It’s been five months since Matt Rhule stirred the pot and landed in hot-seat territory. A throwaway line about the Big Ten in Vegas set off alarms back in July. Fast-forward to bowl season, Rhule used the Utah Bowl backdrop to walk it back with an apology.

“I don’t think college sports should be in Vegas,” Rhule said back in July. “So I wish (media day) was back in Indianapolis.”

On December 30, a day before the Utah Bowl game, the head coach cleared his feelings, accompanied by a note of apology. 

“I’ve told people I was upset that the Big 10 moved the meetings here, said Rhule, not because of Las Vegas, but because everybody on the East Coast has to keep going to Los Angeles for meetings.

“I told the Big 10, ‘Hey, do one event in the West Coast, one event on the East Coast, because it gets tough when I’m speaking in Florida to fly.

That being said, I said it incorrectly. I do apologize for that, and I do apologize for anyone who bothered or hurt because I’ve been here now four times in the last calendar year.”

The Pac-12 and Las Vegas have a long history. It began in 2013 with conference basketball tournaments on the Strip and then escalated in 2021 with the hiring of MGM sports executive George Kliavkoff as commissioner. Even after the league unraveled in 2024 and Kliavkoff was shown the door, the Pac-12 kept Vegas in the loop, staging a one-time media event there in the summer of 2024.

With Rhule’s comments putting the Big 12 in the spotlight, the league leaned into expansion mode, adding Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, and Colorado from the Pac-12, then rolling the dice by hosting its 2024 football media days in Las Vegas.

Not long after, the Big Ten joined the trend, hosting its own Vegas edition after welcoming USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington. According to commissioner Tony Petitti, it began as a scheduling issue. Indianapolis was unavailable, but Vegas emerged as the obvious choice.

Rhule has clearly moved on, and so has his travel itinerary. After Nebraska’s 59-7 rout of Houston Christian, he jumped on a jet to Vegas to watch fellow Nebraskan and Husker diehard Terence Crawford square off with Canelo Alvarez at Allegiant Stadium’s first, and so far only, boxing card.

If there were doubts, they’re gone. Rhule’s Vegas trips have included a legendary meal at Bavette’s. It was followed by a summer night at the Sphere watching Kenny Chesney alongside Dan Mullen.

The welcome dinner came with a plot twist. Rhule turned it into must-see content, launching himself onto the zipline midway through the meal while the team watched. With the weight off his shoulders, where do things now stand between Rhule’s squad and the Utah Utes?

How Matt Rhule’s squad tuned out the odds

The Huskers roll in as hefty 14.5-point underdogs. It is their steepest spread all year and the largest of the non-CFP postseason slate. Still, Nebraska isn’t losing sleep over the odds.

“I don’t really deal in the business of underdogs,” Rhule’s defensive back Ceyair Wright said. “At the end of the day, we’re a team full of men; they’re a team full of men. It’s not about what somebody’s done in the past or what somebody may do in the future, it’s about what you do in that moment.”

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Nebraska limps into this one, having dropped its final two regular-season games and going 1-3 over its last four. An offense that once had momentum got stalled out after injuries at quarterback and along the line. They managed just 43 total points across their last three losses. 

Utah, meanwhile, hit its bump early with losses in Weeks 4 and 7 before flipping the switch. Behind a punishing run game, the Utes have ripped off five straight wins. They averaged a jaw-dropping 304.4 rushing yards over that stretch.

Rhule had the added pain of carrying an injured quarterback, TJ Lateef.

“WATCH: TJ Lateef slinging it at Nebraska’s practice today,” reported Huskers’ insider Chase Matteson. “The #Huskers starting QB is coming off of a hamstring injury but is full go for the Las Vegas Bowl.”

Now it’s time to see what souvenir Matt Rhule brings back from Las Vegas.