Meanwhile, there was the Terrell Newby fumble that wasn’t, and this painting on a picturesque fall day had some mud on it.

But there’s grit in mud.

Reilly’s acrobatic catch lying on his back was pure concentration and playmaking. The Blackshirts came up with two killer interceptions, one for a touchdown and the other to close out the game. They blitzed and attacked and mostly made clutch tackles in space.

Finally, that fourth-quarter drive. When it came down to it, when Nebraska had to have it, the offense went 60 yards on 15 plays, eating up 7:41. The result was a field goal, but the damage had been done.

This is a team that doesn’t look pretty, but let’s set the record straight. There’s nothing more beautiful in football than a team that believes in itself and delivers when it counts.

The fourth quarter “was an indicator of what this group of kids is like when they have their backs to the wall and have to do something to win a game,” Riley said.