Matt Rhule Wants the End of This Season to be Different than Last Year

The Huskers are in a familiar spot, but they are hoping for better results.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) celebrates a tackle of Nebraska Cornhuskers running back Emmett Johnson (21) during the second half of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. Ohio State won 21-17. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In 2023, during head coach Matt Rhule’s first season, Nebraska football had a 5-3 record. The Huskers were one win away from reaching a bowl game, but instead lost four close games in a row to end the season.

Fast-forward to 2024 and the Huskers find themselves in a familiar yet unsettling position, with a record of 5-3 and four games left in the season. This season, they had an impressive start, securing a 5-1 record before losing their last two games. This disappointing performance has created an uneasy atmosphere, evoking a sense of déjà vu after the way last season concluded. 

So the question lingers: will Nebraska manage to secure a spot in a bowl game this year, or will the Huskers relapse into a familiar pattern and continue their postseason drought that has persisted since 2017?

Rhule is confident that this team is different.

“I believe everything happens to you for a reason,” Rhule said. “We were 5-3 last year. We were playing Michigan State and we lost. We lost the rest of them. We’re chasing something. We went out to Indiana. We were 5-1. I felt like the guys were chasing something a little bit. That’s why I said I didn’t do a good enough job putting them in the right mindset.”

That mindset that Rhule did not feel was right led to a 56-7 loss to Indiana. It was an embarrassing result for a program that looked much improved over a season ago, but it also reset expectations and may have refocused the team. Even though Nebraska lost to Ohio State 21–17, the Huskers looked like a completely different team than the one that the Hoosiers blew out.

“We came back last week and we were playing to play,” Rhule said. “We have to redeem our name. We have to play for pride and play with heart and character. That’s what you saw. I won’t talk about anything other than that this week. You learned what it looked like against Ohio State. Carry that forward and we’ll do that each and every week.”

Nebraska's players did see what it took against Ohio State, but they couldn't get it done. The fact that they came up short in such a big game should motivate them to finish these last four games strong. The Huskers are good enough to beat every team remaining on their schedule. If they can do that, it will prove that the Indiana game was a fluke and not a season-defining loss.

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