Point of clarification on that. I'm not saying that Nebraska was some Top 10 team and then we lay an egg against Illinois. That was the Oregon story a few years back with Stanford. Ducks were always a top team and then the Tree Men would show up here in Eugene and kick their teeth in.
My point was that Nebraska generally has better talent on the roster than the four Land-O-Lincoln schools in the conference. Not always, and those teams usually have a couple of playmakers. Check out 2018 Purdue for example. The Boilers dropped 42 points on us and they were a 6-7 team that year. I don't know their roster, but I can guarantee it wasn't full of guys like Stanley Morgan, Ozigbo, the Davis Twins, Lamar Jackson, etc. 2018 Nebraska wasn't our deepest roster by any stretch, but on paper that should be enough pieces for a coach like Frost to construct a winning game plan. Or at least look competitive.
Yes, I know that Purdue team was probably better than I'm giving them credit for. They also knocked off Ohio State. But that's kind of my point. A middling team who finished fourth in the division still rattled the Buckeyes' cage. We should be able to consistently play to the level of our division opponents and occasionally get a big upset like Riley got against Michigan State. But for whatever reason, we play beneath our level and find ways to piss games away.