Pair of college football analysts believe in Matt Rhule and Nebraska

Having not made a bowl game since 2016, Nebraska football hasn’t had the brightest stretch lately. However, a manageable schedule, along with some new faces, has some people believing this could be the year the Cornhuskers turn things around.

On “The Joel Klatt Show,” Klatt and CBS Sports college football analyst Josh Pate find themselves trusting head coach Matt Rhule in his second year in Lincoln.

“{Nebraska} is the one where we’ve sat here in years past and looked at a ‘workable schedule’ for Nebraska, and then reality hits you in the face,” Pate said. “Same thing this year; I just believe in them. The whole Matt Rhule year 2 principle is in play, by the way… I mean general rule of thumb, if you do it at Temple and Baylor, you probably do it in Lincoln, Nebraska.”

After going 2-10 in his second year at Temple, Rhule took the Owls to a 6-6 year the following season, followed by back-to-back 10-win seasons which is the first time that happened in program history. Rhule then took over a Baylor team that went 1-11 his first year and turned the Bears around with a 7-6 season in 2018 and an 11-3 season in 2019.

The Cornhuskers hope to get elite quarterback play from freshman Dylan Raiola. Raiola was a top-20 recruit in the 2024 class, the highest ranking from a Nebraska quarterback in over a decade.

Nebraska will face UTEP at Memorial Stadium this Saturday, Aug. 31. Then, the Huskers will face Colorado in a primetime showdown the following week at 7 p.m.