Recent reports have stated that Ohio State and Oregon have spent $50 million plus on their rosters. Steve Sipple of ‘HuskerOnline’ wrote a column talking about what that means and how fans perhaps aren’t taking NIL into account and treating Rhule unfairly. According to Sip, Rhule should be unhappy that those teams have a $20 million edge because these are the teams he is chasing and expected to win against. I get where Sipple is coming from, but for me the money has very little to do with Rhule winning. Stop and look at Nebraska’s losses under Rhule to both Minnesota and Iowa. Neither had anything to do with money.
In my opinion Rhule needs to ignore what other teams have. Yes, it makes it difficult for him and his team to compete with the Buckeyes and the Ducks, but in the big scheme of things it’s irrelevant. The dollar amount spent on a roster is like counting the number of 5-Star recruits on a team. It’s not about what the other team has or does, it’s about what your team has and does.
Don’t tell me that thirty years of winning and five national championships under Devaney and Osborne was due to Nebraska having more money than Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma. Money has always played a role but has never been the deciding factor in winning football games.
It doesn’t matter if it’s Ohio State and Oregon or Minnesota and Iowa, Nebraska’s expectations should be the same. Rhule is supposed to win. Dollar signs don’t figure into that. Whether it’s the Silver Spoons of the Big Ten or the Plastic Spoons, Rhule is expected to field a team that can compete and win. That’s on him as much as it is his resources.
As for 5-Star players, Rhule and his staff simply need to develop better than Ryan Day and Dan Lanning. Nebraska needs to take 3 & 4-Star players and make them 5-Star players. They must be able to take a $100 thousand player and turn him into a $1 million player. Chasing Ohio State’s revenue and brand name isn’t the answer, chasing results on the field is. Innovative and successful people find ways to do more with less.
If you need proof of doing more with less look no further than our neighbors to the east. Matt Campbell at Iowa State consistently fielded winning teams that competed in the Big XII. He did that with less. Iowa had nine players selected this year in the NFL draft. From a financial standpoint they are on par with Nebraska, not Ohio State or Oregon. Ferentz is developing talent and consistently winning eight to nine games a season. He is doing more with less.
So, does Rhule need to be aware of what the Silver Spoons have? Yes, he must stay on top of what he’s competing against. But as of now, Rhule has underachieved.
Since his arrival Rhule has claimed he wants to be a developmental program. Do developmental coaches sit and worry about what they don’t have? No, they build winning teams with what they do have. If Rhule truly believes he can be a developmental coach, then he should be able to win with the resources Nebraska has given him.
I believe Rhule can win with a $30 million roster and the talent he’s recruited. There were winning programs last season with smaller revenue streams and less talent. In year four it’s time Rhule became an overachiever.
GO BIG RED!! SIMPLE, FAST, VIOLENT!!
Photo courtesy of the Falls City Journal Home – Falls City Journal – Falls City, NE
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