Red White Corn Sports

The next few weeks can shape the path of Matt Rhule's tenure as the Huskers head coach. Major choices will be made in the next few weeks

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Nebraska Cornhuskers. A team that hasn’t seen a bowl game since 2016, and only once since firing Bo Pelini in 2014. It’s among the longest drought in college football, and for a former powerhouse of a program its quite embarrassing.



In 2023, Matt Rhule took over a floundering program that under Scott Frost for five years failed to make a bowl game. In his first year, Rhule won 5, although he had won those 5 before November and a bowl game looked promising. He then failed to win a single game in November.



Here we are in year two under Rhule and we got a bit of deja-vu going on. Matt Rhule reached 5 wins before November, but the team hasn’t looked right since then. Its lone bright spot was a close game against Ohio State, before being embarrassed at home by UCLA, who despite only winning two games and having a first-time head coach, made the Huskers look inferior all afternoon.



Now the Huskers are on a bye, with 3 games left and that 6th win barley in reach. The remaining schedule is not easy: at USC, Wisconsin at home and at Iowa. Not a single game you can look at and say it’s for sure win. That’s the nature of the BIG10 these days.



If Rhule goes winless in November a second straight year, the conversations are going to get really uncomfortable. He won’t be fired, it wont even be a discussion, as he is on a large 8 year contract. However, the fanbase will be dissatisfied. He will need to make staff changes (which he already has started this bye week with Dana Holgorson and Phil Snow). And year three will see him on a hot seat.



How long does this fanbase need to endure the drought? How long should they continue to sell out Memorial Stadium with no on the field improvement.



This storied program has fallen. Getting that sixth win is critical, but it’s the bare minimum for this year. Anything less, and the conversations will get uncomfortable.



Will they get that sixth win? They aren’t favored in any of the remaining games. It will take a lot of work, and effort. With only 3 games left, we will have an answer soon.



Go Big Red.

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It would have been easy for Nebraska to come out lackluster on the road, and on the BIG NOON kickoff stage for the second week in a row as the underdog. Last week, they got absolutely annihilated by Indiana, in a game that just got out of hand early and was never close. One had to wonder what the psyche of the team would be going into this game. After all, Ohio State would essentially be Indiana on steroids.



Turns out the Huskers were ready to battle. They started off shaky, fumbling the opening kickoff and the first handoff of the game. I wondered if the game was over before it started. Nebraska teams of the last decade would let starts like that unravel them, but not today. The Huskers responded admirably, taking Ohio State right down to the wire. The cornhuskers had a chance to win the game late, with less than two minutes left, but couldn’t get it done. One drive away from knocking off the #4 team in the country.



Even with the loss, there was lots to love today. Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule said after the game, in an incredible opening statement, (go watch it if you haven’t) that his team stood like men. Indeed, they did. They could have easily let last week and all the noise surrounding it afterwards get to them. They didn’t. They played great defense, and while they gave up a few big plays that ultimately decided the game, the majority of the game they kept Ohio State in check. You have to consider that Ohio State has NFL players all over its roster, especially on offense. The Huskers kept Ohio State under 75 yards on the ground, which is just incredible.



The Huskers made three field goals, one of 54 yards. This is the same team that had made less than 50 percent of them all year. Incredible effort. John Hohl and the long snappers seem to have found a grove. The offense struggled at times against a stacked Ohio State defense but did enough to have them in a position to win the game late.



The running game had just over 100 yards, with 31 of those coming from Raiola (sack adjusted). Offensive Coordinator Marcus Satterfield talked about getting the run game going more going forward. It was always going to be a tough task against Ohio State, but at times, especially late, the big runs were breaking. Body blows. This is something they can certainly build on going forward. The passing game struggled at times, but the glimpses were there. A 19-year-old true freshman quarterback showed tremendous grit, clearly hurting his shoulder but finishing the game. A run game will take a lot of pressure off of the young man. The shot plays the Huskers took today never quite landed, but they were back after being absent the last few weeks. I like the odds for Nebraska to land those shots against UCLA next week.



This was the first time Nebraska had a 4th quarter lead over a top 5 ranked team since 2009. What an incredible stat. While it did not pan out, it was certainly a step in the right direction for the confidence of this team.



I wrote earlier in the week that Matt Rhule’s rebuild at Nebraska was still on track despite last weeks setback. They showed great progress today. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. If you can’t appreciate that, I got nothing for ya.

#huskers #ohiostate #collegefootball #big10 #nebraskafootball

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Nebraska wanted to be relevant, instead it got embarrassed on BIG NOON Kickoff. Coming off a bye week, is this step back for the program acceptable??

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Nebraska gets the big spotlight this weekend on BIGNOON Kickoff. The game is must win. It wont be easy. Listen in!

#huskers
#big10
#indiana
#collegefootball

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The Huskers run game hasnt been great this year, can it be fixed? Who is to blame? We cover that all here!

#huskers
#nebraskafootball
#collegefootball
#big10

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