Month: January 2026

Nebraska football was dominated by the Utah Utes, losing 44-22 on Wednesday night in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. Nebraska led the game 14-7 in the first quarter, but after that, it was all Utah. At one point, the Ues scored 31 unanswered points on their way to victory.

The Huskers were outgained 535-343 in total yards, and the offense did not sustain much after the first quarter. Quarterback TJ Lateef went 15-of-28 on the afternoon, throwing for 182 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

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Mehki Nelson was able to solidify the running game for the Huskers, carrying the football 12 times for 88 yards and a touchdown. Isaiah Mozee had four catches for 48 yards, but it was not enough on a day when the Huskers’ offense was stagnant.

Social media was disappointed following the loss, as the program can now officially turn the page to the 2026 season.

Husker fans wanted the nightmare to end

The future is not going to get any easier

The fans are already planning for basketball season

Old friends are performing better

Coaching is called into question

The Huskers need impact players

Step back

Not great numbers

Yes… yes he was

Terrible

Not going anywhere

Perspective

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: Social media reacts to Nebraska football’s loss to Utah in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — Utah’s postseason stage became Devon Dampier’s personal showcase Wednesday night.

The junior quarterback produced one of the most electric bowl performances of the season, piling up 458 total yards and five touchdowns to power the No. 15 Utes to a 44-22 victory over Nebraska in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl at Allegiant Stadium.

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It marked Utah’s first bowl win since 2017 — and the first game of the Morgan Scalley era, though it arrived earlier than expected. Scalley was slated to take over as Utes head coach after the bowl, but Michigan’s hiring of longtime Utah coach Kyle Whittingham last Friday accelerated the transition.

“There have been so many distractions for these players,” Scalley said following the win. “The game is all about them, and they’re the ones who didn’t deserve the distractions. They worked their tails off.”

Despite the turbulence, Utah looked anything but distracted after the opening quarter.

Nebraska surged early, using a 38-yard touchdown run from freshman quarterback Mekhi Nelson and an 8-yard scoring pass from fellow freshman TJ Lateef to Jacory Barney Jr. to grab a 14-7 lead after the first 15 minutes.

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Lateef, making his Las Vegas Bowl debut in what many viewed as an audition for Nebraska’s future, finished 15-of-27 passing for 182 yards, one touchdown and one rushing score. Nelson, meanwhile, rushed 12 times for 88 yards — but was bottled up after the first quarter, gaining just 16 yards the rest of the way.

That shift coincided with Utah’s defensive adjustments. The Utes unleashed a relentless zone-pressure scheme that flustered Nebraska’s offense and flipped the game in the second quarter.

Utah outscored the Huskers 17-0 in the period and outgained them 198-17. By halftime, momentum had hardened into control.

Dampier ensured the scoreboard followed suit.

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He completed 19-of-31 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns while adding 148 rushing yards and three scores on the ground. The 458 yards were the most by any Utah player in a bowl game. His 148 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback in this bowl’s history, and he became the first QB since the game moved to Allegiant Stadium to top 100 yards rushing in the Las Vegas Bowl.

“I get the last couple hours to hang out with these guys,” Dampier said when asked about his future. “That’s where my mind is going to be at for sure.”

His comments did little to quiet speculation over what comes next. Dampier declined to directly address whether he will return to Salt Lake City, enter the transfer portal, or potentially follow Whittingham to Michigan.

Regardless, his MVP performance etched his name into Utah’s postseason lore — and into Nebraska’s offseason uncertainty.

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The loss pushed Nebraska’s streak against AP-ranked opponents to 30 straight defeats, the second-longest active skid behind Rutgers’ 43-game drought. The defeat also extended Rhule’s personal streak to 20 consecutive losses against ranked teams, including 0-11 while coaching Baylor.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule acknowledged Utah’s pressure scheme changed the game.

“They started zone-pressuring us,” Rhule said. “You have to win those plays, and we didn’t win quite enough of them.”

Utah finished with 535 total yards to Nebraska’s 343 and rushed for 225 yards, pushing its season total to a staggering 3,462 — a new school record. The Utes also reached 41 rushing touchdowns on the year, another program best.

