How a weather delay in 2014 helped change Matt Rhule in one of his favorite season openers

One of Matt Rhule’s favorite season openers almost didn’t happen. Then it turned into a key night for his first rebuild as a head coach.

It was August 2014 and the second-year Temple coach had his team ready to go at Vanderbilt. One problem — steady lightning and pouring rain kept pushing back the kickoff. Time marched past 9 p.m. central before officials gathered to ask each school how much time they would need to warm up.

We need one minute less than they need, Rhule recalled his director of football operations, Sean Padden — now Nebraska’s general manager — saying.

Rhule at the time considered himself more no-nonsense in the mold of his former coach, Joe Paterno. No music in the locker room. No smiling before a game. Players didn’t listen during the delay, dancing with his son, Bryant — then around 9 years old — and having fun.

Temple eventually went out and won the game 37-7, marking the Owls’ first win over an SEC opponent since 1938 as they collected 27 points off turnovers. The game ended at 1:14 a.m. in the first positive outcome of an eventual 6-6 campaign following a 2-10 showing the year before.

“I was like, ‘Alright I’m changing. You guys can have music, you guys can have all this,’” Rhule said Thursday, two days before Nebraska opens against UTEP. “I learned to be a little looser. That was a defining moment for our program.”

Rhule said the result drew praise from national pundits including Paul Finebaum. The Husker coach grinned at the memory, noting how the commentator last month slammed him for his thoughts on the Big Ten deserving four College Football Playoff spots.

“I have an autographed book from Paul talking about what a good coach I am,” Rhule said with a smile. “Things have changed, I guess.”