Why The Future of Matt Rhule at Nebraska Will Be Decided In Year 3

For previous Husker coaches, year three often showed the bad that was to come for the program. Can Matt Rhule break the trend?

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule looks for an explanation on a call against them while his team is playing Ohio State Buckeyes during the fourth quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium on Oct 26, 2024, in Columbus. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s Oct. 28, 2000, and Nebraska is ranked No. 1 in the AP poll.

The Cornhuskers are in Norman, Oklahoma, taking on the rival Sooners. After a 14-0 first quarter for Nebraska, Frank Solich’s third Nebraska team is outscored 24-0 in the second quarter. Oklahoma adds another touchdown in the third and goes on to win the game 31-14.

Over the course of the remainder of the season, and the 24 seasons since, Nebraska has not once been ranked at the top of the AP.

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As Nebraska enters year three under Matt Rhule, I can’t help but think about year three under each of the school’s previous five coaches.

Frank Solich is all smiles as he is honored during the 2023 Nebraska football spring game. / Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Frank Solich’s 2000 Nebraska squad began the season ranked No. 1 overall, only to finish a disappointing 10-2.

Bill Callahan’s 2006 group finished the regular season 9-3 before losing in the Big 12 Championship game and 2007 Cotton Bowl to finish a listless 9-5.

Bo Pelini’s 2010 team entered the season in the top 10, started 5-0, climbed to fifth in the AP poll, before going 5-4 in their final nine games.

Mike Riley’s 2017 was so bad, he was fired at the end of the season.

And Scott Frost’s shortened pandemic season in 2020 showed the issues of 2018 and 2019 weren’t going away.

Sep 10, 2022; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Scott Frost (right) smiles while watching a review of a touchdown against the Georgia Southern Eagles during the fourth quarter at Memorial Stadium. / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Five coaches, five seasons, five programs on their way – for one reason or another – to an end that left people disappointed.

Will it be the same for Matt Rhule?

In 2025, Nebraska will once again face the burden of trying to do something that hasn’t been done around here in quite some time: Live up to, if not exceed, the expectations.

Before we look forward, we must look back. What lessons are there to learn from Nebraska in 2000, 2006, 2010, 2017, and 2020? And perhaps more importantly, what could it mean for the Cornhuskers in 2025?

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Sep 9,2000; South Bend, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback #7 Eric Crouch in action against Notre Dame Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Nebraska defeated Notre Dame 27-24 in overtime. / RVR Photos-Imagn Images

2000 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Frank Solich

First two seasons: 9-4, 12-1

Notable results: First four-loss season since 1968, 1999 Big 12 Champions

How had they arrived at this point?

Nebraska finished 1999 as the hottest team in the country not named Florida State*. They finished 12-1, ranked third in the AP poll and second in the Coaches poll. Quite frankly, after some bumps in year one of the Frank Solich era, they were rolling going into 2000 and expectations were the same as they’d been for most of a decade: Win the conference, get to the national championship game, win it all.

*25 years later, I still maintain Nebraska would have beat FSU had they met on the field. No College Football Playoff in 1999 was dumb!

What were the expectations for Nebraska entering the season?

They’d begin the year ranked atop the AP poll. Outside of a trip to South Bend, Indiana, to take on Notre Dame in their second game of the season – Notre Dame entered the season unranked in the AP poll, though found themselves at No. 23 after a win over then-No. 25 Texas A&M – the schedule was extremely manageable.

They’d travel to Norman, Oklahoma for the first time in four years to take on the Sooners - then in year two under Bob Stoops - before a trip to Manhattan, Kansas, in the penultimate game of the season. The latter game would assuredly be for the Big 12 North, as it had been the previous three seasons. After that, it would be on to Kansas City, Missouri, for the Big 12 title game before a trip to Miami for the Orange Bowl.

Or, so we thought.

What happened?

After escaping South Bend with an overtime victory over Notre Dame, Nebraska ripped off five more wins to enter the Oklahoma game 7-0, and, after a quick detour to No. 2 in the country in early October, back at No. 1 in the rankings. Meanwhile, the Sooners started 2000 ranked No. 19 before climbing all the way to No. 3.

