The Golden Rhule or 'Prime' Time?

Nebraska's second foe of the '23 and '24 seasons, Colorado and its brash first-year head coach, Deion Sanders, lit up the sky to start the '23 season

Deion Sanders

Deion Sanders (aka "Prime") came to Boulder a year ago with a slim but respectable head coaching resume. He had led the Jackson State Tigers the previous three seasons, going 4-3 in 2020, 11-2 in '21 and 12-1 in '22. Not bad.

But JSU is not an FBS school. How would Coach Prime fare in a Power Five conference like the Pac-12?

Apparently when he first arrived in Boulder, Sanders didn't like what he saw. He ended up cleaning house by bringing in 86 new players, replacing most of the kids he inherited from a Buffalo team that went 1-11 the year before.

Colorado and Prime came out with guns ablazin' to start their '23 season. They won their first three games, including a victory over TCU - a team that eight months earlier had played Georgia for the national championship.

Colorado was a double-digit dog going into the TCU game. But Prime and the Buffies fooled the "experts" by beating the Frogs in Fort Worth, 45-42. After his team beat TCU, Sanders proclaimed "We Here." Supposedly, he meant to say Colorado had arrived as a national contender. (By the way, TCU would end the season at 5-7.)

Not surprisingly, Deion became an overnight media darling. He did commercials; was on every channel. You could have turned on your TV at three in the morning and watched a commercial with Prime endorsing something.

But after the Colorado's quick start, Prime's luster soon faded. In fact, after beating the Huskers, CU would win only two more games all year (Colorado State and Arizona). Moreover, CU's season ended on a six-game losing skid. Colorado's record was a dismal (for CU fans) 4-8.

No bowl for Prime. No winning season.

So much for We Here. Considering how the Buffs ended the year, maybe the slogan needs to be changed to "We Nowhere."

Rhule's turn

Then there's first-year Husker head coach Matt Rhule. Instead of dismantling the Husker roster, he brought in a blend of first-year recruits and about a dozen players from the transfer portal. His message was, we're going to build the program from within.

Rhule believes in his players, but more importantly, he believes in their willingness to be coached. Rhule's "get better one percent each day" mantra has worked - especially on defense. Instead of cleaning house, Rhule fostered team-building events to help unite his team.

Rhule knows that overnight success takes a lot of time. There is a method he believes will work to make the Husker football program better. Trust the process, he preaches.

Husker fans are a patient lot. They are simply the best fans of any sport. (Try finding another fan base that sells out a stadium each year even though its team has suffered seven consecutive losing seasons.)

Not gonna happen.

So will Matt Rhule restore the Nebraska football program to national prominence? I think so. Will it happen quickly? Probably not.

Here's a quote for all of us to consider:

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
     John Quincy Adams

How ’Bout Them Huskers

Grandson Will and I talk about the new Husker football recruits, the conference championship games and the CFP Final Four. We also talk about Sunday's Creighton-Nebraska men's basketball game. We applaud Jaz Shelley's amazing 23-foot over-the-shoulder-nothing-but-net shot that got the fans out of their seats during the Huskers' 80-72 win over visiting Georgia Tech. We also salute the Husker volleyball program during its pursuit of Nebraska's sixth national volleyball title.