“Nebraska fans have gotta be sick to their stomachs.”

That’s how Fox analyst Joel Klatt closed the third quarter in the booth after Oklahoma closed it on the field with a blocked extra point returned 100 yards for 2 points.

Sure, a 14-10 deficit is more ideal than 16-9, but had you asked any Huskers fan before the game if they’d be okay losing by 7 to No. 3 Oklahoma heading into the fourth quarter, most would have taken that deal.

Some might have even agreed to a 7-point loss, which is exactly what they got.

One writer called it “The Surprise of the Century” in reference to the occasion these two schools were celebrating — “The Game of the Century” 50 years ago.

Perhaps that’s a sign of just how far this storied rivalry has fallen.

“I think we showed today that we’re close … we had a chance and that would have been pretty special,” Huskers head coach Scott Frost said after the game. But it’s Year 4. “Pushing the Sooners to the limit” isn’t what everyone had in mind for 2019, let alone 2021.

“Our guys aren’t into moral victories,” Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez said. “We want to win games. Simple as that.”

The games that lie ahead in the Big Ten will determine a lot more than this one.

Either way, it’s time to evaluate where Nebraska is as a program.

What have we learned?

More from the 2 losses than the 2 wins. The mistakes were memorable against Illinois and Oklahoma, but forgivable against Fordham and Buffalo because the number in the win column went up. This week, penalties came up for Nebraska. Averaging 5 per game, the Huskers committed 4 in the first quarter alone. They cleaned it up after that, finishing with 8 for 70 yards, but the offensive line was particularly bad, committing 4 false starts — including 2 to start the game — and 2 personal fouls through three quarters.

Senior center Cam Jurgens, who memorably said, “We need to make [expletive] happen” after the Week 0 loss to the Illini, made the wrong [expletive] happen against Oklahoma — in 15-yard chunks.

Not one, but two unnecessary roughness penalties. Nebraska needs more from its veterans — you can’t give a team like the Sooners extra lives. Little things make a big difference — and they have all year.

Who emerged?

Adrian Martinez, but not until Saturday. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the game against Oklahoma could be a turning point. Scott Frost and the fans have been patient — one more so than the others — and perhaps that will pay off after a 289-yard performance against such a high-profile team.

A game-winning drive with no timeouts and 57 seconds left was probably too much to ask, but he put the Huskers in a position to pull even, even when they could have folded in the fourth. If the returned extra point wasn’t deflating, then the spectacular one-handed interception at the 1 by D.J. Graham certainly could have been. Honorable emerging mention: The defense.

Who disappeared?

Connor Culp. After missing 5 of 6 field goals the past 2 weeks, he was replaced by Kelen Meyer for the extra point try that ended in infamy.

“It’s in his head,” Klatt said on the broadcast after Culp shanked a 35-yarder. On the bright side, the one recent field goal he made was from a career-best 51 yards.

Revising preseason expectations?

No, they are who we thought they were.

They will enter November with a 4-5 record

This team has an upset in them. Not against the No. 3 team in the country — again, kudos for being close — but against someone unexpected. It probably won’t be next week at Michigan State.

The Spartans are firing on all cylinders and Mel Tucker will find a way to drag the Huskers into that deep water he talked about after the Miami win.

But maybe it’s a win at home, against another Big Ten coach on the perennial hot seat. “The Game of Security”: Oct. 9 when Michigan visits  Memorial Stadium. Winner keeps his job.