Rhule Meets Media Monday

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Monday. 

“All right guys, appreciate you guys coming out today,” he said. “Obviously, you guys saw the change that I made yesterday. It was a decision that I made and felt it was right at this time and for our team. You know, I respect and appreciate Dana (Holgorsen), the work that he's done. I think I've spoken to you about things he's done in his career and the work that he put in. I'm very, very grateful for everything he's done, but I felt this is what we needed at this time. As we flew back from the game, I just felt like as I watched us play, it just isn't working the way that we want it to work. For me, we think about what it takes to win in college football. You need to have an explosive offense. You need to have the ability to score points. And we can point to the yards and stand on we're third in the Big Ten in total offense, fourth in rushing, whatever, those things, but we're not scoring enough points. I felt like the time was now. When I think about football, what I want, you have these moments where you have a chance to think, I want an offense that is physical, that can run the football, that can control the line of scrimmage, that doesn't beat itself with turnovers and penalties and missed assignments, that's detailed and disciplined. That's exciting and explosive and that's elite situationally. Glenn Thomas will take over along with the offensive staff. I think we have good coaches in that room. They'll continue to find ways to put that product on the field. What it takes to win in college football, you need to have a great defense. When I look at us defensively, I see a group that's in the top 10 in the top 20 in a lot of categories. I see one of the top defenses in the Big Ten, and when people have gotten hurt, they've just continued to put new people out there and they continue to get better. I'm excited about the defense and want to continue to push them and encourage them. I'm excited, we went to Rob (Aurich) and he signed an extension to stay with us for two more years. When I look at what we're trying to build, we're trying to build a team that can compete at the highest level. Defensively, I think we're well on our way. In the special teams, I see Archie (Wilson) ninth in the country in punting. I see us kickoff coverage that's excellent. I see Jacory (Barney Jr.) continue to make plays and punt returns. But we do have to make field goals and we do have to improve that part, certainly that part of the kicking game. I love the block kicks. I think this is one of the times you sit there and look with three weeks left and you say to yourself, what do we need to do right now? This was the move that we feel like we need to make right now. I think the last thing you need is excitement. You need players that are excited to be out there and excited to get going, and I continue to see that from our guys. I continue to see guys that believe in what they're doing, believe in what we're doing, and want to find a way to get over this hump and breakthrough kind of where we are right now. Whether it's been talking to recruits, even after the game on Friday, Saturday morning, into Sunday, recruits are excited, our players are excited, we just have to continue to improve in this area first and foremost. That's kind of where I see things. I'm sure you guys have questions. I'll be happy to answer them.”

Rhule spoke on what wasn’t working and why changes were made.

“Yeah, I think now it's such a fast turnaround getting ready for Rutgers,” he said. “It's not a ton of time to sit there. I do believe hindsight helps you with foresight, and I talk about our guys about that all the time. I think there were a lot of things that were working. I'm not sitting there saying, hey, let's throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think we have a really good offensive system. And I think we have good players. We've had 400 the last two games, we've had over 400 yards of rushing. We've had a 90 the last game we had a 91 and a 98 yard touchdown drive. We had a 95 yard touchdown drive, but we've continued to beat ourselves with missed opportunities. You have the ball at the 10, you have the ball at the 13, you have the ball at the 21. All of those come back with a penalty. The game before, we had turnovers that are a little bit uncharacteristic of where we are. We were 31-of-43 passing, our backs averaged 4.76 yards rushing, but in key moments, key situations, we didn't execute and that's kind of what I said after the game. Execution to me is a word that coaches throw around that I believe falls on everybody. We have to do a better job of that and we have to take that 91, 98, 95 yard drive, replicate that, but not have the penalty inside the five against Washington, not have the penalty. And it's not just the penalties, it's also just situationally and some of those things we have to be better at. The questions you guys have asked me, I think have all been really, really good and I think they're all very fair. I don't think the offense is broken. I don't think we have bad players. I don't think we have bad coaches. I just think something has to happen now to try to get them to be, and I think the word, Sam (McKewon) is we have to be detailed and efficient as a group and so that's what Glenn (Thomas) and Geep (Wade) and those guys will do. I'm excited to support our players in doing that.”

Rhule discussed what he sees from Rutgers.

“I was a player when Greg Schiano was a secondary coach. I have great respect for him. I remember when they came here a couple of years ago, it was a defensive struggle. He continues to do a great job of finding ways to run the football. KJ Duff's one of the best players in college football. KJ didn't play last week, so we're not really sure of what his availability will be. He's a game plan tilter, if that makes sense, right? We have to have a great plan for KJ for the running game. Special teams-wise, they always challenge you. We had to fake a punt two years ago to get the offense moving. They'll come after you in the punt game. They have a unique punt like ours that is really hard to get after. He does a great job in those two areas and defensively, they are fairly similar to our defense in that they're a 4-3 quarters based defense. New defensive coordinator this year, they've altered their DNA as the year has gone on, but they're built to stop the run and limit explosive plays. I love listening to Coach Schiano talk. I think he's one of the great minds, whether he was the defensive coordinator, the Miami Hurricanes or the secondary coach of the Bears or head coach in college, the NFL, then back to college, both at Rutgers. He's someone that understands the game at a really high level. He's worked for all these great coaches too. He'll have a great plan for us, we are going to continue to work to have a great plan for him and I think the biggest thing for us is just putting our players in a position where they can be free and be detailed and go out there and play at a really high level.”

The Huskers will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Piscataway, N.J. The game is set to start at 11:30 a.m. (CT) and will be televised on the Big Ten Network and can be heard across the Huskers Radio Network.