Matt Rhule intense despite win vs. Colorado

During a postgame press conference where Rhule insisted he was “fired up” about Nebraska’s big win, he offered a prediction for how the next two days inside NU’s football facility would go.

“They’re going to think it’s the worst game they’ve ever played by the time we’re done,” Rhule said of the upcoming film review.

Despite handling Colorado defensively, running the ball well in stretches and not committing a turnover, there was still plenty about Nebraska’s Week 2 performance that needed fixing according to a hoarse Rhule who spoke to the media on Monday.

It wasn’t just Rhule who made sure that message sunk in with his players, too.

In the aftermath of NU’s win over Colorado, Rhule gifted a game ball to boxer and Omaha native Terence “Bud” Crawford, who’d attended the game after speaking in front of the team on Friday.

“He talked to our guys and even he was like, ‘Man, I’m not happy with the way you guys played in the fourth quarter,’” Rhule said of Crawford’s postgame message.

The film showed just why that was. On top of each position group’s review of the Colorado game, Rhule said he gathered the entire team for an hour-long film session which identified areas for improvement.

At the top of the list was a showing that Rhule called “the worst special teams performance I’ve had in a long time.”

Miscues in the kicking game, both with the snap and the execution of a field goal try stood out. So did NU’s kick coverage, particularly on a play where kicker John Hohl was called into action to make a touchdown-saving tackle. Brian Buschini had a great punt that ultimately led to Tommi Hill’s pick-six but had an attempt blocked in the fourth.

Then there were the penalties, 12 of them in total. The ones that came on the offensive side of the ball, particularly holding calls that wiped out big gains, hurt the most.

“The yards lost was like 160 and a touchdown; that could have been a 45, 50-point game,” Rhule said.

Those miscues stood out for a Nebraska offense that left points on the field. Rhule said he didn’t like portions of Nebraska’s offensive execution against the Buffaloes, including the Huskers’ perimeter blocking.

What he did like, though, was the play of freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola. Despite only having played two college games, Raiola’s knowledge and understanding of the offense has outstripped some of his veteran teammates — leading Rhule to demand more out of the Husker offense.

“I told the offense, a lot of them have to pick their intensity up to his (Raiola’s) level, not the other way around,” Rhule said. “He’s trying to throw the ball to guys that are supposed to be in certain places and they’re not there. He’s at a whole other level and those other guys better pick it up.”

Even the Nebraska defense, which played 30 minutes of shutout football and scored a defensive touchdown, wasn’t good enough according to Rhule. While Nebraska had set a goal of allowing just two explosive plays of 20 or more yards, the Buffaloes instead had four such plays.

What were perhaps small details in each phase of the game contributed to a final score that fell short of Rhule’s demands. The Nebraska head coach said he expected the Huskers to score 40 points while holding Colorado to just 10 points.

“I thought that’s where the game was, and that’s no disrespect to them — I think they’re a really good team — I just felt like we matched up well against that team,” Rhule said.

Nebraska will match up differently against a Northern Iowa team that looks more like the run-heavy Big Ten offenses NU will face later this year than the pass-happy spread offenses UTEP and Colorado brought to town.

Unlike the tight rotations Nebraska had against the Buffs — only 44 different Huskers played at least one snap on offense or defense — they’ll hope to get more players on the field this Saturday. It may not be the same as it was against UTEP when over 100 different players saw the field, but Nebraska will turn to its bench now and down the road.

That’s why NU’s film sessions this week were so intense; Rhule knew the veterans could handle it and that the younger players on the roster would be watching.

For as important as Nebraska’s win over Colorado was for the team’s season-long trajectory and momentum, it’s now a footnote in the Huskers’ 2024 journey.

The past is the past, the plays are on tape and Nebraska is now onto Northern Iowa.

“A lot of the problems that happened in the second half happened in the first half; they are second game of the year problems,” Rhule said. “You have to make a jump now from game two to game three and you have to improve every week.”