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The announced crowd of 38,879 was the largest to attend the Las Vegas Bowl since the event relocated to Allegiant Stadium in 2019, surpassing the previous stadium-era record of 32,515 set during Wisconsin’s 20-13 win over Arizona State in 2021. It ranks as the ninth-highest attended game in the bowl’s 33-year history, including its previous home at Sam Boyd Stadium.

The victory capped an 11-win season for Utah, just the fourth time in program history the Utes have reached that mark, and the first time since 2019. Utah also owns two Pac-12 championship victories in this same building — but Wednesday belonged entirely to Dampier.

Utah heads into the offseason with a new coach, renewed clarity, and a quarterback decision that now becomes the sport’s latest cliffhanger.

Nebraska leaves Las Vegas searching for answers. Utah leaves having delivered a statement.

As the ice from the Gatorade buckets melted into the confetti-covered field at Allegiant Stadium, Utah head coach Morgan Scalley was still trying to process everything that had transpired over the past week.

His predecessor and mentor, Kyle Whittingham, made an expedited move to Michigan after 21 seasons at the helm of the Utes, officially handing over head coaching duties to Scalley with about five days before Utah was slated to put on the pads one last time in the 2025 season. And it didn’t take long for rumors about some of Utah’s assistants joining Whittingham in Ann Arbor to swirl, creating a load of distractions during what was supposed to be a time to reflect on Whittingham’s career ahead of his last game as the Utes head coach.

That didn’t end up being the case. Whittingham was in Orlando for New Year’s Eve instead, getting to know his future players and coaches as Michigan battled Texas in the Citrus Bowl. His former team, meanwhile, was embarking on a journey into a new era all the way across the country.

None of that outside noise seemed to get to the Utes, though. Based on how they handled the Cornhuskers in a 44-22 drubbing on Wednesday, they were more than ready for the next chapter of the program to be written.

“There have been so many distractions for these players,” Scalley said during his postgame press conference. “And the game is all about them, and so they’re the ones that don’t deserve all the distractions, right? And they worked their tails off that.”

Here’s more from Scalley’s postgame press conference.

On what the past week since taking over as head coach has been like

“It would have been a lot harder had we not had a great culture already established with players really understanding their role in leading. So, there’s a lot to being a head football coach, particularly at a time when the portal is about to open and you’ve got things going on left and right. But like I said, these guys kept it all together and be very easy for people to start turning and ‘What about me? What about mine?’ and to lose focus. And so can’t say enough about our players.”

On getting emotional after the game

“I am who I am. And I wear my emotions on my sleeve. I grew up a Utah man. My dad played at the University of Utah. I had family go to the University of Utah. And I grew up running around in those tunnels at Rice Stadium — when it wasn’t Rice-Eccles Stadium. And I’ve seen it transition. I’ve been there through all of it, and my dream has always been to take it to the highest level. The one thing that I’m so grateful for is that my logo has never changed, nor will it.”

On whether it’s settled in that he’s the head coach

“I don’t think it’s settled in at all yet. There were probably a lot of mistakes; being on the offensive side when I’m supposed to be on the defensive side.

“We were trying to get Wayshawn [Parker] 1,000 yards [on the season] there at the end, which is why we kept him on the field. It was no disrespect whatsoever towards Nebraska, and I told Matt [Rhule] that. What a class guy; I completely respect Nebraska. But yeah it’s been so crazy, I don’t know that I’ve been really able to process it or think about it.”

On his priorities heading into the offseason

“Well, my number one goal is making sure that our guys make it home for curfew tonight — that’s number one.”

“Beyond that, we’ll work after that. But, this is a big time profession, and if people don’t think that we’ve already been planning, already been looking for the next step; then they don’t know us. We will be prepared for whatever is to come, and we are excited for those that want to be Utes. And bottom line is: we hope all these guys in that locker room continue to be here.”

On the culture he wants to curate as head coach

“This program will always be better than one person. It will continue to be Utah football, and not about Morgan Scalley. It’s all about the players, all about the team. I’m grateful to be in a position where I can help lead but at the same time, you’re only as good as your players and you’ll never outperform the leadership that’s provided by them.”

“Again, I’m blessed to be in this position to have people trust and believe in me, but it’s all about players.”

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