3 takeaways as another Nebraska loss makes you doubt Matt Rhule’s future

Nebraska football fans almost don’t need to read about what happened Friday night against Illinois or even see it with their own eyes.

We all knew what was coming. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Matt Rhule fooled all of us, more than once. He fooled Nebraska football into giving him a massive buyout when, clearly, he is not up to snuff.

The common denominator between this season, 2023, 2024 and 2025 is Matt Rhule. Nebraska has better players; it should be 7-2 and in the mix for the College Football Playoff.

Instead, after a 24-13 loss to Illinois, you have to wonder if this team can beat Rutgers. Here are three takeaways from another nightmare.

Dana Holgorsen doesn’t get the Big Ten

Nebraska threw the ball 43 times and ran it 31 times. Even with sacks, the Huskers averaged 4.5 yards per carry. The team finished with 426 yards of total offense. Yet, it scored just 13 points.

John Hohl missed both field goals. Rhule also went for it on fourth-and-1, but the Huskers went empty and threw the ball, which was incomplete. Rule is over 200 pounds and was getting 4.4 yards per carry.

The game isn’t that complicated unless you make it so. Holgorsen is a smart coach, but he’s not a fit for the Big Ten.

Rhule was out-coached again and seems defeated

Whether it was during the game or during the postgame press conference, Rhule just feels defeated. Teams embody their head coach, and it feels like the Huskers have done that.

They sound great talking to the media before the game. Something happens during it. The lights are too bright; Rhule panics. It’s hard to say, but Nebraska expects things to go wrong, and they do.

Illinois turned fourth-and-12 into a touchdown instead of a long field goal. Bret Bielema turned that into six. In the same situation, the Huskers didn’t even get three.

Rhule just always seems to be searching for answers. That might never change. What hasn’t changed is the inability to win in November, on the road or against a good team.

It’s hard to find a single reason why Matt Rhule should be the head coach next season, other than that Troy Dannen gave him a terrible contract extension with an insane buyout.

Anthony Colandrea doesn’t have any magic left

Paying him the extension for 2027 looks as smart as trying to keep Rhule around last season. This all could have been Penn State’s problem.

Colandrea completed 32 of 43 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. He left a lot to be desired, though. The touchdown pass felt like pure luck. His pocket awareness has fallen apart; Colandrea can’t lead the offense to points in the red zone.

The Nebraska quarterback had 311 total yards, but the magic is gone. He is pressing way too much and doesn’t feel at all like the same player he was earlier in the season against a cookie-cutter schedule.

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