Along the way, they picked up wins over No. 11 Texas and No. 2 Kansas State, doing so in back-to-back-weeks, both by double digits, and both away from Norman. With College GameDay in town and a No. 1 vs. No. 3 clash on ABC, a generation of Husker fans got to experience the Nebraska/Oklahoma rivalry like our older siblings or parents did. The stakes were high.

They also got to experience the heartbreak of a double-digit Sooners win as Oklahoma scored 31 unanswered and picked up their third straight win over a top-11 team.

Meanwhile, Nebraska bounced back with a 39-point win over Kansas, rose to fourth in the AP poll, and traveled south to Manhattan, Kansas, to take on the 16th-ranked Kansas State Wildcats. A Nebraska win would lock up the Big 12 North. Kansas State would need to beat Nebraska and do the same to a sub-.500 Missouri team in the last week of the season. A loss by Kansas State to Missouri would give the North to Nebraska.

Eric Crouch was held to just 82 yards of total offense, but Dan Alexander rushed for 130 yards and a couple touchdowns, both in the fourth quarter, to give Nebraska 28-23 lead with 9:53 left. However, it wouldn’t be enough. With 2:52 left in the game, Jonathan Beasley hit Quincy Morgan for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give KSU a 29-28 lead. A two-point conversion faltered but it wouldn't matter. The Huskers lost for the second time in three games, Kansas State beat Missouri the following week, and Nebraska again finished second in the North to the Wildcats.

Oklahoma would go on to beat Kansas State before knocking off Florida State in the Orange Bowl to pick up their first national title since 1985. Nebraska would have to settle for a 49-point thrashing of Northwestern in the Alamo Bowl to finish up a disappointing* 10-2 season. The Big Red would finish the season ranked 8th in the AP poll.

*My, how good Nebraska fans had it back then. A 10-2 season today would call for a parade!

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Why was this season a sign of bad things to come?

Nebraska couldn’t win on the road against their peers. Of Nebraska’s four losses in 1998, two came on the road to ranked teams. In 1999, Nebraska would play one ranked team on the road – No. 18 Texas – and lose by four points. By the end of 2000, a pattern had very much emerged.

After the win at Notre Dame in their second game of the season, Nebraska never beat a ranked team on the road again under Frank Solich, going 0-2 the rest of the way in 2000, 0-1 in 2001, 0-2 in 2002, and 0-1 in 2003. In Frank Solich’s tenure, Nebraska went 1-9 in road games vs. ranked teams.

It would take until 2006 for Nebraska to end this streak, doing so in a 28-27 comeback win at Texas A&M.

What does this mean for the 2025 Huskers?

In Matt Rhule’s 25 games at Nebraska, three of them have been on the road against ranked teams. Nebraska is 0-3 in those. The bigger concern? Matt Rhule’s struggle to beat ranked teams, period. With losses to Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio State in 2024, Matt Rhule moved to 2-22 all time vs. ranked opponents. Nebraska hasn’t beat a ranked team since their 2016 victory over Oregon.

Barring a rough start for Michigan in 2025, the Wolverines should enter Lincoln ranked in the top 25. Assuming Penn State is a legit College Football Playoff contender, that road matchup in late-November should feature a top 5-10 Nittany Lions squad. Otherwise, it could be a season without another game against a ranked team. Does Michigan State, Maryland, or UCLA surprise? Does USC rebound in year four under Lincoln Riley? Will the Hawkeyes be ranked on Black Friday?

Like Frank Solich at the end of 2000, another couples losses to ranked teams by Matt Rhule's 2025 Huskers and you’ll start hearing the cries – if you haven’t already – that Matt Rhule can’t beat ranked teams.

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Dec 2, 2006; Kansas City, MO, USA; Oklahoma Sooners linebacker (46) Zach Latimer tackles Nebraska Cornhuskers back (20) Marlon Lucky in the second half in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO. Oklahoma won 21-7. / John Rieger-Imagn Images

2006 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Bill Callahan

First two seasons: 5-6, 8-4

Notable results: First losing season since 1961, first year without a bowl game since 1968

How had they arrived at this point?

