A funny thing happened on the way to “same as it ever was.” Nebraska learned how to win games it should.

And wouldn’t you know it, it’s not good enough.

“We have gone from talking about close losses to ugly 31-14 wins,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said.

Here’s what they’re focused on more than anything: an undefeated October.

That’s right, the program that slipped into the hinterlands in the past decade, that hasn’t qualified for a bowl game — 6 lousy wins — since 2016, that found every possible way to lose games since the last time they were on top of the college football world last century, might just have awakened.

They haven’t hit the clearing just yet, but you can see it in the near distance after 3 straight wins in the month of October — 3 straight wins in games they should’ve won.

Good teams win games they’re supposed to win. Great teams win games they’re not.

Nebraska hasn’t hit good or great just yet under Rhule, but it sure as hell is better than where it was after an unbeaten October.

Who cares if they were wins over nobodies Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue? Or that they’re part of 5 wins in the past 6 games, with wins over 2 more nobodies (Northern Illinois, Louisiana Tech) added to the ride.

Let’s not forget that Nebraska — and I know this is going to go down in Lincoln like frozen corn out of a bag — was a nobody when the season began. Still is to many in the college football world.

Let’s also not forget that Nebraska lost to Illinois, Northwestern and Purdue in 2022. In fact, the Huskers have been beaten regularly by the trio for years.

So yeah, maybe let’s embrace October and move to November with big dreams — no matter what it looks like.

“It’s not good or bad,” Rhule said. “It’s somewhere down the middle.”

Which is better than way outside the margins where it was.

There’s a full month to play in Rhule’s debut season at Nebraska, and there are any number of ways this thing can play out. There are more nobodies on the schedule (at Michigan State, Maryland), and 2 games that will be an indicator of just how far things have come under Rhule (at Wisconsin, Iowa).

The heartiest of Nebraska fans would do backflips if Nebraska beats Michigan State and Maryland, and plays well in losses to Wisconsin and Iowa. That’s 7 wins in Year 1, and a chance for 8 with a bowl trip and momentum rolling into 2024.

But before those things happen, before Nebraska takes big swings at both Wisconsin and Iowa (which are both winnable games), it has to figure a way to keep quarterback Heinrich Haarberg healthy. If he can’t play because various injuries, Nebraska may not win again.

He’s not Michael Penix Jr. or Bo Nix or Jayden Daniels, but he does what Nebraska needs: He brings a toughness and willingness to do whatever it takes to the most important position on the field — which naturally bleeds onto and through the rest of the team.

Haarberg is far from elite. He struggles to complete 50 percent of his passes, and he’s not making NFL throws. But the Huskers had a quarterback with all of the NFL measurables (Georgia Tech transfer Jeff Sims), and lost the opening 2 games of the season — to a couple more nobodies (Minnesota, Colorado) — when Sims turned the ball over 6 times.

When Haarberg left last week’s 31-14 win over Purdue midway through the 4th quarter with the Huskers leading 24-7, Sims entered and promptly fumbled on a 4th-down run — which Purdue scooped and scored.

So yeah, the goal moving forward is protect Haarberg. But at what cost?

Nebraska is winning games because Haarberg is a factor in the QB run game, averaging 17 carries a game as the starter. Nebraska is winning games because Haarberg, while not an elite thrower, is making plays in the passinggame, too — and has accounted for 11 TDs (4 rush) in those 6 starts.

Nebraska will likely come at this from a number of angles. At the top of the list: Haarberg must protect himself. He has to know when to get down on the turf, and when to press it.

There are ways to avoid absorbing big hits, and it could mean a tweaking of the play calling to keep Haarberg from those potentially dangerous spots. Pull back on the QB run, more maximum pass protection sets, run more naked bootlegs to get Haarberg on the edge away from an aggressively pursuing defense.

The Huskers are already 2-to-1 rush/pass (327 rushes, 160 passes) because the passing game is so limited. It’s not the offense Rhule wants to run, but it’s where Nebraska is until it can move forward in the offseason to find a thrower in the transfer portal.

Until then, they’ll rely on a native Nebraskan hero (Haarberg) to find at least 1 more win, and get those 15 extra bowl practices that are so critical to the future of young players.

It begins Saturday at Michigan State, against a program that has lost 6 straight amid the fallout of coach Mel Tucker’s firing. These are the games where we’ll see just how far the Huskers have come under Rhule.

These are the games — the nobody games — Nebraska can no longer lose. Good teams win games they’re supposed to win.

Even the ugly games.