It was a turbulent week for Utah, as the program lost its head coach to Michigan while still having to prepare for a bowl game. Despite the upheaval, the Utes delivered a dominant performance, rolling past Nebraska 44-22 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

The victory marked the first head-coaching win for Morgan Scalley and snapped Utah’s five-game bowl losing streak. It also extended Nebraska’s struggles against elite competition, as the Cornhuskers suffered their 30th consecutive loss to an AP-ranked opponent and fell to 27-28 in bowl games.

Utah was powered by a historic outing from quarterback Devon Dampier, who totaled 458 yards of offense and accounted for five touchdowns. His 458 total yards set a Las Vegas Bowl record.

With Dylan Raiola sidelined by a broken leg (and looking to transfer, anyway), freshman TJ Lateef started at quarterback and finished 15-for-28 for 182 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

For the second straight season, Nebraska ends the year at 7-6. Utah, meanwhile, caps an impressive campaign with an 11-2 record, a top-15 finish and momentum heading into next season.

Nebraska’s defense is a mess

Utah gained 300 yards in the first two quarters and could have named its margin of victory in a second half that was over before Nebraska gained a first down.

The Huskers’ struggles against the run all season masked deficiencies in pass defense. Why bother to throw the football if Nebraska on defense so willingly allowed chunks on the ground?

Utah simply took what the Huskers made available. Dampier torched Nebraska for 310 yards through the air and 148 on the ground. Nebraska offered little resistance to the tight end combination of Dallen Bentley and JJ Buchanan, who caught 10 balls for 182 yards and two touchdowns.

“At the end of the day, we faced three top-15(-caliber) teams,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said. “And we lost. We’re not a top-15 team. But we’re not a bottom-15 team. We’re climbing, and we’re trying to get there.

“We have a lot of work to do.” — Mitch Sherman, Nebraska beat writer

Problems up front

The problems start up front for Nebraska on defense. And no gimmick from Rhule could fix an ineffective defensive line in December.

“Our guys just didn’t make enough plays in the second half,” Rhule said. “I never felt like it was a lack of physicality. I wasn’t concerned with the effort. It was more the execution.”

Rhule, 19-19 at the end of his third season, brought his backward cap and “Coach Matt” persona to the sideline Wednesday. He tested out the alter ego in practice sessions ahead of the bowl game, aiming to ignite a fire in a group of defensive linemen that fell flat late in the season.

Was Rhule grasping? Perhaps. But he had to try to push the Huskers’ buttons. Coach Matt isn’t the answer long-term. Rhule is hoping Rob Aurich has the solution to the Huskers’ defensive troubles. Aurich, poached after the regular season from San Diego State, engineered turnarounds with the Aztecs and at Idaho.

The path is steep and the ramp is short for him upon his takeover of Nebraska’s defense. — Sherman

Inconsistencies offensively

Offensively, Nebraska started strong against Utah. And it got nothing else.

Mekhi Nelson, the postseason replacement for All-America running back Emmett Johnson — an opt-out before his early departure for the NFL — scored on an impressive 38-yard run to cap the Huskers’ opening march.

Nelson accounted for 96 yards on seven touches in the first quarter as Nebraska built a 14-7 lead.

But Utah adjusted. Nebraska did not, going the rest of the first half and much of the third quarter without a first down. It never got going again behind Lateef. — Sherman

What did we see from Lateef?

Lateef is limited when forced to throw, as Penn State and Iowa made clear with their defense of him. The Utes brought pressure. He was quick to run. The lanes were not open. Lateef missed targets when his receivers were open after the first quarter.

Already without Johnson, the Huskers played without top receiver Nyziah Hunter, who was listed as questionable on the injury report and did not dress for the game.

But much like on the defensive side, help is needed. — Sherman

Everyone knows what is next

The Huskers are set to hit the transfer portal hard. They signed a small, 10-man recruiting class to allow room for experienced, plug-and-play starters to fix Nebraska in areas exposed over the past two months.

Nebraska will go after quarterbacks, a running back and linemen on both sides. That’s just the start. Teams in the College Football Playoff have illustrated it’s doable to rebuild in one offseason during this era.

Rhule and Nebraska have the resources to make it happen. But they have more ground to gain than many of their fans imagined at the beginning of a promising season that turned sour fast toward the end. — Sherman