20 games into his Nebraska tenure, Bill Callahan was 10-10. After a 5-1 start in 2005, Nebraska lost three in a row and was suddenly in danger of missing their second bowl game in as many seasons. The West Coast Offense continued to sputter along. The defense played up and down, sometimes inside of individual games, and concerns that Bill Callahan wasn’t the guy were being felt even by his biggest defenders.

A comeback win over Kansas State in late-November locked up a bowl berth before the team played loose and dominant in a 30-3 win at Colorado. Nebraska players proudly showed off their RESTORE THE ORDER SHIRTS they had been wearing underneath their jerseys. The 7-4 Cornhuskers were rewarded* with an Alamo Bowl matchup vs. the disappointing Michigan Wolverines.

*Seriously, five years after the same bowl game was a disappointment, the same bowl game was met with excitement and anticipation.

After a fast start by the Cornhuskers, the teams traded punches and the Wolverines led late. Two fourth quarter scores by Nebraska, including the last one with 4:29 to go, gave Nebraska 32-28 lead. The final play of the game is still memorable all these years later, as Nebraska avoided a Stanford-Cal collapse and picked up the win.

They’d finish the season with an 8-4 record, ranked 24th in both polls.

What were the expectations for Nebraska entering the season?

Come on, after that game? RESTORE THE ORDER wasn’t just the slogan, it was a way of life. Nebraska would travel to Los Angeles in September to take on the recent two-time national champion USC Trojans. They’d get the reigning champs – Texas – in their own building in late-October. Missouri would come to town as well. Quite frankly, Nebraska was going to win the North, play for a conference title, and continue their climb towards the Nebraska of old. It was all there, right in front of them.

What happened?

Mixed results. The 28-10 loss against Southern Cal was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. Bill Callahan put together a conservative gameplan, seemingly as a way to keep things tight and get out of there without getting blown out. They responded to the loss with four straight wins, locked up a bowl berth earlier than they had in either of Callahan’s first two seasons, and entered their game against Texas ranked 17th in the AP poll. The defending champs were ranked fifth and ripe for the taking.

Nebraska led 7-3 after 15 minutes before Texas put up 13 in the second quarter to take a 16-7 lead into the half. Neither team scored in the third quarter before Nebraska finally got back on the scoreboard at the start of the fourth quarter to make it a 16-14 game. After a Texas field goal, Nebraska went down the field, finishing the drive with a running back pass play from Marlon Lucky to Nate Swift. A missed two-point conversion gave Nebraska a 20-19 lead with a handful of minutes left.

The snow was falling. Memorial Stadium was rocking. The Blackshirts got a stop and Bill Callahan’s offense – fresh off the best play calling of his Husker career – took over in their own territory. Facing third and three with 2:23 to go, Callahan called a rollout play for Zac Taylor. He found Terrence Nunn, who picked up the first down. This would be it. Nebraska would pick it up, chew up the remaining minutes, and lock up the biggest win since 2001.

Oops.

Nunn fumbled, Texas recovered, and kicked a field goal with 23 seconds left to give Texas a 22-20 lead they wouldn't relinquish. For the second time in 2006, Nebraska failed to pick up a win that would truly announce their return as a contender.

A loss to Oklahoma State followed before the Huskers found a way to win three straight and win the Big 12 North for the first time since 1999. A third game of the season with a chance to get back, as Nebraska traveled down to Kansas City to face off against the 8th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners.

Again, Nebraska wasn’t ready on the national stage, falling 21-7 and failing to pick up that signature win they’d been hoping for, as well as their first conference title since year two of the Frank Solich era. A 14-14 tie at halftime of their Cotton Bowl matchup vs. Auburn turned into a slow bleed of a 17-14 loss, as miscues, as well as a kicker Callahan didn’t trust, led to their second two-game losing streak of the season and a 9-5 finish on the year. For the second time in three seasons, Bill Callahan’s Huskers finished unranked.

Why was this season a sign of bad things to come?

Nebraska couldn’t take the next step. In the years since 2006, this has become a common occurrence for the program. Big time players make big time plays in big time games. Time after time in 2006, Nebraska’s best players were unable to come up with said plays in those big games. They couldn’t get it done.

