Matt Rhule on Jeff Sims' performance: 'Can't have those turnovers'

Minnesota let a bit of the air out of the balloon for Matt Rhule’s debut with Nebraska last night as a game-winning field goal sent the Cornhuskers home in defeat in their opener. Now, in the aftermath, plenty of attention has been shifted to QB Jeff Sims after he committed three of the team’s four overall turnovers on Thursday night.

Following the 13-10 loss in Minneapolis, the first question in Rhule’s press conference was about Sims’ turnovers. At the end of the day, Rhule said that it’s very clear that that’s not what they can have from their quarterback if they want to win games.

“I’m not prepared (to comment yet),” said Rhule. “Obviously, as a quarterback, you can’t have those turnovers, right? Even right before the half, it was kind of an odd sequence, right? It’s either a touchdown or it’s a false start. It was kind of weird how that happened.”

To be fair, it wasn’t all bad from Sims. He did throw one touchdown, albeit off of a nearly broken trick play, and finished the game as Nebraska’s leading rusher and, for that, Rhule gave his QB1 some due credit.

“I thought he had some really good moments,” Rhule said. “He had some key throws, especially in that two-minute drive moving us down the field. Obviously, he ran for over 100 yards. He was a dynamic threat in the zone read game.”

However, three interceptions, especially in a game that ended up being as close as it was, were killers. Add in a lost fumble from Anthony Grant and there’s a way where the Cornhuskers could have avoided this brutal defeat on their opening night.

The fact of the matter for Rhule is that Nebraska just can’t have those sorts of mistakes. That’s why, heading into their second outing at Colorado, they’re going to do what they can to get that corrected so they don’t cost themselves in games that are there for the taking.

“You have to protect the football. Back foot throws and all those things? That’s not what we need. We don’t need that,” said Rhule. “This is a first step for Jeff. We’ll coach him and he’ll come back.”

Rhule discusses need for resilience in Nebraska rebuild

Matt Rhule will be the latest to attempt to rebuild Nebraska. He will do so by taking a different approach. Instead of trying to get on the fast track, Rhule is looking to slowly build the Cornhuskers up. He used some coach speak to explain the method.

“The whole context of our program is kind of live in the moment,” Rhule said. “It’s a learn from the past, prepare for the future. Just be right here. We ask our guys to get 1% better every day, we ask our guys to go 1-0 every week. We ask the guys, in the game, to just win each rep. While it might sound a little coach speak? I think, in today’s society, it’s as important as ever.”

Rhule has changed the program’s mindset when it comes to adversity. He believes the team is resilient and will be able to bounce back after a tough loss. Confidence can go a long way in fighting for a win when needed.

“The way you show the man you are is how you handle adversity,” Rhule said. “I think if something bad happens — if we lose a game we were expected to win — I think these guys are resilient, they’re tough. They’ll handle it. They’ll come back. We are a pretty humble team. They know we’re coming off 3-9, 4-8.

“Nothing is going to be handed to us… We’re going to be humble about the way we approach this thing. If good things happen? We’re going to stay humble. And if bad things happen? We’re going to be confident enough to trust that we can fix it.”