Matt Rhule expresses excitement about where Nebraska program is headed

Nebraska took a step forward in Matt Rhule‘s second year as head coach, posting a 7-6 record, two more wins than the program finished with in 2023. After the Cornhuskers’ 20-15 win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl, Rhule expressed his excitement for the direction of the program.

“The program is still going to do what the program is going to do moving forward,” Rhule said. “We have the right plan. We know what we’re doing. The guys know what they’re doing.

“I think the biggest thing was we were sitting out there — it took five years, but I can say I’m a winner. I can finally say, I’m a winner. There are winners in everything in life. You go out there, they keep score, and they’ve got to make plays.”

Nebraska made plays in its win over Boston College, racking up 363 yards of total offense. Freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola was particularly incredible, completing 22-of-his-30 pass attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown while throwing one interception.

After the win, Rhule revealed his pregame message to his team.

“I said three things to them yesterday,” Rhule said. “I said, No. 1, I want you to wake up excited. Bowl games are usually about who’s the most excited team. No. 2, watch all these games that are happening. One team gets up, another team comes back. No one wants to play 60 minutes — once they get up, they think the game is over.

“I said, three, there’s going to be a time in the game where, oh, here we go, and I said, double down. Enough with the I’m nervous and just say we’re going to do this.”

The Cornhuskers didn’t make it easy on themselves. After taking a 20-2 lead into the fourth quarter, Nebraska allowed Boston College to rattle off 13 unanswered points, and nearly take the lead. Nonetheless, Nebraska emerged victorious and Rhule believes the win will only add to the team’s momentum moving forward.

“We’ll have a lot of momentum heading into the off-season,” Rhule said. “I think we’re doing really well in recruiting right now. I think we’re finding the right guys. And I think you see with Sam’s play, you asked earlier, there’s some guys on this team who are the right guys.

“We’ll put the picture together really well, and I’ll let you guys have the rest of the off-season to ponder what we’ll look like next year. I’m excited, though, about where we’re headed.”