Sep 15, 2007; Lincoln, NE, USA; USC Trojans running back Stafon Johnson (13) breaks free from Nebraska Cornhuskers defender Larry Asante (4) in the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. USC won 49-31. Johnson gained 144 yards on 11 carries and scored one touchdown. / Bruce Thorson-Imagn Images

They’d have a chance at another next step game in 2007 when USC came to Lincoln, only to get run out of their own stadium. By the time the season was finished, there was no next step for Callahan to take, at least at Nebraska. He was fired.

What does this mean for the 2025 Huskers?

The bar has most certainly been lowered in the 19 years since 2006. At the time, taking the “next step” was getting back into the top ten. Since 2017, it had meant getting back to a bowl game. While Matt Rhule’s 2024 Huskers were finally able to get this done, it wasn’t exactly easy. A 5-3 start in 2023 led to four straight losses to finish the season. And after a 5-1 start in 2024, his team entered a late-November clash vs. Wisconsin at 5-5. They were 0-8 with a chance to lock up a bowl berth before they got it done in a 44-25 win against Wisconsin.

Matt Rhule’s previous third seasons at Temple and Baylor featured double-digit wins and chances for conference titles. Can Nebraska get close to that type of ceiling? Or will we again find ourselves deep in November, wondering if they’ll be able to make a bowl game?

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Nov 20, 2010; Houston, TX, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini after a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Texas A&M defeated Nebraska 9-6. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

2010 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Bo Pelini

First two seasons: 9-4, 10-4

Notable results: 2009 Big 12 North champions

How had they arrived at this point?

After a 3-3 start in 2008, Bo Pelini’s group ripped off a 6-1 finish to the season, culminating in a 26-21 win over Clemson in the Gator Bowl. The Huskers entered 2009 ranked and brought back sure-first round pick Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line. A 4-3 start included a heartbreaker at Virginia Tech, a listless 31-10 loss at home against Texas Tech, and the Yakety Sax-inspiring 9-7 defeat against Iowa State. They were no longer ranked, the offense was a disaster, and fans were wondering if the defensive coordinator-turned-head coach had the goods to deliver on the promise of his hiring.

Nebraska would go on to finish 6-1 in their last seven games, with the lone defeat coming 13-12 in the One Second game vs. Texas in the 2009 Big 12 title game. Suh, fresh off five sacks against Texas finished fourth in the Heisman voting, the team blanked Arizona 33-0 in the Holiday Bowl, and Nebraska was “back, and we’re here to stay!” Nebraska finished ranked 14th, their highest AP finish since the 2001 team.

What were the expectations for Nebraska entering the season?

If you think recent Husker teams have been “too hyped“ in the offseason, I’d love to imagine your reaction to the offseason that was 2010. Not only was Nebraska going to win their first conference title since 1999, they’d do it on their way out the door to the Big Ten Conference; flipping a middle finger (or two) to the Big 12.

An announcement that the home game vs. Texas would be a RED OUT AROUND THE WORLD only heightened the excitement and anticipation. The mood was tense in August as a battle for the starting quarterback job seemingly went from a two-horse race between incumbent Zac Lee and Codey Green, to a three-horse race featuring Lee, Green, and the upstart redshirt freshman Taylor Martinez. Nebraska started the year ranked eighth, the first time inside a preseason top 10 since 2002.

What happened?

A 5-0 start, including a 56-21 road win at Washington and a 48-13 Thursday night dismantling of Kansas State in Manhattan, had Nebraska at fifth as they welcomed in the Texas Longhorns. Nebraska entered the game 1-8 against Texas in the Big 12, but it was finally going to be their time. Texas, coming off a loss in the national championship the year before, was off to a 3-2 start and in the midst of a 5-7 season. The program was backsliding under Mack Brown. Their era of dominance was over.

Well, except for Oct.16, 2010, in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Not only would Nebraska lose 20-13 to Texas, it came just hours after Bo Pelini confronted a fan of the program in the Cornhusker Hotel. It was an embarassing day for the program.

