Matt Rhule addresses challenge of breaking through amid conference expansion

The new version of the Big Ten, with its nine conference games per season, is a daunting task for the schools, but Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule is ready for the fight.

He says the schedule may not be ideal, but at this point, there’s no avoiding it.

“I laugh sometimes. If our sports administrator would have said, ‘I want to add USC and UCLA to the non-con,’ I would have thrown a fit,” said Rhule at Big Ten Media Days. “Like, I’m not playing those guys. Well, here they are.”

Rhule believes the Big Ten offers the toughest challenge in 2024 because they do play that ninth conference game, and for select teams, like Nebraska, that means five Big Ten road games vs. four at home.

“I think, when you look at the Big Ten, playing nine conference games, more importantly, playing five road conference games — not every conference plays five roads,” Rhule said.

“Some of the eight-game leagues, they play four road games, and sometimes ones have neutral sites so they play three where you have to go into someone else’s stadium. In the Big Ten, we have to go into someone else’s stadium in our league five times and duke it out.”

However, Matt Rhule is optimistic that playing such a wildly difficult schedule will bear out some benefits when it comes to the College Football Playoff.

“But I think we’ll have a lot of access to the College Football Playoff,” he added. “I think four teams from this league should get in every year because this is the best league. This is the NFL of college football in my mind. It stretches from coast to coast, different time zones, different weather.”

Bold statements, but Rhule has zero reservations in his statement that the Big Ten is the toughest conference.

“That’s not to diminish any other league. The SEC is amazing. These other leagues are great. But the challenge in the Big Ten is going to be really difficult — travel, weather, and great teams,” Rhule said.

Focusing on his own program, Rhule noted that the tough schedule should give Nebraska’s players plenty of pride every time they walk out of the tunnel.

“For us, we think every game is a big game because we’re playing in it. You didn’t come to Nebraska because you wanted to play an FCS slate. You came here because you want the challenge,” Rhule said.

“I mean, we get to go to the Coliseum and play football. How lucky are we? That’s why you come to Nebraska. That’s why, in recruiting, competitiveness is my number one trait, because I want guys who want to prove it on the field and not anywhere else.