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Nebraska was on the heels of a close loss in a winnable game to No. 4 Ohio State. He was proud. He wasn’t satisfied. But he was proud, and offered up a challenge to his team.

“If we don’t do it again next week?� Rhule said after the close loss in Columbus. “... Then it was all for naught. This is a step and has to be where we are now — that we play this way every week.�

Nebraska sure took a step on Saturday against UCLA.

A big step in the wrong direction.

One week after being one play away from beating one of the nation’s best teams, Nebraska lost to one of the Big Ten’s worst, dropping its third consecutive game of the season. This one by a 27-20 margin.

It’s confounding. It’s perplexing. It’s… surely not what most envisioned.

And yet, that’s where the Huskers are.

“People are going to be disgruntled,� Rhule said Saturday. “You’re going to hear things and players are going to hear things. That’s all part of it, right? It’s all part of when you lose a game like this. If I was in the stands today, I’d be frustrated.�

Oh, people are disgruntled all right.

People are angry. People are very mad. People want offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield’s head on a metaphorical stick.

That frustration is understandable. Something is off. Nebraska’s offensive playcalling on Saturday left much to be desired. The lack of run game was puzzling. Going away from the run when it was working was an odd choice. The pass game was often ill-timed and was ineffective — leading to just 47 yards by halftime.

It’s like Nebraska’s offense is regressing. In many facets.

Where’d the creativity go? Nebraska has thrown out several fun wrinkles this season. Many of them worked. But everything on Saturday was boring, predictable and easy to read for UCLA’s defense.

Where’d the confidence go? The Huskers may say they’re confident, but something is amiss here. Over the last few weeks, Raiola has looked rattled. Even when pass rushers aren’t breathing down his neck, he’s making mistakes he wasn’t making earlier this season. He’s missing, or speeding through, his reads. His throws aren’t as on the mark, even when they turn into receptions — like that 40-yard connection between him and fellow freshman Jacory Barney Jr.

Saturday marked Raiola’s worst game statistically: only completing 52% of his passes for 177 yards with minus-10 yards rushing before he left the game with a back injury in the fourth quarter.

“There’s a saying, ‘You see a lot, you see a little. You see a little, you see a lot,� Rhule said of Raiola. “He wasn’t real comfortable. I don’t want to speak for him, but with all the things he was seeing, I don’t think he was real comfortable.�

Normally, the Blackshirts' defense is an asset. But in the first half? Not so much.

UCLA wanted the ball out of the gate and methodically marched down the field on a 14-play, 68-yard drive that lasted eight minutes and resulted in a field goal.

By the end of the first quarter, the Bruins had run 21 total plays compared to the Huskers’ three. The Bruins had racked up 119 yards in the game’s first 15 minutes compared to Nebraska’s 2 yards.

At halftime, UCLA had 248 yards of offense on 38 plays. Nearly 150 yards came through the air and 99 yards were on the ground.

“That was shocking to see, how we started out,� Nebraska defensive lineman Ty Robinson said.

How did that happen? Why did that happen? Nebraska’s defense, even after rough outings this season, still rates as one of the nation’s best.

Without watching the film, the Blackshirts weren’t sure.

“I can’t really answer that off the top of my dome,� Nebraska rover Isaac Gifford said. “I’ll go back and watch film and I’ll probably have a better answer for you but, obviously, we have to come out to a faster start.�

A fair answer. A frustrating one, nonetheless.

“Obviously disappointed,� Rhule said after the UCLA loss. “It was a tremendous missed opportunity for us. A game that we had every opportunity to win.�

A tremendous missed opportunity.

That’s what the last few seasons have felt like — the last few decades, even. It’s been missed opportunity after missed opportunity after missed opportunity for the last 25 years — one endless fandom nightmare in which there is no waking up.

The last two-plus decades aren’t on Rhule’s shoulders, but these last two seasons do squarely rest at his feet.

It’s the same story over and over and over and over again, minus the onslaught of turnovers that plagued Nebraska last season.

Then it was Minnesota, Michigan State, Maryland, Wisconsin and Iowa. Now it’s Illinois, Ohio State and UCLA.

All were winnable games. All were one-score losses. Most were against teams Nebraska was theoretically better than.

But it’s the same result.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

Loss.

The result is also the same in games with bowl eligibility on the line.

Over the past two years, Nebraska is 0-7 in games with bowl eligibility on the line.

At Michigan State? Loss.

Vs. Maryland? Loss.

At Wisconsin? An overtime loss.

Vs. Iowa? Loss.

At Indiana? Blowout loss.

At Ohio State? Loss.

Vs. UCLA? Loss.

And it doesn’t get easier from here.

After next week’s idle week, Nebraska travels to USC, hosts Wisconsin and travels to Iowa for Black Friday.

None of those are guaranteed victories considering USC is an enigma, Iowa is Iowa and Nebraska hasn’t beaten Wisconsin since 2012.

Could this be a repeat of last year? A winless November?

It could be. Nebraska’s on-field performance lately hasn’t given any indication that a result otherwise is in the cards.

But the Huskers themselves say they believe.

“I’m a competitor, I want to win,� Raiola said Saturday. “Initially why I decided to come here was to win. And I still think we can win — there’s no doubt in my mind — but it’s hard, to say the least, losing. I know our whole team hates losing, and we put so much time and effort into going out and trying to win these games.

“It just sucks when things don’t happen and get done the way you plan for it.�

This loss will sit with Nebraska a little longer. No quick page turn.

A 5-4 record heading into the second idle week.

And then back to the drawing board.