Hello. Did you watch the new episode of Chasing 3? If you didn’t, you can go on YouTube and get caught up. Either way, let’s dive into year two for Matt Rhule at Nebraska. First, we need to have a reference point. So, let’s look at our coach from a historical point of view.
2014 – Temple
In the second year, this Temple team actually finished 24th in defense and finished with four more wins than the previous year. They heavily relied on three running backs. That’s a common theme that I have noticed with Rhule. He prefers having three guys to lean on in the running game. However, the quarterback only threw for a 53% completion rate and a little over 2,000 yards. They averaged 22 points per game, but like I said, they had a top 25 defense. In 2014, Nebraska finished just 53rd in defense. Eventually, after turning a top 25 defense into a top 25 team, he would move on to Baylor. Our next stop.
2018 – Baylor
How do you turn around a 1-11 team? Well, 41.4 points per game might help. Combining his elite defense with a much more talented offense than his previous stop, Matt Rhule didn’t just win a few more games. He built a contender. Brewer, the Baylor quarterback was much more efficient. Throwing for a 61% completion rate and over 3,000 yards, he would lead Baylor to six more wins, including a bowl game victory. The real improvement on this team would happen in the run game. They ran for almost 170 yards per game and averaged almost 460 yards totally. Much like at Temple, Baylor used three running backs and some QB runs to rush for over 1,500 yards on the season. Consequently, they improved by 12 more points per game and 50 more rushing yards.
What does this mean for Nebraska?
I think this Nebraska team has a lot in common with the other year two schools. Doing what Rhule has always done, he improved our QB room. He improved the skill positions. He returns a top 25 defense. He addressed the elephant in the room. Turnovers. Like coach Satterfield said, “If you turn the ball over, you won’t be playing.” Does this mean players can’t make mistakes? No. It means, we can’t almost lead the nation in turnovers and still be a winning program. We just can’t. If Nebraska improves to 60% completions, if they cut back on the turnovers, and if they can just keep the plays in front of them, this team will win 9 games or more this year and show.. Prodigious Improvement. That’s it for this week. Thanks for your time, GBR!
