Matt Rhule discusses what first win means for Nebraska amid rebuild

Matt Rhule earned his first collegiate win since November 30th, 2019 and Nebraska’s first victory since last fall’s season finale this weekend against Northern Illinois. It means that much more, though, considering what it represents to those in Lincoln.

Rhule discussed the significance of the Cornhusker’s 35-11 victory over the Huskies in his postgame press conference on Saturday night. He said it clearly holds a lot of value based on the reaction of the fans and players inside Memorial Stadium.

“I know, for a lot of the fans and for a lot of people who care deeply about this program, this game was probably about having some hope that things are moving in the right direction,” said Rhule. “The players? I appreciate them. Like, I go to that bus today, we walked out to that bus, and I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

“I’ve never experienced the crowd and all those things. That was great,” Rhule said. “I thought it was awesome. I think the crowd played a huge role today.”

However, the most important outcome was the belief that Rhule saw them create in the 24-point win. They believe in one another and believe in his process which, in the midst of a rebuilds, represents a lot early on.

“I think the biggest thing? As much as it was hope for a lot of people that this is working and we’re moving in the right direction? For me, this was about belief,” said Rhule. “I believe that what we’re doing is working, I believe we’re doing this the right way. I believe that we can overcome the first two games and being close but not close enough.”

“The players showed a lot of belief and showed a lot of belief in each other. In today’s day and age, that can be hard. But we have special players,” said Rhule. “I’m glad that they got the win the way they got it. That’s how we’re going to play, at least for right now.”

After two rough losses to start, Nebraska is officially in the win column. Now, from here, it’ll be the foundation for everything else that Rhule wants to create from this moment on with the ‘Huskers during his tenure.

Rhule answers whether Nebraska will open up quarterback competition

After securing its first win of the season with Jeff Sims on the sideline with an ankle injury, there’s some question as to whether Nebraska might open up its quarterback competition going forward.

Even so, Matt Rhule knows that there’s a lot left for them to sort out at that position.

“We figured out that both quarterbacks are good quarterbacks,” Rhule said during his press conference. “The situation that Jeff went and played in the first two games was difficult. And a lot of things that weren’t his fault were pegged on Jeff Sims. So we’ve got a lot of confidence in Jeff.”

“We’ve known all along that Heinrich can play,” Rhule said. “We’ve got a good situation. I won’t talk any hypotheticals, I don’t know who’s going to be healthy, who’s not. I know we can win with both guys. And you guys know how I feel about Chubba (Purdy).”

If nothing else, it’s clear that Nebraska at least has some options now.

“I think we have a lot of players,” Rhule said. “I think the biggest thing for us is just continuing to find the guys on offense who can make plays for the quarterbacks. So those runs that (Anthony Grant) made at the end, Gabe (Ervin Jr.) made at the end? We just need to keep finding guys.”