Losing the Las Vegas Bowl to the Utah Utes came off as out of the syllabus for Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. And the fallout didn’t stop on the field. Off the gridiron, Nebraska just lost a diehard fan. He is jumping ship to a Mountain West program.

“After care­ful con­sid­er­a­tion with my fam­ily and friends, I have decided to enter the fan trans­fer portal,” wrote Ryan Boetel, the Opin­ion editor at the Albuquerque Journal, on January 4. “Effect­ive imme­di­ately, I am trans­fer­ring may fan­dom alle­gi­ance from the Neb­raska Cornhusk­ers to the New Mex­ico Lobos.”

Walking into the 2025 season, Rhule’s program carried a burden with it. Since 2018, the Cornhuskers have had approximately 36 one-score losses. That is nine times more than any program playing college football.  

Nebraska’s drought against ranked opponents has reached 29 straight losses. Rhule’s program’s last Top 25 win came back on September 17, 2016, a 35-32 home thriller over No. 22 Oregon Ducks. This drought is what made the fan pinpoint one of the reasons behind his flip.

“For 25 years, includ­ing my entire ten­ure at the uni­versity, Neb­raska has prom­ised a rebuild,” wrote Boetel. “The next coach is going to find suc­cess because the Big Red is still one of the top col­lege foot­ball pro­grams in the nation, with the best facil­it­ies and fans, right?”

This drought stings harder since Rhule’s program now operates out of the Osborne Legacy Complex, which opened in September 2024.

It’s a 315,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art fortress loaded with every amenity a football program could ask for, from a pool to ping-pong tables. The $165 million upgrade features new locker rooms, coaches’ offices, team meeting spaces, dining halls, and additional amenities.

Still, the Huskers have struggled to a 7-6 record over the last two seasons. After 33 days of prep, Nebraska came out hot, leading Utah 14-7 early in the Las Vegas Bowl. Then the wheels fell off. The Utes rattled off 31 straight points, outgained the Huskers 535-343 yards, and watched Nebraska’s offense disappear after the first quarter.

While plenty of factors pushed the editor away from Nebraska, what exactly made the New Mexico Lobos so appealing? The Rate Bowl. 

The Lobos made the Minnesota Golden Gophers sweat, leading early, clawing back late, and striking first in overtime on a 36-yard Luke Drzewiecki field goal. But they ultimately took a 20-17 overtime loss.

Another major turn-off for Rhule’s squad, according to Boetel, is the pressure the program creates on the fans.  

“We’re Nebraska Nice, I get all that, but let’s have a real game day environment,” the head coach said before their face-off against the USC Trojans. 

Meanwhile, the player transfer portal just spread some more salt on Rhule’s fresh wounds.

Matt Rhule already lost 18 players as portal exodus hits Lincoln

On3 revealed the names of those who have left the Cornhuskers squad. The count says it’s 18. The list of players who landed big heartbreak to Rhule includes the quarterback and the Patrick Mahomes clone, Dylan Raiola. Then there is defensive lineman Jaylen George, cornerback Malcolm Hartzog, and EDGE Maverick Noonan, among others. 

The latest from Rhule’s camp to hit the portal are offensive lineman Houston Ka’aha’aina-Torres and cornerback Brice Turner. However, the head coach has already tapped into damage control mode. Rhule and the Cornhuskers have been able to woo quarterback Kenny Minchey out of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. 

The Huskers are shopping in the Mountain West, and Owen Chambliss is on the board. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound All-Mountain West linebacker balled out for San Diego State under Rob Aurich, who’s already headed to Lincoln as Nebraska’s defensive coordinator in 2026.

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While Rhule continues to stack portal wins and reshape the roster, the bigger challenge still looms: winning back the fan base. To do that, a few issues cannot be ignored. 

Losing Tony White, followed by the departures of Nash Hutmacher, Ty Robinson, and other defensive line pieces, exposed real cracks up front. The damage in the trenches was apparent, and it hurt.

Fixing that, along with an offensive line that never found its footing, is non-negotiable. That’s how the 2026 test looks for Matt Rhule.