Matt Rhule isn’t interested in letting Nebraska settle for being merely decent.
At Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on Thursday, the Huskers coach made it clear he wants the program to push past the recent pattern of 7-6 seasons and start acting like a team built to chase bigger things.
“We have to earn back the respect,” Rhule declared. “We didn’t come to Nebraska to go 7-6.
We came to compete for (the Big Ten title). Being with teams that won a national championship is inspiring.
… We understand that we have to take a step this year.”
That message lands against the backdrop of a proud program that has been stuck in a long stretch of uneven results. Nebraska owns 46 conference championships and five national titles, but the Cornhuskers have only posted over-.500 records twice since 2016, both times finishing 7-6 in 2024 and 2025.
Rhule has at least stabilized things enough to send Nebraska to bowl games in back-to-back seasons. The Huskers went to the Pinstripe Bowl in 2024 and the Las Vegas Bowl in 2025, but that’s still a long way from the standard Nebraska once set under Tom Osborne, when 10-win seasons, Big Eight control and national championship runs were the expectation.
Now Rhule is asking for more in 2026, and the schedule will give Nebraska a chance to show it. The Huskers open the season at home Sept. 5 against Ohio at Noon ET on FS1, then begin Big Ten play Sept. 26 at Michigan State.
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