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Matt Rhule explains his measure of success in 2023, how to manage expectations
By Keith Farner
Published:
Matt Rhule is trying to rebuild Nebraska, but given the passionate fan base and his coaching history, expectations could rise quickly.
At Big Ten Media Days on Thursday in Indianapolis, Rhule was asked about his measure of success in 2023.
“We’re going to try to go out and win every game, I think there’s something bigger for us at Nebraska,” Rhule said. “There was a time when Nebraska football was feared, and we certainly want to get back to that. We want to be a team that you say, ‘You know what, that team’s feared,’ but we’re not at that point yet. We’re at that point right now where I think that we have to take back the respect for what it means to play Nebraska and to be Nebraska. I mean, I want people to respect when they see that white helmet with that red N on it.”
Rhule wants fans, opponents, all of college football, and even the players to respect the Cornhuskers by the way they play the game.
“This season is all about not just earning, but taking back respect to Nebraska football,” he said. “Once you earn respect, then you can talk about being feared and that’s the process we’re going to go through.”
Rhule was later asked how he keeps fans and staff from getting ahead of themselves.
“What I love about Nebraska is it’s literally written on the side of the stadium: Day by day,” he said. “That’s the key. … It was this mindset … every little detail matters. We have to earn the right to even talk about playing Minnesota. We have to go to training camp and be elite in every single area, so that is the whole core of what we try to do is to block out all the noise and block out all of our thoughts and learn from the past, prepare for the future, but live in the present. That present focus is what will determine who we are.”
Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.