It is officially about to be year three of Matt Rhule's time at Nebraska, and based on his college coaching history, the Cornhuskers are in for a big season. In his first two college head coaching positions, in year three under Rhule, both Temple and Baylor jumped to double-digit wins in their third seasons.
Will Rhule follow his pattern now in Lincoln, Nebraska?
Rhule recently sat down with Big Ten Network's Rick Pizzo to talk about the upcoming season, and Rhule shed some light on how his coaching career typically goes and what year three is hoping to look like at Nebraska.
"We have to make that jump," Rhule said. "I know every guy in our program, they didn't come here to be 6-6, they didn't come to be average, we want to be a great team."
Looking back at Rhule's career, at both Temple and Baylor, in year one, both schools had only a couple of wins and missed a bowl game. However, in year two, they were around .500 and made it to a bowl game, but then in year three, they usually got double-digit wins and were competing for a conference title.
Now, with college football in a different day in age, competing for a conference title would almost guarantee a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. So there is hope around Rhule being able to follow his typical coaching pattern and leading Nebraska to their first-ever CFP appearance.
Matt Rhules gives an update on Dylan Raiola heading into year 2
In the same sit-down with Pizzo, Rhule also talked about Dylan Raiola making the jump from year one to year two at Nebraska. Rhule talked about how well Raiola dealt with having to be the starter and in the spotlight as a freshman, and now with more experience, he is ready for year number two.
Rhule said that Raiola has not only improved physically, but also mentally. Through his struggles in his freshman season, he earned the respect of his teammates and now has a better understanding go what college football is like. He knows what he has to do mentally and physically to be an elite player.
So, with the combination of Rhule heading into year three and Raiola heading into year two, this could be the perfect storm for Nebraska to really surprise some people and make a splash in the 2025 college football season.