Matt Rhule delivers passionate message on Nebraska's mindset that fans needed to hear

The Nebraska Cornhuskers have been hit hard this season, whether it was untimely losses, being unable to beat ranked teams, or injuries. The latest hit with the loss against no. 23 USC, but also the loss of quarterback Dylan Raiola for the rest of the season due to a broken fibula.

Head coach Matt Rhule's job is not only to coach this team and have it running smoothly, but also to get them back on track when things like this happen. Nebraska is going to have a very different look now with backup quarterback TJ Lateef under center, but Rhule is doing everything he can, as well as his teammates, to make sure it is a clean transition.

"I know for me this week, I'm gonna do the best job I can for TJ Lateef," Rhule said in his weekly press conference. "Because leaders insert themselves in the point of friction to try and take the stress off."

It would be so easy for this team to just drop everything, throw their hands up in the air, and say the season is truly over because of Raiola's injury, but Rhule doesn't want to let that happen. Raiola is a huge part of this team; he is a captain for a reason, but he is not the whole team, and at some point, they will have to learn how to play without him.

"Either you're in or you're out, and they've all said that they're in," Rhule said. "People nationally will never respect us until we respect ourselves."

When Rhule is talking about respect, he is talking about how this team will respond to the amount of adversity they have faced this season, including Raiola's injury. This team needs to come together and show that they can still play through it all and truly earn the respect of everyone.

Not everything is going to run the exact same way as it did under Raiola because Lateef is a different quarterback, but his team is behind him as well as his head coach, and sometimes, that is all you need to truly be successful is belief.