The Nebraska football team’s win on Saturday might not have been the prettiest. They needed to hold on to a 20-15 win after originally being up 20-2. But they got the win and finished 7-6.
It was the first winning season the Huskers have posted since 2016. It was the first bowl win for NU since 2015.
Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule clearly knew both things were important for his program in Year 2. After the game, he was mostly all smiles talking about the game and the way his squad closed the 2024 campaign.
Nebraska football coach talks memories made in final week of the season
“I want to thank the Pinstripe Bowl. This will be a week full of memories for our guys they’ll have for the rest of their life. Even to be in the Yankees’ locker room, Aaron Boone allowed me to use his office. Just iconic to walk by and see all the Yankees, where they’ve signed things, whether they’ve signed the wall, to see the rings. That in and of itself is amazing. I want to thank the Pinstripe Bowl. I want to thank the New York Yankees. They’ve been awesome all week.”
Rhule added that this was the first trip to New York for several Huskers.
“This is the first time a lot of our guys have done this. Great events. Even to see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum as a team together was something I thought brought our team together.”
The Huskers head coach then went out of his way to thank his bosses for their support in what has been a tumultuous season.
“Grateful to Dr. Gold and Troy Dannen and really all the staff and people. This was a big endeavor. Our staff worked really hard to put this thing together, coming to a bowl game. There wasn’t really a manual about how to do a bowl game, and we haven’t been to one in a long time, and they worked tirelessly to get it done.”
“Finally, just grateful to our players, our seniors. A lot of times we talk about who’s not playing or who decided to leave, and I’m grateful for the guys who played, grateful for the guys who stayed. I told Ty Robinson, I don’t think I’d play. I think he should be a first or second-round pick. And he was like, I didn’t do all this to not play.”
Rhule then honored his Nebraska football players by pointing out that those that were healthy, almost to a man, chose to play in the first bowl game in almost a decade.
“In a world where some guys don’t want to do it, those guys wanted to do it. And they wanted to be here, and we wanted to play, and we wanted to play well.”