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Posted
2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Has one football program been singularly responsible for another football program's demise like Texas has been for Nebraska?

Well, to hear some of them tell it, SMU's death penalty was due to them getting too uppity and stealing recruits from UT, leading to the BOMC and others turning in SMU for its cheating.  So that's two programs UT's killed.  

Posted
2 hours ago, South Austin said:

Has one football program been singularly responsible for another football program's demise like Texas has been for Nebraska?

Nebraska is responsible for Nebraska's demise.

Had they stayed in the Big 12 and not help to break it up, they would still have exposure to Texas recruits.  When they left the Big 12, their ability to recruit anyone out of the Lone Star State pretty much dried up over night. They got uppity and didn't realize they were cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Tech went to the CWS a couple of years later, and my group decided to stay in Lincoln to use points for a free hotel room.  We were in walking distance to that little restaurant/bar district just southwest of the UNL campus, and found ourselves talking to some Nebraska fans in one of the local bars.  They were in full regret mode on leaving the Big 12.  Said they hated the BIG, that tOSU and Michigan were way worse than UT, that they no longer had any natural rivals, no recruiting pipeline, etc.  Totally had buyer's remorse on the move to the BIG.

 

  • Fuck Around and Find Out 3
Posted

Mitch Sherman: Making sense of Nebraska’s defense, Dylan Raiola and Huskers’ 2026 recruiting class

Quote

LINCOLN, Neb. — In this first week of the offseason, mixed messages continued to flow from the nerve center of Nebraska football headquarters. Two days after coach Matt Rhule fired John Butler as defensive coordinator, Rhule laid out his reasoning. “It wasn’t exactly the right fit for me and the way I am,” he said Wednesday as part of a lengthy explanation about his expectations for the Huskers on defense. “And so it’s probably more me than anything else.”

Rhule cut Butler loose without delay, in part, the coach said, to let the former 10-year NFL assistant make the most of his availability in the job market. Meanwhile, the start of the early signing period in Lincoln passed Wednesday without typical fanfare. Nebraska signed 10 recruits, its smallest group in the modern era. The class ranked 94th nationally by Rivals and 112th by the 247 Sports Composite as of Wednesday night. Among Big Ten schools, it sat at a consensus of 17th.

Nebraska’s roster in 2025 included 91 freshmen and sophomores. Rhule wants the Huskers to get old in a hurry. Expect a large class of experienced players from the transfer portal next month. And the 2027 class for Nebraska, under construction with six commitments, rates fifth nationally. “We’ve got our program to a point of respectability,” Rhule said. “But we have to take the next step.”

That much — at least the latter half — is not open for debate. The program is 2-10 in November in Rhule’s three seasons, including back-to-back drubbings from Penn State and Iowa to cap a 7-5 regular season. The Huskers are off from practice this week, awaiting their postseason assignment Sunday. The Dec. 31 Las Vegas Bowl appears to be a probable destination.

As for the rest of Rhule’s messaging Wednesday, here’s an attempt to make some sense of the pressing matters.

The key word for Nebraska’s 2026 recruiting class? Selectivity

“It’s a select group of guys we believe can help us get to the next level,” Rhule said. Nebraska pursued players at positions that rate as difficult to replenish through the transfer portal. It signed offensive linemen Rex Waterman, Hayden Ainsworth and Claude Mpouma. Rhule said he believes Mpouma, the second-highest-rated signee in the class at No. 127 nationally, according to 247 Sports, will fit as a premier left tackle.

Mpouma contacted Rhule on Monday on a video call to check on him, the coach said. “Are you good?” he asked Rhule. “Yeah, I’m good,” Rhule told him. “Don’t believe everything you read.”

The Huskers targeted a big outside receiver in Nalin Scott. They found a versatile tight end in Luke Sorensen and a physical running back in Jamal Rule. They got a slot receiver in Larry Miles, an Australian kicker in Michael Sarikizis and one in-state talent in linebacker Jase Reynolds, whose athleticism prompted an offer on the spot when he worked out for Nebraska coaches in June 2024.

Addison Williams fits as a cornerstone piece of the defensive staff

When news spread Monday about Butler’s departure, Rhule contacted the defensive commitments in this 2026 class whose recruiting Butler affected. The top-rated player in the class, cornerback Danny Odem of Orlando, Fla., was more concerned about the status of another coach. Would Addison Williams remain in place? The Huskers’ first-year secondary coach coordinated the UCF defense in 2023 and 2024.

The next defensive coordinator will have “a lot” of say in shaping the staff on that side of the ball. But “Addison is clearly someone who will be here,” Rhule said. That was good enough for Odem, a five-star talent rated as the No. 31 prospect nationally by 247 Sports.

“We’re not going to scrap everything,” Rhule said. “This isn’t a major overhaul. It’s just shuffling. Addison is a huge part of this staff. And Addison is here. I also said, ‘Danny, you’re coming to play for me. And I am here.’”

Rhule has not yet targeted a leading candidate for the DC job

He has a vision, though, for the next boss of the Nebraska defense. And it’s not about a scheme. “It’s our play style and how hard we play,” Rhule said. “The reality is, the last two weeks, we haven’t played hard enough. We were not the more physical team. I want player development. I want physicality. I want effort way more than scheme. Someone who can bring all that out in us.”

In other words, he said, “I want a coordinator who gets 11 guys to play as one.” Phil Snow, Rhule’s former longtime coordinator who was added to the staff as associate head coach in December 2024, will run the defense this month. Snow has enlisted the help of special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler. Rhule said he’d like to find a DC before the transfer portal opens Jan. 2.

