Survey among LBM coaches in the USA: Georgia shows weaknesses, but one should not read too much into it
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll is out and Georgia remains at the top despite a narrow win over Kentucky in Week 3.
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The clearest evidence of Nebraska’s growth under second-year coach Matt Rhule is found in the number next to the name.
The undefeated Cornhuskers appeared at No. 24 in the US LBM Coaches Poll two weeks ago, the program’s first national ranking since Sept. 1, 2019, and rose to No. 22 after last Saturday’s win over Northern Iowa. Notably, this is Nebraska’s highest ranking in the top 25 since No. 15 on Nov. 20, 2016.
“I always say if you’ve done great things in college football in the past, you can do great things in the future,” said Big Ten Network analyst and former Indiana coach Gerry DiNardo. “Nebraska is the one that put my theory to the test.”
The 2016 season will also be the Cornhuskers’ last bowl appearance, the longest active streak in the Power Four. After losing four in a row last November, ending Rhule’s debut one win shy of a bowl appearance, the postseason drought seems guaranteed to end this year.
But there’s still potential for more. Three games into the season and with Friday night’s Big Ten opener against Illinois looming, four factors suggest Nebraska could continue to climb the national rankings and compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff: the coach, the quarterback, the game plan and the measurable progress since Rhule’s arrival nearly two years ago.
“The challenge I’ve given the players all year is to be one of the best teams in the country,” Rhule told USA TODAY Sports. “Become nationally relevant. Play in big games. Challenge yourself to win the Big Ten. Challenge yourself to get to the College Football Playoff. I’ve told them it’s going to be tough. That things have to go in their favor. But I’ve told them that from day one.”
Matt Rhule’s predictable second-year resurgence
History repeats itself, only faster than before.
For Rhule, previous stints at Temple and Baylor followed a similar pattern. The first season would be a fundamental battle for wins: Temple won twice and Baylor, ruined by extensive roster losses during the Art Briles era, won just once.
But then things turned around. Temple won six games in 2014 but was not selected for a bowl game, which motivated the Owls to 20 wins and an American Athletic championship the next two seasons. Baylor jumped to seven wins in 2018 and 11-3 in 2019, finishing second in the Big 12 and reaching the Sugar Bowl. Rhule was then hired by the Carolina Panthers and stayed in the NFL for two seasons, compiling an 11-27 record.
By comparison, Nebraska is ahead of schedule. Along with a solid talent base and enviable internal support, the adversity the program faced during a difficult 2022 season — former coach Scott Frost was fired in September and the team dragged to a four-win streak — convinced Rhule that the Cornhuskers were ready to skip the first-year rebuild and jump straight into bowl contention.
“When I got here, there were such good players and the older guys had so much energy to win,” Rhule said. “I just said, ‘Hey, let’s not repeat year one. Let’s not get 2-10. Let’s repeat year two.’ Which was always 6-6, 7-6, you know. Unfortunately, we finished 5-7. But it was that growth.”
A year later, the Cornhuskers have added key players at quarterback, running back and wide receiver to bring last year’s faltering offense back up to par with one of the Big Ten’s best defenses. They have adopted a physical style of play that fits perfectly with the historic ethos of a program that once represented consistent excellence at the Bowl Subdivision level. They have adopted a “chase three” mentality, the three points that kept last season’s team from winning six or more.
After several failed hires and more than two decades since the program last seriously flourished on the national level, a veteran coach has begun to reverse Nebraska’s steady decline.
“You always want to feel like they did it right. You hope every time that it’s the right person,” DiNardo said. “For me, the difference for Matt Rhule is the experience at Temple, the experience at Baylor.”
Dylan Raiola’s immediate impact
Dylan Raiola, the son of a legendary former Nebraska offensive lineman and nephew of the team’s current offensive line coach, had verbally committed to Ohio State and Georgia before joining the Cornhuskers in the weeks leading up to National Signing Day.
His impact was profound and immediate. The former five-star prospect completed 73.8 percent of his throws for 670 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. A year ago, three Nebraska quarterbacks combined for 1,631 yards and 10 touchdowns with 16 interceptions and hit 52.1 percent of their attempts.
