Matt Rhule’s fourth year at Nebraska ended the way no one in Lincoln wanted - without a bowl game and with one of the program’s biggest recruiting wins in recent memory walking out the door. Quarterback Dylan Raiola, once the crown jewel of Rhule’s recruiting efforts, is headed to Oregon after two seasons. For a program that’s been chasing relevance for the better part of a decade, it’s a gut punch.
And people around the program aren’t sugarcoating it. On Locked On Nebraska, Connor Happer put it plainly: “You’re going to have to start winning soon.”
That’s the message hanging over the Huskers right now. Progress is good.
But progress without results? That’s a tougher sell in year four.
To be fair, Rhule has stabilized the program since his arrival. The culture is stronger.
The roster is deeper. But stability isn’t the goal - winning is.
And the gap between “better than before” and “good enough to matter” feels like it’s only growing.
Rhule addressed Raiola’s departure on The Zach Gelb Show earlier this week, framing it as part of the modern college football landscape. “He did what a lot of guys do,” Rhule said.
“Like, he changed schools.” That’s the reality now.
Raiola, who posted PFF grades of 72.1 and 62.4 during his time in Lincoln, saw a clearer path at Oregon - a redshirt year in 2026, then a shot to start in 2027 for a team already built to contend in the expanded College Football Playoff. Nebraska couldn’t offer that same runway.
“When we took Dylan, I went the young player route,” Rhule said. “And now, when you look at college sports, it’s probably not the way to do it anymore.”
He’s not wrong. Just look at Bo Nix.
Look at Jayden Daniels. The transfer portal didn’t just change college football - it flipped the model.
Programs are building around veteran transfers who can win now, not five-star freshmen who might be ready in a year or two.
Rhule didn’t take shots on the way out. In fact, he praised Raiola for what he brought to Nebraska during his time there.
But he also made it clear: that chapter is closed. “That time’s now over.”
And Raiola might not be the only major piece leaving. Special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler is reportedly being courted elsewhere.
Nebraska tried to lock him down midseason with a lucrative extension - one that would’ve made him either the highest- or second-highest-paid special teams coach in the country. But in today’s college football, money isn’t always enough to keep a staff together.
Rhule’s realizing that the three-year plan he came in with doesn’t quite fit the new era. “I now have to adapt to a one-year plan,” he told 365 Sports this week.
That’s not just coach-speak - it’s a reflection of how quickly rosters and staffs are turning over. The top programs are now building teams with 50 percent of their rosters coming from the portal.
Indiana leaned heavily on transfers. Miami blended high school recruiting with experienced additions.
The old model is fading fast.
Nebraska’s trying to keep pace. They added 15 players from the portal in this cycle, including offensive lineman Paul Mubenga from LSU - a player who had visits lined up with South Carolina, Arkansas, and Alabama before choosing the Huskers.
That’s a recruiting win in today’s arms race, and it’s one Nebraska could only pull off thanks to increased NIL resources from the House Settlement. That kind of firepower matters now.
Rhule is targeting veteran players - 20, 21, 22, even 23-year-olds - who can step in and compete right away. The development model still exists, but it’s no longer the foundation.
It’s a supplement. To help accelerate that process, Rhule brought in Miles Taylor from the Chargers as the new safeties coach, adding NFL experience to a defensive staff that continues to evolve.
The roster is turning over. The staff is shifting. And the pressure is mounting.
Nebraska has the resources now. They’re in conversations they haven’t been part of for years.
That’s real progress. But as Happer said, conversations don’t win games.
Year four is no longer about building. It’s about delivering.