After back-to-back wins over ranked teams, including a 31-17 win over Missouri, the Huskers were in the driver’s seat of the Big 12 North. Iowa State took them to OT, but Eric Haag saved the day with an interception of Iowa State's two-point conversion. Up next, they had a forgettable 20-3 win over Kansas that put Nebraska at 9-1 as they made their way south to College Station, Texas. Texas A&M entered the game 18th in the AP poll, winners of four in a row, and found themselves in the mix for the Big 12 South.

Nebraska had more penalties – 16 – than first downs – 15 – in their 9-6 loss. Bo Pelini was caught on television berating his freshman QB. In the midst of the postgame, Carl Pelini grabbed the camera of a Texas A&M photographer. Harvey Pearlman scolded Bo Pelini the following day, a rift clearly developing between the University Chancellor and the head coach.

After a win the following week over Colorado, Nebraska would go on to lose 23-20 against Oklahoma in their final Big 12 Championship Game, before falling 19-7 in the Holiday Bowl to Washington, a rematch of a game played just three months earlier.

A season that started with so much promise, peaking in a 5-0 start and top five ranking, crashed to a 5-4 finish. After a surprise run to 14th in 2009, a better roster top to bottom in 2010 – Nebraska’s best of the “post-championship” era at Nebraska – finished with the exact same record and six spots lower in the AP poll.

Why was this season a sign of bad things to come?

The Nebraska fishbowl got to the program, plain and simple. August was a powder keg, building and building. Simple questions about deciding on Nebraska’s starting QB were met with ire from Pelini. Nebraska, succeeding so often as an underdog when sitting at 3-3 or 4-3 in the previous two seasons, couldn’t handle the pressure of being 5-0 or 9-1.

What should have been the best team of the Bo Pelini era instead turned into one of the most disappointing Nebraska teams of this century. To not win the conference was incredible. To finish with four losses, again, was flabbergasting.

What does this mean for the 2025 Huskers?

The fishbowl nature of this place has been felt in the Matt Rhule era, though Rhule has usually responded well. But are cracks starting to show? In interviews with The Triple Option Podcast and Pat McAfee, as well as Rhule’s recent media availability, the third-year coach has come off more at odds – more abrasive – with those that question his ways as Nebraska’s head coach.

And, stop me if you’ve heard this before, with a manageable schedule to start the season, pressure is sure to ramp up if Nebraska could be in the mix for something as November arrives. How would this group handle being in a spot this program hasn’t been in since the Obama administration?

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2017 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Mike Riley

First two seasons: 6-7, 9-4

Notable results: Reached top 10 for the first time since 2011

How had they arrived at this point?

A hire no one expected and few wanted, Mike Riley’s time at Nebraska got off to a brutal start. A Hail Mary loss to BYU led to an OT loss at Miami which led to a truly mind-numbing loss at Illinois which led to… well, you get the point. By the time November of 2015 arrived, Nebraska was 3-6. You read that right. Three and six! A comeback win over No. 6 Michigan State – a surprise playoff team that season – kickstarted a 3-1 finish to the year. A 7-0 start in 2016 put Nebraska in the top 10 for the first time since November of 2011.

Like Frank Solich, Bill Callahan, and Bo Pelini before him, Mike Riley’s squad had a chance to pick up a memorable win, only to come up short. 7-0 turned into 7-1, as Nebraska fell in OT at Wisconsin, 23-17. The next week, the Huskers were bludgeoned in Columbus, Ohio, losing 62-3 to the Ohio State Buckeyes. A quick two-game winning streak left Nebraska 9-2 ahead of their Black Friday date against Iowa. A win plus a loss by Wisconsin would have Nebraska in the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2012. Instead, they were run off the field 40-10. Defensive coordinator Mark Banker said Iowa practices were probably like bloodbaths, and he was fired a couple weeks after Nebraska’s season finished in a 38-24 loss against Tennessee.

Nebraska had improved in year two, but a 2-4 finish left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths.

What were the expectations for Nebraska entering the season?

The Husker began 2017 with the second-best odds to win the Big Ten West, behind only Wisconsin. With the Badgers coming to Lincoln, Nebraska looked to get revenge after close losses in each of Riley’s first two seasons. Oregon, Ohio State, and Penn State rounded out a schedule that was exciting on paper.

