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Greg McElroy emphasizes the pressure being put on Nebraska’s Matt Rhule in Year 1
By Ethan Stone
Published:
You have to go back a little less than a decade to find Nebraska’s last winning season in college football.
At the very least, the Cornhuskers had been decent until Year 3 of the Mike Riley era, a 2017 season which Nebraska finished 4-8 and has yet to climb back from heading into Year 1 under Matt Rhule in 2023.
Prior to Scott Frost’s tenure, the Huskers had only faced 4 losing seasons in 56 years of play. That to say, Nebraska fans have endured 5 straight losing seasons and, despite this, remained loyal and now patiently await the Huskers’ resurgence towards the top of the CFB echelon.
That fan anticipation is putting a lot of pressure on Rhule, something Always College Football host Greg McElroy alluded to Monday afternoon.
Check out what he had to say below:
Is @HuskerFBNation‘s Matt Rhule under the MOST pressure of any first-year head coach? 🤔 @GregMcElroy has Rhule 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉 on the pressure meter 👀#GBR | #Huskers pic.twitter.com/sXLF2JxGOj
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) July 31, 2023
Rhule has a history of winning in his past. He coached Temple to a pair of 10-win seasons and did the same with Baylor in 2019, finishing13th in the AP poll.
As many college coaches do, Rhule took a job in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers and did not quite live up to professional football expectations, finishing 11-27 with the Panthers.
But it’s hard to compare the 2 professions after all. Here’s a quick reminder: Nick Saban’s NFL head coaching record stands at 15-17.
It’s hard to know what to expect from Rhule in Year 1, though it’s worth noting that FanDuel currently places Nebraska’s over/under total at 6.5. Aiming higher on the Huskers this season? Nebraska has +1600 odds to win the B1G West in Year 1, too.
Ethan Stone was an editor for his student newspaper at the University of Tennessee and is now a News Manager for Saturday Tradition.