After Matt Rhule said a fan cursed at his 13-year-old daughter, Clint Cosgrove spoke up about what his own family went through in Lincoln, as he knows what Rhule is dealing with. Cosgrove, a national recruiting analyst, and his father, Kevin Cosgrove, who was Nebraska’s defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2007, remembered being harassed by fans, which got the FBI involved over death threats.
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Rhule told reporters on Monday that after Saturday’s 17-10 loss to Washington, a man walked up to his daughter and swore at her over her dad’s job. Cosgrove saw the story, and it hit close to home. His father worked for Bill Callahan, whose Nebraska team went 27-22 over those four seasons, and fans took it out on the family. Cosgrove said his brother heard “fire Cosgrove” chants while playing high school ball.
“The kids didn’t sign up for this,” Cosgrove’s X post read. “When my dad was the DC at Nebraska, my family had to deal with all kinds of harassment. Every time my brother had the ball in his hands at Lincoln Southwest, the fans chanted fire Cosgrove.”
“We had the FBI deal with death threats. My sister didn’t feel comfortable going to school because of the harassment. This whole thing is sad. The ‘best fans in college football’ need to do better. Throwing bottles on the field now?? What is wrong with people?”
Nebraska hosted Washington on Halloween night in front of about 86,000, favored by 7.5 points, and led 7-3 with 90 seconds left. Then the Cornhuskies converted a fourth-and-18, scored a 21-yard touchdown, and Alex McLaughlin took an Anthony Colandrea pass 48 yards the other way.
That was 14 points in roughly a minute. It was Nebraska’s third straight loss after leading late, and students in the south end threw objects onto the field. The extra point was delayed.
“A guy walked up to my 13-year-old daughter and was like, “F*** U and F*** your dad.” I’m not going to keep coaching if it means my kids grow up screwed up. I’m not going to see my daughter shook,” Rhule said. “The guy who attacked my 13-year-old daughter, I’m not coaching for him. I’m coaching for the people who are in the boat.”
Rhule added that he would retire if his family had to live like that. In the same breath, he also added that he isn’t leaving Nebraska. His team is 5-3 and 2-3 in the Big Ten, and he is 24-22 in four seasons at Nebraska.
He took responsibility for the loss and wants to win with the team he has. His 10-year-old daughter texted him after the game and said she loves Nebraska, loves living there, and asked Rhule not to quote the program.
“You get to these moments, and the water is rocky, the ocean is rocky,” Rhule said. “Just steady in the boat, man. Steady in the boat. Don’t take a rocking boat and a rocking sea and rock it even more, man. You can’t control what’s outside the boat. Your focus should be on being steady in the boat, going back to work this week and understanding this game against Illinois, if we play well, we’ll come down to the end and you have to make one more play than the other team.”
Nebraska plays at Illinois on Friday night and needs one win for bowl eligibility. Rutgers, Ohio State, and Iowa follow after that.