Oh, don’t forget about Bob Diaco. The former UConn head coach had flamed out in Storrs, but was one of the best coordinators in the country at Notre Dame before that. He took over for Banker on defense, switching to the 3-4. Add in Tulane transfer Tanner Lee at quarterback and it was all shaping up to be the season Riley had been waiting for. He had his QB. He had his new DC. Recruiting was full of hype and excitement.

It was again time for Nebraska to take the leap.

What happened?

[sad trombone music]

A 43-36 scare of a win over Arkansas State in the opener wasn't an aberration. Nebraska trailed 42-14 at Oregon in week two before losing by seven points. A 21-17 loss the following week, as well as some bad PR, led to the firing of Athletics Director Shawn Eichorst. Even with two-straight wins, even with the 20-year anniversary celebration of the 1997 national champs, the excitement of the Wisconsin home game was completely muted by the time Badgers came to town. A pick-six by Nebraska tied up the game at 17 early in the third quarter before Wisconsin ran, ran, and ran some more. The Badgers finished the 38-17 win with 353 total rushing yards to just 110 for Nebraska.

A week later, Nebraska lost 56-14 to Ohio State and the season seemed destined to end with a coaching change. Bill Moos’ hiring the following week did nothing to change that, as did his interview with my former 1620 the Zone colleague Nick Bahe, when Moos gushed about Scott Frost.

Mike Riley’s Cornhuskers picked up his final win on the last Saturday in October, a 25-24 comeback over Purdue, before finishing the season with four-straight losses. He was fired the day after the loss to Iowa.

Why was this season a sign of bad things to come?

Well, it’s hard to imagine literally getting fired as anything but a sign of bad things to come. Even if Riley got another season – he wasn’t going to, obviously – the entire situation that surrounded the Mark Banker firing/Bob Diaco hiring* showed that Riley wasn’t the man for the job. The excitement that surrounded his recruiting was all but gone by the time Nebraska limped into November.

*Shawn Eichorst put the pressure on him to do so, before telling people, according to Lee Barfknecht, that Bob Diaco was, “the best coach on our campus.” For those that are wondering, yes, John Cook was indeed coaching volleyball at the time.

Pulling up the nose in 2018 and beyond would have been impossible.

What does this mean for the 2025 Huskers?

I don’t think Matt Rhule is on the hot seat, but I didn’t think Mike Riley was either. I guess it’s for the best that there doesn’t exist a 2025 version of Scott Frost – the beloved former Husker that we’re all waiting to be a future head coach here – unless, I mean, he is at UCF again… no, just kidding.

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Nebraska head football coach Scott Frost huddles his team during a timeout against Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Friday, Nov. 27, 2020. / Bryon Houlgrave/The Register via Imagn Content Services, LLC

2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers

Head coach: Scott Frost

First two seasons: 4-8, 5-7

Notable results: Began 2018 0-6, the worst start in program history

How had they arrived at this point?

A greatest hits album of weird, wild, and downright perplexing. Nebraska’s first offseason with Scott Frost began with two players being hospitalized for rhabdomyolysis after one of the team's winter conditioning workouts. The home opener vs. Akron was cancelled because of a thunderstorm that wouldn’t stop. They lost the Colorado game by five, losing star freshman QB Adrian Martinez in the process. The next week, they fell to Troy, again by five. Double-digit losses to Michigan, Purdue*, and Wisconsin followed, before an OT loss at Northwestern left them at 0-6. It was the worst start in program history.

*I mean, come on.

It's clear that Purdue used Frost's "winnable game" quote for motivation. Here, a player walks right by Frost making it clear his message was received. #Huskers pic.twitter.com/1oOKZoRXik

— Dan Corey (@DanCorey_) September 30, 2018

And then, life. They beat Minnesota 53-28, Bethune-Cookman 45-9, played perhaps the best game of the Scott Frost era in a 36-31 loss at Ohio State, and picked up wins against Illinois and Michigan State. Even though they wouldn’t finish with a bowl game, they could most certainly knock off Iowa in the Black Friday finale.

They didn’t.

