It goes without saying that any Nebraska Football head coach has to endure uncomfortable expectations in the post Tom Osborne era. Even with overt optism, Matt Rhule has to endure them as well.
Rhule made the official list of the 25 head college football coaches with the most pressure on them entering the upcoming season. Is this fair?
Probably not, but Power Conference college football is brutal, and expectations are growing increasingly high in this new era of the transfer portal.
With a rather impressive start to the 2023 season, Rhule struggled at the conclusion of the year, ending with a 5-7 record. Rhule outperformed Scott Frost’s first year with one additional win and tied Mike Riley’s regular-season victory margin during his first year.
Whether the Husker faithful agree with the pressure mounted on Rhule or not negates the fact that Nebraska football still maintains notorious expectations from one of the nation's most loyal fan bases.
The 25 Head Coaches With The Most Pressure Next Season 🏈 pic.twitter.com/JdUoG1llVa
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) April 12, 2024
All eyes on Nebraska Football and Matt Rhule
All eyes are on Dylan Raiola, as he competes to win the starting quarterback position.
This sought-after freshman could literally be the Joe Burrow of LSU or the Cam Newton of Auburn. Both players undoubtedly led their teams to victorious times, signifying the importance of the quarterback position.
If the Nebraska Football program's defense can emulate its impressive success from last year, the season could be favorable in the win column. But we must be realistic. Even if Raiola is named the Week 1 starter, the freshman must go up against challenging opponents in the Big Ten conference.
The most significant expectation of Rhule is imitating his defensive success from the first part of the prior season and figuring out the run game.
Rhule is well-known for his history of building back teams to contenders, which explains why all the heat is building up on him only going into year two of his contract.
His $74 million base salary, too, calls for a win-now mentality. Fair or not, Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule has been named, and the expectations are high.