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Nebraska’s Matt Rhule Indicates Satterfield’s Job Is Safe

Huskers’ offensive coordinator and QBs coach is taking heat after loss to Maryland

Joe Hudson

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The man in charge of Nebraska football's sputtering offense and turnover-prone quarterbacks is taking heat from fans and pundits. But Marcus Satterfield has a defender in head coach Matt Rhule.

"Marcus is fighting and scratching and punching and willing to get this thing as good as we can get it," Rhule said Monday. "That's what all the guys are doing."

Rhule said the day-by-day process must be trusted and that firing people isn't the answer. "So we want the whole offense to start over again with a whole new language next year? I'm not doing that. That's ridiculous."

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"We're going to get through year one," Rhule said, "and most of our guys on offense are coming back who will get better and better and better."

Nebraska has now committed 27 turnovers - worst in the nation - after Husker quarterbacks turned the ball over five times during Saturday's 13-10 loss to Maryland. The final giveaway - Chubba Purdy's third-and-goal interception late in the game - led to the Terrapins' walk-off field goal.

Rhule said he takes responsibility for what happened on the much-scrutinized play.

"It's a good play call. ... It just wasn't quite executed exactly right," he said. "When it comes down to execution, it falls on me. ... If it's wrong, it's on me. Let's just leave it at that. ... I have a say on everything."

On the play, Malachi Coleman and Alex Bullock ran underneath routes in an attempt draw coverage and leave Billy Kemp with single coverage in the back corner of the end zone, Rhule said. Instead, Rhule said, "Billy flattens that route out because the guy kind of undercuts him." Kemp never gets more than a yard or two into the end zone, and Coleman's defender is able to make the interception. 

"Really, we’d love to just see Chubba put that ball in the back corner and those guys get out of the way a little quicker,” Rhule said.

Who starts at quarterback Saturday night at Wisconsin might be a game-time decision, Rhule said. Heinrich Haarberg has a sprained ankle, Purdy is "a little bit banged up," and Jeff Sims is healthy, he said.

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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