A generation ago, the English pop rock band Tears For Fears had a chart topping hit in “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
During the same generation, Nebraska ruled college football, and as hall of fame head coach Tom Osborne concluded his run in Lincoln, Nebraska went 60-3 and won three national championships.
In the Tears For Fears classic, the lyric “Nothing ever lasts forever. Everybody wants to rule the world,” became a reality for Huskers fans, as the reality was no one stays on top forever. Frank Solich learned the hard way trying to maintain a near perfect and dominant standard.
Continuing with the lyrics in the Tears For Fears classic, the Husker faithful patience has been tested and pushed to the brink and described best with, “I can’t stand this indecision. Married with a lack of vision. Everybody wants to rule the world.”
As the turnstile of coaches that came and went through Lincoln, following Solich whether it was Bill Callahan, Bo Pelini, Mike Riley, or Scott Frost the goal was the same but the vision wasn’t achieved or realized by those four coaches.
It was a lack of vision with Pelini to find a way to meet the championship goals and aspirations that cost him in Nebraska.
It was the indecision of Riley and Frost that has led to the downward spiral of losing seasons in seven of the past eight years.
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Now Nebraska turns to Matt Rhule, who led turnarounds at Temple and Baylor, to revive a program that once ruled college football. Here are five reasons to buy into a revival with Rhule:
#5 Restructuring of the Big Ten
With the additions of Southern California and UCLA in 2024, the Big Ten will look to restructure its conference by eliminating divisions following the 2023 season and going to a single conference layout for scheduling and championship qualifications eerily similar to what the Big XII and Pac-12 did last season.
From what is being reported each Big Ten team will have four permanent opponents on their conference schedule and then a rotation of the other five conference games. Look for the Big Ten to find a balance for its biggest brands in permanent opponents and similar to the SEC a rotation in the marquee opponents. This should help Rhule rebuild and jockey Nebraska into a prime position.
#4 Rhule is ‘Focused on Nebraska’
I am not here to say coach Osborne’s successors and Rhule’s predecessors weren’t focused on the Nebraska job. Each man who held the position coveted the job and wanted in the worst ways to make Nebraska champions.
Where the focus is now on is Matt Rhule. When Rhule built a name for himself at Temple, he upgraded to Baylor. When Rhule turned Baylor following the Art Briles fallout from a one win program to a team participating in the Sugar Bowl, he upgraded to the NFL.
After failing with the Carolina Panthers, Rhule realizes he is a college coach for the foreseeable future. For Nebraska fans, knowing you have a coach all-in is a big thing.
During his introductory press conference, Rhule said, “I have seen the Tunnel Walk maybe 5,000 times. I have seen post-game celebrations. I have seen the hype videos. I do not know Nebraska well enough yet, and I hope you will bear with me because I want to embrace everything that has to do with the University of Nebraska and the University of Nebraska’s football program”
With Nebraska looking to rebuild their brand, they need to have that foundational piece that is wanting to be there. Rhule will use negotiation tactics from other jobs to gain more money for himself or his assistants or more resources for his program, but ultimately he wants to be a fixture at Nebraska and win championships.
#3 The Proven Ability To Coach Up Recruits
One of the forgotten aspects of what made Tom Osborne a hall of fame coach was his ability to coach up two and three-star prospects.
Sure under Osborne they got their fair share of four and five-star recruits, but Osborne had the uncanny ability of assessing two and three-star prospects, identifying those who possessed four or five-star foundational skills like strength or speed, and then coaching up the areas to turn a two-star prospect into a four or five-star finished product.
On the immortal 1995 Nebraska national championship team, 15 of the 22 starters were rated three-stars or less including two starters that were walk-ons who weren’t rated. When you look at the jobs Rhule did at Temple and Baylor, you need to be able to coach up players and gems.
Just take a look at the sample of underrated guys who he coached up to become big time players:
- Tyler Matakevich – Former two-star linebacker recruit became a consensus All-American along with winning the Bednarik and Nagurski winner. Has been in the NFL since 2016.
- Haason Reddick – Was a walk on to Temple who wasn’t even rated as a recruit by 247, went on to First-Team All-AAC recognition and this past season was named an All-Pro for the Philadelphia Eagles
- Dion Dawkins – Another unrated recruit by 247 that signed with Temple, was selected in the second round of the 2017 NFL Draft and was named to his second consecutive Pro Bowl this season
- Jalen Pitre – While Dave Aranda continued the polishing after Rhule left after the 2019 season, Rhule and staff set a foundation for three seasons with the three-star defensive back who went on to be a Consensus All-American and Big XII Defensive Player of the Year
- Denzel Mims – Rhule inherited the three-star wide receiver when he joined Baylor in 2017. His staff molded Mims into an All-Big XII selection in 2019 and was selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
This has been missing ever since Osborne retired after the 1997 season, while there has been varying levels of this achieved since, no coach has possessed the skill to develop projects this well like Rhule has achieved.
#2 The Ability to Recruit in Texas and the Mid Atlantic
The recipe for championship success through the years at Nebraska dating back to Bob Devaney’s time in the 1970’s and when Osborne achieved in the 1990’s is a national recruiting ability.
In particular, the heart and soul of Nebraska, the trenches would be found in Nebraska and the neighboring states. The hands and feet, the perimeter athletes would come out of state in particular from the Mid-Atlantic, the South, West Coast, and Texas.
For Rhule, his infectious personality and charisma will win over the state and he should be able to keep elite Nebraska kids at home.
The key for Rhule is his deep rooted connections he has in the Mid-Atlantic in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland that will help sell Nebraska out east but even more pivotal is his recent connections he had with Baylor in the state of Texas that should help to translate for more recruiting wins for the Huskers.
#1 Complete Alignment with Administration
Rhule emphasized alignment in his introductory press conference, “But I want you to understand that this would not be possible if it were not for President Ted Carter. It would not be possible if it were not for Trev Alberts. It would not be possible if it were not for Angie Alberts because throughout this process we found what we had been looking for. We found leadership. We found alignment.”
For any major college football coach, there needs to be alignment from the head coach, to the athletic director, to the president. Without that, no program can be successful.
Each of the men involved has a championship pedigree that is ingrained into their DNA.
President Ted Carter, who attained the rank of Vice Admiral in the United States Navy and the nickname “Slapshot,” graduated from TOPGUN and successfully accumulated 6,150 flight hours in the back seat of F-4, F-14, and F/A-18 aircraft during his career. He also safely accompanied pilots in 2,016 carrier-arrested landings, the record among all U.S. Naval Aviation designators.
Athletic director Trev Alberts, who played for the vaunted “Blackshirts” for Nebraska between 1990 and 1993, can walk through Memorial Stadium and see his jersey retired after a legendary 1993 season where he was named a Consensus All-American and won the Butkus Award winner.
This championship alignment is the foundation to create an elite program, one that can vie for national championships and maybe with that Nebraska can rule the college football world once again.
