So that left the quarterback job to sophomore Noah Vedral, the Wahoo native, who first found out he was eligible just before these two teams played last year, causing him to scramble to the airport and get to Chicago in time for what ended up going down as the Huskers' most brutal loss of the season, a 34-31 overtime decision in which Nebraska gave away a 10-point lead in the final minutes.
The beginning of the second half featured the continuation of a troubling trend for the Huskers, who had the ball to start the quarter and a chance to build off a 10-3 advantage, but instead went three-and-out and then let Northwestern go right down the field in six plays, plus a defensive pass interference penalty.