Nebraska loses Anthony Jones, Vincent Genatone to injuries

Rhule's Monday injury update was about as bad as it gets. The worst of it: Jones did all this after playing the full Oregon game on a broken foot.

Credit to Jones for gutting it out, because that was not a game you wanted to miss. Nebraska led Oregon 14-6 going into the 4th quarter in Eugene before Dylan Raiola, the old Husker QB who transferred to Oregon this offseason, came off the bench and threw a 4-yard touchdown to Jamari Johnson with 28 seconds left. Oregon won 17-14. Your former franchise QB beats you with half a minute to go, and 2 days later you find out your defensive end did it on a broken foot. Brutal week in Lincoln.

Then there's the backfield, which just got gutted. Genatone isn't coming back this year, and Mozee, who got hurt late against Oregon, will be gone for an extended stretch too.

Losing 2 running backs at once is the kind of thing that changes how an offense works, not just who's on the depth chart. Anthony Colandrea already does plenty with his legs (he ran for 33 yards and a touchdown against Oregon on top of throwing for 164), and with the running back room this thin, more of that might land on him whether Rhule likes it or not.

There is a little good news buried in there. Jamal Rule, who also got hurt at Oregon, could be back for the next game.

Next up is October 31 at Washington, so the timing could be worse. Nebraska is 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, and getting a week off before Washington is about the only break this team caught. The 2 Big Ten losses mean there isn't much room left for a team trying to stay relevant in the conference. Watch for 3 things before the trip to Seattle: who takes the carries with Genatone and Mozee out, whether Rule is actually ready to go, and how the defensive front holds up without Jones, who had been playing hurt for who knows how long.