Matt Rhule addresses how Nebraska will adapt to new Big Ten

On3’s J.D. PicKell has been Mr. No-days-off, covering storylines throughout college football as we prepare for the start of the 2024 spring practices. On a recent Episode of The Hard Count, our resident college football expert was joined by none other than the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Matt Rhule.

Rhule had a solid year one at Nebraska despite coming up just short of his program being bold eligible. In year two with the Cornhuskers, a new challenge awaits him in the program: the expansion of the Big Ten conference.

Joining them in 2024 will be the likes of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and national championship game runner-up Washington. And with those additions come some changes, which this program will have to adapt to. And while sitting down with PicKell, the Nebraska head man addressed what change his team will need to adapt to.

“I think one of the key things for me has been getting used to the weather; going to Illinois and the wind blowing, dealing with the wind here, playing Iowa and it’s 12°. So [now] getting used to going to the West Coast, which will obviously be different. And then having those teams come here. UCLA comes here in November; we go out to USC in November,” said Rhule.

While weather is a change Nebraska will have to deal with, it might be more of a significant challenge for the two California-based programs joining the conference as opposed to them. Arguably, the biggest adjustment will be the influx of offensive firepower into the conference.

Last season, the Big Ten had some of the lowest-ranking offenses in the country, with the likes of Minnesota, Michigan State, and Iowa, who ranked 133 out of 133 teams leading that pack. In contrast, Oregon, USC, and Washington were top 12 ranked offenses last season. And that is something Rhule is aware of and is taking into consideration.

“Then, schematically, I’ve had a chance to play against Lincoln Riley for a long time. I have so much respect for him, understanding that you’re gonna have to defend the whole field, tackle well, [and] play the playoff the way. Like, he’s so creative. So we’ll prepare [for] all those things. But at the same time, the one thing we’ve done with Tony is we’ve attacked on defense.”

According to Rhule, his defensive coordinator, Tony White, will be the key to Nebraska’s ability to slow down their new Big Ten counterparts. And that led to some high praise for the Cornhuskers’ defensive coordinator as their head coach closed out his answer.

“We’re gonna come after you, and we’re gonna trust our players to make the play when they’re one-on-one… What’s great about Tony is he’s always evolving, always watching tape, always trying to figure out, ‘Hey, how can we be better?’ So, I think the defense you see this year will be different in some ways than the defense last year. And that’s what makes Tony such a great coordinator.”