He was helped by an offensive line that appears to have improved dramatically. That group has allowed just one sack and led a running game that has scored multiple touchdowns in all three games, the program’s longest such streak since the first three games of the 2022 season.
Raiola influenced the offense with his “insane” work ethic, Rhule said: “He prepares better than anyone I’ve ever had.”
The challenge going forward will be to adapt to the diversity of defenses in the Big Ten. Most of the time, defenses rely on a level of physicality that requires a balanced offensive response.
“He’s not some kid here throwing RPOs in a spread-tempo offense,” Rhule said, referring to the run-pass option plays common in the FBS. “He throws dropbacks. He throws seven-step drops. He throws play action. He makes checks at the line of scrimmage. As far as his style of play goes, he plays like an NFL quarterback.”
And after failing to secure a place in 2023, the Raiola-led offense now has an identity.
“We pride ourselves on playing physical in the fourth quarter,” said offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield. “That’s how you win the game, that’s how you shut people down.”
A friendlier Big Ten schedule
On paper, the schedule looks like the Cornhuskers could go into their game against No. 2 Ohio State undefeated in late October.
After Illinois, a trip to Purdue, which lost 66-7 to Notre Dame last Saturday, Nebraska then hosts Rutgers, has a week off and travels to Indiana on Oct. 19. The team hasn’t won six in a row to open the season since winning seven in a row in 2016.
After playing the Buckeyes, the Cornhuskers will play UCLA at home, have another week off, travel to No. 12 Southern California and host Wisconsin before capping off the regular season with the rivalry at Iowa.
“Especially in today’s football, you never know how teams are going to do,” Rhule said. “Illinois is ranked now, right? I think in two weeks when we play Rutgers, they’ll be ranked. I think when we play Indiana, they’ll be ranked. It’s just the realization that everyone is a good team. We’re trying to focus on our process.”
But they miss No. 6 Oregon, No. 9 Penn State and No. 17 Michigan, making this schedule one of the program’s friendliest Big Ten games since joining the conference. In addition to obvious on-field improvements, this schedule offers a one-two punch that suggests Nebraska will be a factor in playoff considerations that begin in early November.
The possibilities presented by the new 12-team playoff format should not be overlooked either. Under the previous model, no team reached the playoffs with more than one loss. The larger format changes the math: Instead of having to reach 13-0 or 12-1 to make the field, the threshold for Big Ten and SEC participation could be 10-2 or even 9-3, depending on the strength of the contender.
Is the best yet to come for Nebraska?
Even if this season ends with eight wins and in the second division of the Big Ten, that measurable progress would secure Nebraska a spot in the national rankings for the 2025 season and establish the program as one of the Power Four to keep a close eye on.
That hype is already starting to affect the recruiting circuit. After signing a top-20 class last winter, Nebraska welcomed dozens of top recruits to its Week 2 win over Colorado, a 28-10 final that highlighted the growing gap between the Cornhuskers and their longtime rival.
“If you’re a kid who wants to play in the NFL, you should probably consider playing for us,” Rhule said. “I think we can recruit at the highest level.”
But the greatest optimism comes from the idea that Rhule has built conference champions under the sport’s most adverse circumstances — with a Temple program that is historically one of the weakest in the country and coming off one of college football’s worst scandals at Baylor. By comparison, Nebraska has a tradition and level of institutional support that only a small portion of the FBS can match.
This leaves the feeling that a return to major bowl contention is at least imminent. Perhaps this season. Raiola has changed the structure of the offense and will get better with each passing week; transfers in the backfield and at receiver have had an immediate impact; the defense, strengthened by the return of several players who could have entered the NFL Draft, should remain among the four or five best in the Big Ten.
Maybe this is the year the Cornhuskers take off. Maybe it’s next year. But Nebraska’s resurrection seems closer than at any other point during the program’s 21st century malaise.
“I’ve always said it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when,” Rhule said. “I’m not sure if it’ll happen this year – I hope so. But I expect us to keep getting better.”
“Because I’m not here for a short-term solution. I’m here for the long haul. So it would be great if we could do it this year, but I’m trying to build something with (athletic director Troy Dannen) and our team that will last.”
