Bye Week Press Conference With Coach Rhule
As we head into the bye week many Husker fans are still feeling the sting of a gut wrenching loss at home to a 2-5 UCLA team under a first year head coach. It was the kind of loss that seems to continue the trend of Nebraska taking one step forward, only to take two steps back the next week. The defense which has been the strong point for the Huskers most of the season seemed to be on its heels against a largely anemic UCLA offense, and the Husker Offense continues a downward spiral of lack luster performance. I do not pretend to know what the answers to our struggling offense are but I do know that what we are doing is not working and only getting worse, something has to change at some point.
Today Coach Rhule held his usual Monday press conference leading into the bye week, here is a rundown of what he had to say:
– Raiola suffered a contusion to his back/spine but should be available next week against USC
– Rahmir Johnson hurt his ankle in the game against UCLA and was unable to return and status is unknown heading into next week
– The biggest challenge for the Coach this week is a big introspective into the team and learning what the Huskers are doing well, and what they are not doing well.
– Coaches will be hitting the road on recruiting as well as preparing for USC next week
– When asked about the struggling offense and if he considered making any changes Coach Rhule said that his job is to “always consider everything.” Rhule is planning on having a fresh set of eyes take a look at both sides of the ball to get some new perspectives
– The offense is not able to run the ball and control the game and Coach believes that we need to be able to do that more consistently. Overall Rhule thinks the offense is not playing good enough in order to win games at the moment and that they need to just simply play better
– Rhule is surprised that the run game and pass game have been as ineffective as they have been this year and thought the offense would be further along than they are at this moment. The offense flashes good moments but is not consistent enough for Rhule
– Raiola and Rhule have not had the chance to watch film this week due to Raiola getting treatment for his back
– When Nebraska recruited Raiola and Kaelin they were told there would be chances to play early, but also playing early is not always going to be “a sunny day.” These moments for the young QB are good learning moments to grow
– Due to the depth of the Big Ten, Rhule knows that Nebraska has to be at their best in order to win and he knows they have not been lately
– Things are frustrating for Raiola know, but these learning moments are building a rolodex for him to learn and be better down the road
– One of the questions Rhule thinks he needs to address is “are we game planning the right things during the week.” He knows that if you score 18 points that a coach is gonna be under fire. The offense does not call any plays that the coaches know they cannot execute and Rhule wants the entire program from players to coaches to accept accountability together
– After Raiolas pick 6 Nebraska had 4 straight run plays and Rhule was asked if he interjected on play calls, to which Rhule stated that he doesn’t think he did
– Rhule tells his team when they are down by two scores to not panic and focus on the game plan, analytics would indicate that abandoning the game plan is not recommended
– Rhule said he needs to look at his approach to handling the team on a daily basis. Is he being tough enough, hard enough, etc
– Coach wants to see Nebraska fight, claw, and compete over the next three games. Players need to make a play, catch a ball and not fall down but make the play, all out compete
– Nebraska will practice Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Rhule will leave on Wednesday to recruit, and the team will have Friday and Saturday off with practice again on Sunday
– Rhule believes that the players, not the coaches win games, and at some point they have to go out and make the plays to win. Rhule wants to have the grown men out there when the ball snaps
– Rhule expects Tommi Hill to continue to get better healthwise
– Malcom Hartzog will be available next weekend against USC
– Health-wise this bye week comes at a good time for Nebraska
– Rhule said that he knew UCLA was going to be tough and was not surprised with how they came out and started the game
– When asked about the talent gap between Ohio State and UCLA Rhule stated that he does not think that there is that big of a talent gap, as well as within the rest of the Big Ten as he does not see huge drop offs each week
– When asked about how Nebraska appears to play at the level of their opponents Rhule said thats the disappointing part about the job he has been doing. He said he probably should not have said that but Coach is trying to be honest to the fans. He is trying to find a way to get the players more consistent and to make plays, noting this is the first time he has ever called out his players in a press conference. Rhule is aware of his short comings and not getting the job done at the moment
– Rhule will be looking at the coaches and players these coming weeks in an effort to find a way to make the play more consistent
– Coach hopes that they are able to block out the blame and finger pointing and can focus on how are we going to win. This will take unbelievable focus due to the toughness of the remaining schedule
– Rhule stated “There is nothing I wont do to help us get over the top” when discussing finding a way to be successful at Nebraska
– Bringing in consultants mid season is not something that Rhule normally does but will be doing this year in order to get things going
– “There is a certain expectation to have at Nebraska and that is to play Championship Football”
– Rhule said that when recruiting high school players they need to see progress in order to commit. But that he is not going to chase after his own players to keep them on the team, noting that if you play here you are taken care of so well. He is not going to start worrying about players transferring because he knows there are a lot of kids who want to come to Nebraska and players who can handle adversity
– The goal is to make progress, not show it
– Rhule closed out the press conference saying that they are preparing for the final three games and that there will be a lot of good players at Nebraska next year. The good players next year comment was not him indicating that they have given up on this year and to focus on next year, that was a continuation on the question about players potentially transferring out of the program
Coach Rhule spoke for a long time today, about 28 minutes. He seemed to have a slightly frustrated but determined demeanor about himself and his team. If I had to guess I would say that Rhule may be considering some changes to the process and to the game planning, and at this point something needs to be changed because we cannot keep doing the same thing and expect a different result. Rhule had a major theme on his press conference today and that was “consistency”, both when talking about the staff and the players. So as we wait for next weekend to see if Nebraska can show they can be a good team against a potentially tough but reeling USC team in the Colosseum, the Husksers will be back at the grind to find that consistency.
