Matt Rhule addresses balance of Nebraska offense

Nebraska will push the ball down the field on offense this year in the passing game, certainly. But head coach Matt Rhule has a clear goal for what he wants the identity for this Cornhusker offense to be, and it starts on the ground.

When push comes to shove, Rhule wants his Nebraska teams to be able to line up and run it. He explained his desired offensive balance further on the “Always College Football” podcast with Greg McElroy.

“Our mindset’s always going to be to go out and, we want to run the football. You should see some days out here. We had a practice, I think it was two weeks ago, if you threw the ball it literally was getting blown back into your face. So, coach [Tom] Osborne was one of the first to tell me that, like, ‘Matt, the wind here is a factor.’ So we have to be able to run the ball at all times. But we also want to be explosive. We want to throw it. We want to push the ball down the field. So, that balance of, ‘Hey, on any play they could do anything’ I think is important to us,” Rhule said.

With transfer quarterback Jeff Sims and his big arm under center, Rhule and his staff want to keep the passing offense a threat to keep defenses from condensing boxes and cramming defenders closer to the line of scrimmage.

But Sims is a strong runner, too. Between Sims and the stable of running backs, the Cornhuskers should be able to have a diverse run game that’s hard to defend on its own.

And Rhule knows the ability to get into various looks and keep the ball on the ground can be key to winning tight games in the Big Ten, an area Nebraska has struggled in recent years.

Rhule feels confident in this teams ability to ice a game on the ground. He also thinks this Nebraska team can be explosive in the run game, too.

“But, you know, if we do have a lead and when we have a lead, we want to put the game away. You want to end games. You know, I think the thing about our backs that I like is they all have home run ability. They all, in their own way, can take it to the house. And I love four yards and a cloud of dust and that’s kind of who we are, we’re going to run the ball and try to establish the line of scrimmage. But we have backs that can, if you give them a crease they can take it,” Rhule said. “So, that plus Jeff’s ability to run the football I think allows us to be pretty diverse in our run game.”