2019 begam with the most hype of any season since the famed 2010 group, with people picking Nebraska to win the Big Ten West. Adrian Martinez had Heisman buzz. Like year two at UCF, Scott Frost’s second team at Nebraska would prove he was the Prince Who Was Promised. It was time for Nebraska to take the next step, again!

They didn’t.

An early loss to Colorado had all the signs of a bad season to come, and it was just that. After a 4-2 start, Nebraska finished the year losing five of six, finishing 5-7 on the year. The Covid-19 Pandemic took over the world and by the time October rolled around, people just wanted to see a football season, let alone a good one.

What were the expectations for Nebraska entering the season?

The lowest for any Husker team that I could ever remember. With just eight regular season games on the schedule, it was hard to even decide on what a “good” year would look like. According to SportsBetting.ag, via the Daily Gopher, Nebraska had a win total of five.

Adrian Martinez was back at QB. A new OC – Matt Lubick – brought potential improvement on the offensive side of the ball. With a 9-15 record through two seasons, a record above .500 was the hope.

And that doesn’t even include an offseason fraught with all that you remember about 2020, including Nebraska pushing back on the Big Ten’s cancellation of the season in August, and Scott Frost saying Nebraska was “prepared to look for other options” if they couldn’t play a Big Ten schedule. In August, eight Nebraska players sued the Big Ten. By October, the season was back on, and Scott Frost said if Nebraska had to play in Uzbekistan, they would.

“Wherever and whenever we get to play, our guys are just excited to get a chance to compete.”

- Former Nebraska coach Scott Frost, 2020

What happened?

The fewest wins in a season since 1953. The year started with a 52-17 loss at Ohio State. Their “week two” game against Wisconsin was cancelled due to an outbreak at Wisconsin. Nebraska then fell 21-13 to the eventual Big Ten West champs, Northwestern. On Nov. 14, Nebraska finally picked up their first win, 30-23 against Penn State. The celebration didn’t last long, as Frost’s group lost, arguably, the worst two games of his entire tenure. First, Illinois came into Lincoln and won 41-23. Then, after a loss to Iowa and a win over Purdue, an undermanned Minnesota squad came into Lincoln and beat Nebraska 24-17. A win over Rutgers in “Champions Week” left Nebraska 3-5.

Even with a sub-.500 record, Nebraska had a chance to play in a bowl game. Because of the lack of available teams all around the country, bowl sites just wanted to fill the games with teams, records be damned. On Dec. 20, the team announced it wouldn’t do so.

A season that began with Frost saying they’d play wherever they had to, including Uzbekistan, ended with them voting against going to a bowl game. His program was 12-20 overall and would go on to win just four more games in his final 15.

Why was this season a sign of bad things to come?

The issues of year’s one and two came home to roost for Frost’s third group. There was a lot of excuse-making in the early* Scott Frost era. The Akron game. The Adrian Martinez injury. The Big Ten schedule. Whatever reasons for Nebraska’s struggles, people found them.

*Let’s just ignore that this sometimes still happens, seven years after his first season.

By October of 2020, there might not have been one program in the entire country that wanted to play football than Nebraska. The program was fighting the conference! And yet, they looked like the dozens of other teams in college football that seemingly wanted to skip to 2021. The offense, defense, and special teams were all inconsistent. The program followed wins with atrocious losses. The depth of the QB room, a question mark throughout times in the first two years under Scott Frost, proved itself even more confusing, as Martinez started the season as QB1, only for them to turn things over to Luke McCaffrey, before going back to Martinez.

What does this mean for the 2025 Huskers?

At least we’re not in a pandemic!

The 2025 offseason isn’t even three months old, but early returns remind me of 2020 in one way: The talking. That 2020 group spoke a lot, mainly how much they wanted to play. The head coach did it. The AD did it. The players did it. They wanted to play football and they wanted you to know about it.

Dec 28, 2024; Bronx, NY, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule and players celebrate after the game against the Boston College Eagles at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

2.5 months into this offseason, the talking has been done by one man: Matt Rhule. And while most of said talking has been about the Tennessee and spring game cancellations, he’s still reminded us about his year three jumps at Temple and Baylor.

Will that get thrown back in his face, like Uzbekistan did for Frost?

We’ll find out this fall.

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