Matt Rhule and company have had a giant uphill battle since coming to Nebraska. Of course, it all started with the firing of Bo Pelini by Shawn Eichorst. Each passing day that we struggled I went from laughing at what Pelini called him to firmly standing behind Pelini’s point. Holy cow, what a lot of damage all of that did. It snowballed for the better part of a decade, but Matt Rhule has the ball rolling uphill again.
It’s a long way to climb college football’s Mount Everest on a yearly basis, but
when Matt Rhule started, he began on the sea floor of the Mariana Trench. So much had gone wrong that even the most ardent/optimistic of Husker fans wondered if every subsequent coach was already in over their heads. It was in every part thanks to 2 different Athletic Directors who thought they knew better and imploded this program faster than the Titan Submersible.
The message has changed for a third straight year under Matt Rhule, and for the third straight year that message has changed in a positive manner. Two years ago, it was “will Nebraska ever go back to a bowl game”? Last year, it was “can Nebraska make a bowl game in back-to-back years”? This year it’s “can Nebraska finish conference play with a winning record”? It’s the next logical step in the progression of climbing uphill.
Nebraska hasn’t had a winning conference record since Mike Riley did it in 2016, when the Huskers went 9-4. Of course, many people will note that despite starting the season 7-0 and being ranked 10th, it was undoubtedly one of the softest schedules we’ve had in quite some time. This season, the deeper into the year we go, the harder things clearly get. Our schedule could easily be mistaken for one of Maryland’s if the Huskers fall by the wayside.
The schedule gets way harder on the back end, starting with the middle portion which includes Indiana and Oregon. Getting off to a good start is necessary if the Huskers want to accomplish this next step. Michigan State and Maryland are must wins. Oregon, Washington and Illinois look beatable, but recent history against the Illini would strongly suggest otherwise. That leaves Indiana, Rutgers, Ohio State and Iowa. Barring some sort of alien invasion, Rutgers shouldn’t be much of an issue.
If Nebraska can get “the three easy ones”, who becomes the other two? We’ve played Ohio State tough recently but can’t get by them. We play Iowa tough on the road, but somehow always lose by 3. Illinois has our number as of late because Bielema has us delivering wins on speed dial. Which would put a massive emphasis on the “Revenge against Raiola” game at Autzen, or the two home games against the defending champs and Washington.
The next step in progress at Nebraska is an 8-win season, which means having a winning conference record. If Nebraska takes care of business at home, all you would need is one on the road. For those of you who are now either checking the schedule or remember that it means beating Indiana, Washington AND Ohio State at home, I know…one can dream. That would also remove the other season goal bugaboo, “beating a ranked team”. Both are small steps, but giant leaps for Corn kind.
This looks to be the most well-rounded team Matt Rhule has had here. With other teams on our schedule that have struggled, many of these next steps can be accomplished. It would then move next year’s goal to be “repeating the same thing to show consistency”. As my favorite band of all time said, “It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll”. We have gotten out of the water and found land. It’s now time to start climbing the mountain.
