrea was the Mountain West Player of the Year, and he’s a firecracker.
- The Homecoming: Daniel Kaelin, the local kid who went to Virginia, is back in Lincoln.
- Recruiting: Just this week, the Huskers secured a commitment from Tanner Vibabul, a dual-threat QB from—ironically—Las Vegas.
The defense needs a serious rethink, too. Losing guys like Malcolm Hartzog to the portal hurts the secondary depth. Rhule has been vocal about needing more "trench depth" to survive the Big Ten's November slate.
What’s Next for Husker Fans?
The 22-44 final score hurts, but the 2026 schedule is already looking like a "must-win" year for Rhule. Nebraska opens against Ohio on September 5th at Memorial Stadium.
If you're looking to keep track of the roster moves before spring ball starts, keep an eye on the transfer portal window closing this week. The quarterback room is crowded again, and the competition between Colandrea and Lateef is going to be the biggest story in Lincoln all summer.
Stay focused on the trenches. If Nebraska doesn't find a way to stop the run against teams like Utah or Iowa, the final score of the next big game won't look much different from the one we just saw in Vegas. Stop the bleeding on defense, and the wins will follow.