How Nebraska, Wisconsin can take the Big Ten by storm

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Nov 28, 2022; Omaha, Nebraska, US; Nebraska Cornhuskers athletic director Trev Alberts poses with head coach Matt Rhule at the introductory press conference at the Hawks Championship Center on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /

Rhule is not some one-team wonder

Matt Rhule has served as the head coach for two CFB programs, one in the Group of 5 (Temple) and one in the Power 5 (Baylor). At the time of him leading the Owls into 2013, they were coming off of a 4-7 run. However, entering their 2017 schedule, they were coming off of back-to-back 10-win seasons, the latter of which included a conference title.

When he took on the HC job at Baylor in December of 2016, the Bears had just gone 7-6. Three years later, they were 11-2, had just played in a Big 12 championship and were on their way to the Sugar Bowl. To describe him as consistent would be a criminal understatement.

But despite Rhule having such a lethal fixer-upper gene, there is one thing that Nebraska fans should probably be aware of: He always has what I’ll call his “mulligan year.”

While both Temple and Baylor became winners in spectacular time, neither went without seeing a year that was not just bad, but downright awful. In their first years under Rhule, the Owls went 2-10 (their worst record since 2006) and the Bears went 1-11 (their worst since 1969).

With all of that said, I would normally tell Nebraska fans to expect a 2023 stretch that will treat their Cornhuskers worse than Scott Frost ever did. Yet for what it’s worth, they can rest comfortably knowing that if ugliness of that severity were to unfold, it would likely be short-lived.

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