Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule says he’s in ‘Year 2’ compared to his other rebuilds
Matt Rhule feels Nebraska football is already further along than the other programs he’s taken over and had to build up over a period of time.
Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule took some time out of preparing for this Saturday’s Spring Game to talk to The Andy Staples Show and Friends Podcast on Monday morning. While the interview had the usual positivity that Rhule has made his hallmark in Lincoln, there was one comment that will likely excite Husker fans.
One of the things Rhule is most well known for in the college football world is taking over programs that are in dire straits when he arrives and turning them around in short order. On Monday’s show, Rhule was asked how his rebuild jobs at Baylor and Temple compare to what he thinks he faces with the Nebraska football program. Rhule answered that he feels as though things are further along in Lincoln.
"“We are where we were at those other places in Year 2, we’re there right now.”"
Rhule laid out the case for why he believes the Nebraska football program is further along, talking about how going 2-10 in his first season at Temple was considered a significant accomplishment because the school was so moribund and had just switched over to a new conference.
With Baylor, Rhule mentioned that the Bears were coming out of a massive scandal and that a lot of the best players from the 7-6 team the year before had left for the NFL. Because of those departures, he had to build from scratch and went just 1-11 in Year 1 in Waco.
Year 2, for both schools, was a marked improvement. At Temple, Rhule’s Owls went 6-6; at Baylor, the Bears went 7-6. Indeed, it feels like any and all Nebraska football fans would rather be in the rebuild process where a bowl game is on the horizon than winning three games would be a tall task.
Nebraska football still has building to do
Rhule’s comments jibe with what has been a rather large discussion point over the winter about the Huskers and where the program stands under the new staff. Some have said that this is a strict rebuild and that people expecting a bowl game in 2023 might be asking for too much. Others believe there is enough in place or have been added (such as Jeff Sims) that the Cornhuskers aren’t a teardown and build-up. They believe there is a foundation there. Rhule apparently believes that as well.
Nebraska football fans are likely going to get excited about the Huskers’ head coach thinking things are moving faster down the track than they did elsewhere, but there is a bit of caution to think about in those comments as well.
It wasn’t until Year 3 that Rhule got Temple or Baylor turned around. In Year 3, he won 10 games at Temple and 11 games with the Bears. Nebraska football has a little more waiting for Year 3, so expectations should still be tempered in 2023.