3 Nebraska Cornhuskers to blame for another blown lead in Week 1

Nebraska football was supposed to be free of the stench of the Scott Frost era after hiring Matt Rhule to rebuild the once-proud college football blue blood.

But something still smells rotten in Lincoln.

The Cornhuskers fell back into old habits in the season-opener against Minnesota, blowing a seven-point lead with less than three minutes remaining to lose their 26th one-score game in the last five seasons. It was their 17th defeat giving up a second-half lead in that span.

It's early enough in the new regime to keep blaming Frost for the psychological hangover, but he's not the only one who deserves some criticism.

Nebraska Cornhuskers to blame for blown lead: No. 3 DB Isaac Gifford

In a game decided by three points, missed opportunities are amplified.

While the Cornhuskers defense did well to hold Minnesota to just 13 points in this game, they still had the chance to put the game away and didn't.

Minnesota's touchdown to tie the game at 10 with 2:32 on the clock came after Nebraska put the Gophers in a do-or-die position on fourth-and-one just past midfield. That's when freshman Cameron Lenhardt committed a costly facemask penalty that both extended the drive and moved Minnesota inside the 30. But Lenhardt was in a tough spot playing his first college football game and it might have been a first anyway.

Instead, it's junior defensive back Isaac Gifford who could have ended the game. The defender dropped an interception in the endzone on third-and-10. He jumped the route exactly as he should have, he just didn't make the catch. On the next play, Daniel Jackson showed him how it was done with a spectacular grab to tie the game on fourth down.

Those are the margins that decide games. Minnesota made the play. Nebraska didn't.