UCLA and Nebraska kicked off November with a showdown in Lincoln on Saturday. And, don’t look now Big Ten fans, but the Bruins are actually improving under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster.

In this one, UCLA jumped out to a 13-7 halftime lead and came up with the clutch plays time after time to finish off a 27-20 win. While that’s a very encouraging win that moves the Bruins to 3-5 overall, it has the opposite impact for the Huskers.

This is Matt Rhule’s second season with the program, and everyone expected Year 2 to be a moment for Nebraska to turn the corner. This kind of loss shows how far the Huskers still have to climb in a game they were favored and expected to win at home.

And while no one wants to be reminded of this trend, Nebraska has now played 4 one-score games this season. The Huskers are 1-3 in those games.

Here are the key takeaways from Saturday’s matchup:

Bruin defense finds clutch takeaways vs. Nebraska

The Huskers have been much better about taking care of the football this season. Unfortunately, a pair of turnovers ultimately played a huge role as UCLA finished +2 in turnover margin with the win.

One of those interceptions came off Heinrich Haarberg to end the game in the fourth quarter. The other was a pick-6 off Dylan Raiola coming out of halftime.

Trailing 13-7 with a chance to take the lead or at least gain momentum with a field goal, Nebraska instantly dug itself an even bigger hole. Raiola’s pass to open the third quarter was picked by Kain Medrano, and he executed a brilliant return for his first career pick-6.

That swing in momentum and falling behind by 2 possessions proved to be too much for Nebraska to handle.

Penalties aid Nebraska

If not for some costly penalties by UCLA, this score would have been more lopsided in favor of the Bruins. Overall, UCLA was flagged 9 times for 62 yards while Nebraska had just 1 penalty, but a few specific penalties stood out.

On all 3 touchdown drives by the Huskers, UCLA was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct at an inopportune time. One came on a 4th-and-goal situation to keep Nebraska’s hopes alive ahead of a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

In the first half, Nebraska’s lone touchdown drive was aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on fourth down that pushed the Huskers up near midfield.

Without those miscues to keep the drives alive, UCLA would have had a serious chance to shut out Nebraska. Those penalties ultimately did occur, but it’s got to have Nebraska fans feeling unsteady with that kind of outing.

Nebraska’s bowl game in jeopardy?

Now for the story no one in Nebraska wants to think about. The prospect of the Huskers getting to a bowl game, something that felt like an almost foregone conclusion 3 weeks ago, is now hanging in the balance.

Saturday’s loss to UCLA gives the Huskers 3 straight losses after previously reaching 5-1 on the year. Losses to Indiana and Ohio State are nothing to be ashamed of this year, but UCLA entered this game at 2-5 on the season.

Give the Bruins credit, they have improved on a near-weekly basis under DeShaun Foster’s staff. But this loss only magnifies that the Huskers have been stagnant since the beginning of the year.

As for the postseason, Nebraska now has to find a win in a tricky 3-game stretch to end the year. After a bye next week, Nebraska must go to USC, play Wisconsin at home and travel to Iowa for the season-ending rivalry.

It is not a gargantuan stretch by any means. But considering how Nebraska has tailed off coming into November, and injury concerns for Dylan Raiola, it will be an uncomfortable hunt for that elusive 6th win.