This season, Matt Rhule and co. have either achieved blowout wins like 68-0 against Akron, 59-7 against HCU, or close losses like 27-30 against Michigan. But, breaking away from the pattern on Friday, October 17, the Nebraska Cornhuskers just tasted a brutal 24-6 loss against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. And as the post-game presser revealed, Rhule didn’t shy away from acknowledging how his team didn’t stand for true Big Ten football.

On October 17, The Athletic’s Mitch Sherman tweeted, “Nebraska coach Matt Rhule on the 24-6 loss at Minnesota: There’s nothing that led me to think this was going to be like this.” Rhule said the Huskers were on their heels most of the night. “We never really put them under any duress.” 

Expanding on that, Rhule said, “They were the more physical team. They beat us pretty convincingly. Obviously disappointed for our guys.” He added, “At no point did we make the play you needed to make to win the game. (We were) one for five on third down in the first half, and just a really bad effort. I thought they were the more physical team tonight. We’re not going to make any excuses. They got after us.” His words summed up the kind of night it was for Nebraska:

From the opening quarter, it was clear Nebraska was outmatched in the trenches, never finding any rhythm offensively. After a low-scoring first half where Nebraska trailed just 7–6, the Gophers took over with a 98-yard touchdown drive that broke the game open. Minnesota entered the night ranked 114th nationally in rushing offense with just 112.3 yards per game and yet against Nebraska, it looked nothing like that. The Gophers churned out 186 rushing yards, exposing Nebraska’s lack of physicality and turning a supposedly favorable matchup into a big win.

Minnesota’s defense made life miserable for sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola, who was sacked nine times, five of those in the first half alone, for a loss of 63 yards. Can you believe that it’s the same team that barely had a sack in the previous two games? 

Raiola had no room to operate and spent much of the game scrambling behind a collapsing pocket. When he did have time, he hesitated on open looks and couldn’t sustain drives. “We just got beat flat out,” Raiola said afterward. “I mean, I have to go back and watch it, but we just got outplayed, as simple as that. Six points is pretty brutal, and I’ll take that one. I’ll take all the blame. I’ll take all the hate, that’s fine. That’s part of my job, and that’s why I’m here.” The offensive struggles mirrored the collapse on defense. 

Darius Taylor, who had been limited for much of the season, broke out for 148 rushing yards and a touchdown, including a 71-yard run that highlighted Nebraska’s ongoing tackling issues. Quarterback Drake Lindsey added 153 passing yards, efficiently capitalizing on every defensive lapse. That’s why Rhule was forced to admit: “We never really put them under any duress… We never scored any points on offense, so we just didn’t play a complete game. I just think they were the more physical team as the game wore on tonight, and we didn’t make any plays to change that.” And when it came to discipline, the fourth tenet of true Big Ten football, Nebraska fell short there, too. 

The Huskers committed six penalties, several of which extended Minnesota’s drives or wiped away potential stops. Offensive lineman Elijah Pritchett’s unnecessary targeting call and back-to-back defensive holds in the second half only deepened the frustration. “We just didn’t perform to our standard,” said running back Emmett Johnson, who returned home to Minnesota for the matchup. “It wasn’t about anything else. We’re tuning out the noise. We’re just focused on us, but we just didn’t execute to our standard.” 

With this defeat, Rhule and his team are now 0–6 against Minnesota since 2018. But beyond the stat sheet and disappointment, the HC also carries the weight of regret.

Matt Rhule’s dream to end a drought goes up in flames

Talking about their luck in winning back-to-back road games? The last time their luck favored them was in 2006. After the game, Trey Wallace tweeted, “Earlier in the week, Matt Rhule said it was ‘Mind Boggling’ that Nebraska hadn’t won back-to-back Big 10 road games since 2006. Well, that streak continues. Huskers had 213 total yards of offense. That’s a big ole gut punch by PJ Fleck.”

But this was bound to happen. P.J. Fleck had gone through Nebraska’s scheme bit by bit. “I think that you’re seeing more and more college defenses do a lot more NFL systems. Their coordinator came over from the NFL, very similar to (Matt) Patricia. I’m not saying they’re similar of just their schematics,” the Gophers head coach had cracked the Huskers’ code. The Gophers have won eight of their last ten matchups with Nebraska, but this marked Fleck’s second meeting against Rhule. Now that the Cornhuskers added another L to the list, will the head coach stick to his lofty words about Nebraska?

Since Penn State showed James Franklin the exit door, Rhule’s name as the filler has started to do the rounds. However, the Nebraska head coach did not allow the water to flow too far. Instead, he tried to shut down the rumor, saying, “I love Penn State. Met my wife there. It’s my alma mater…I have been a fan since I was born. I love Pat Kraft. And I’m really sad to see Coach Franklin go.”

But after this, maybe Matt Rhule could ponder his future with all the rumors going around about him and Penn State. He can no longer mark himself safe from the hot seat. FOX’s Dave Portnoy had already issued a warning claiming, “tornado sirens going off in Lincoln.” So, is Rhule running on borrowed time?