Matt Rhule pushes back on narrative about Nebraska having easy early-season schedule
Three weeks into the 2024 season, and Nebraska is ranked. Actually, the No. 22 Cornhuskers have now been ranked in two straight AP Polls. That’s not surprising, especially considering the roster they ushered into training camp but also because of Matt Rhule’s knack for rebuilding programs.
The Huskers’ Week 4 opponent, however, is ranked as well: No. 24 Illinois. Whereas Nebraska clocked in amid the upper half of Cleveland.com’s annual preseason Big Ten media poll, the Fighting Illini were picked to finish 13th.
Illinois has cruised to a 3-0 start, outscoring its first three opponents, 98-26. That stretch included an upset win over then-No. 19 Kansas and, most recently, a 30-9 beatdown of Central Michigan.
It looks like the Illini are bouncing back in head coach Bret Bielema’s fourth season at the helm. And it looks like Nebraska’s early-season schedule — touted as easy by pundits during the preseason — is more difficult than expected.
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“They’re a really, really good team,” Rhule said of Illinois Monday. “And it’s why in preseason when people start [saying], ‘Oh, the schedule’s easy early’ — is it?
“I mean, I’m looking at power rankings now, and we have one of the harder schedules in the Big Ten moving forward, coming out of last week, right? So all that preseason fluff everyone talks about, it’s not real. Especially now in the transfer portal era, you better just get to the season and see who you’re playing.”
Rule continued: “Now we’re facing a ranked team in Week 4. And it looks like we’ll be facing some more ranked teams. The key for us is to play well so we can be a ranked team. This is an excellent team we’re facing that’s on a mission right now. We’ll have to be ready.”
Like Illinois, Nebraska is off to a 3-0 start, except the Huskers have yet to take on a ranked opponent. Their biggest test was a Week 2 primetime game against Colorado. Rhule’s squad handled the Buffaloes, 28-10, in a game that, really, was more lopsided than the score suggests.
Dating back to last season, the Huskers have held 10 consecutive opponents to 24 points or fewer. They’re currently eighth nationally in scoring defense with 6.7 points per game allowed this season.
But defensive coordinator Tony White’s unit isn’t satisfied — that was particularly the case at halftime last week when it had already given up a field goal to FCS Northern Iowa. It’s worth noting that Nebraska conceded a season-high 301 yards and 18 first downs to the Panthers.
“There’s three levels of ready you have to be,” Rhule said. “You have to be physically ready, you have to be mentally ready, you have to be emotionally ready. Last week, we were physically and mentally ready. I don’t know if our defense was emotionally ready, and that’s hard to do. That’s why teams don’t go undefeated very often, unless they’re way more talented. It’s just very hard to win every game.
“I thought our offense was definitely emotionally ready. But last year when we went to this game [against Illinois], we were all three. They were a really good team, but nothing was going to stop us. While I’m happy we’re at home, it’s really about those three things. Are we gonna be ready to play on Friday night? Or is it gonna be about all this other stuff? This is gonna be an absolute battle.”
As Rhule mentioned, last year Nebraska went into Champaign and defeated Illinois, 20-7. That victory marked the start of a three-game win streak that, momentarily, made Nebraska 5-3 and ahead of its rebuild schedule. But then the Huskers lost four games in a row to end the season.
This time around, Nebraska looks built to sustain positive momentum, especially with a blossoming true freshman quarterback in Dylan Raiola, who is complementing an intriguing defense.
According to Rhule, though, if Nebraska is going to keep winning, it will need to be all three levels of ready in all three phases the rest of the way. To his point, the Huskers have the 15th-toughest remaining schedule, per ESPN’s Football Power Index. That slate includes upcoming games against Rutgers and Indiana — which are a combined 5-0 so far — but it starts with Illinois Friday night.