Through the early portion of the offseason, he wants the Nebraska staff to examine everything that it’s done in three years. It’s all open to change. “In this league, in this stadium, you better stop the run,” Rhule said. “You better stop and run the football.”

The coach has a plan for Dylan Raiola

Speculation persists that Raiola, the five-star signee who started 22 games at quarterback for Nebraska in 2023 and 2024, is shopping for a new school. Welcome to college sports in 2025. Talk of a transfer circulated last year, too, but Raiola stayed with the Huskers. Raiola threw for 2,000 yards on 72.4 percent passing with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions as a sophomore in nine games. He suffered a broken fibula Nov. 1 in the second half against USC.

Raiola underwent surgery four weeks ago, with rehab expected to last three months. He’s working alongside the Huskers as they prepare to start bowl practice sessions next week. Rhule said he encouraged Raiola to “let it hurt” that he’s forced to sit out with an injury. “Dylan made tremendous progress from Year 1 to Year 2,” Rhule said, “but there’s progress that needs to be made, moving forward. I want to see him own that… I want to see him take it and run with it, even in this time. Dylan’s a tremendous worker. But I want to see him make a jump.”

Raiola was sacked 16 times in Nebraska losses against Michigan and Minnesota. Michigan State sacked him five times in a Nebraska win. His season ended on a USC sack. The offensive line was not always to blame. “This is Year 3 for him,” Rhule said, “and he’s got to become the quarterback we all know that he can be.”

The QB picture in general is cloudy

Asked Wednesday whether he could see a scenario that included Raiola and TJ Lateef back in Lincoln next year, the coach refused to speculate. To concern himself with transfer possibilities, Rhule said, is “fatalistic thinking.” Lateef lost two of his three starts in November. He played through a hamstring injury suffered in the first quarter against Iowa. Lateef won’t practice next week, but Rhule said he expected the true freshman to play in the bowl game.

“I think we have a great setup, a great situation, and I would love to have a world where none of the guys on our team transfer,” Rhule said. “We have a great quarterback room. And we’d love to have everybody come back and have a great quarterback room again.” The 2026 recruiting class for Nebraska did not include a QB after the recent decommitment of Dayton Raiola, Dylan’s brother. The younger Raiola did not sign Wednesday. Highly rated junior Trae Taylor of Chicago is committed to the Huskers in the Class of 2027.

Mitch Sherman: Firing of Nebraska DC John Butler signals Matt Rhule’s plan isn’t progressing fast enough

Quote

LINCOLN, Neb. — In the din of an unsettling final Friday of November, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule took a question about the defense, which had been gouged by two Big Ten opponents the Huskers were using as a measuring stick. Iowa thumped Nebraska 40-16 for Rhule’s third loss in three games against the Hawkeyes — and the most humbling by a wide margin. Six days earlier, Penn State stuck it to Nebraska, 37-10.

Rhule’s team did not stack up in either contest. Why? “I have to take some time to delve into it,” the coach said, “because I thought we’d play really well last week. I thought we’d play well today.” He didn’t need long. On Monday, Rhule fired John Butler, Nebraska’s defensive coordinator of one year. Despite a fourth consecutive season of increased regular-season wins, a disconnect exists between the appearance of a functionally effective program and the results. Rhule’s plan is not progressing as fast, nor as straightforward, as he and Nebraska’s fans would like to see.

“I don’t shirk that,” Rhule said. “I own that. I’m responsible for it.” If Butler is taking an arrow for some problems outside of his control, so be it. That’s life in the Big Ten. Patience is out. The transfer portal is in. And Butler’s departure is a symptom of something bigger that’s not clicking in Lincoln. Something that Rhule has yet to put his finger on.

Nebraska ranked 135th out of 136 in red-zone defense. A staggering 96.8 percent of opponent drives that reached the Huskers’ 20-yard line ended in scores. Nebraska’s touchdown rate allowed in the red zone (77.4 percent) ranked last among FBS teams. Yet its foes reached the red zone only 31 times, the 18th-lowest number nationally.

“It’s a weird dichotomy,” Butler said last week. “And it’s the same problem we’re having out in the field. They’re running it in.” Yes, the run defense stunk. Ultimately, Butler lost his job and the Huskers’ progress appears stymied entering bowl season because the defense in 2025 could not stop the run. When Nebraska started 4-0, then 6-2, then 7-3, winning masked the problem.

But we saw it against Cincinnati and in each of the three losses. A leaky defense caught up to Nebraska. It got exposed. There’s nowhere to hide in the Big Ten in November. “The No. 1 thing for us is controlling the line of scrimmage,” Rhule said last week in defeat. Butler landed at Nebraska in July 2024, a hire of convenience after the untimely departure of Evan Cooper as secondary coach.

Butler was available after leaving the Buffalo Bills six months prior, when Sean McDermott chose to promote another assistant over Butler to DC. He and Rhule shared coaching roots from 30 years ago. So the marriage came together in a hurry. Some of Butler’s defensive principles clashed with the concepts of Tony White, ultra-successful as Nebraska’s DC in 2023. Together, they formed a clumsy dancing duo last year.

White chose to leave for Florida State 12 months ago. Butler took on the interim tag for a few days before Rhule named him the permanent successor to White. Line play was never a coaching strength for Butler. In hindsight, that Rhule paired him with Terry Bradden and Phil Simpson, first-time position coaches at the college level as hires last winter, should have raised concerns.

And now, Butler shares a distinction at Nebraska with Barney Cotton (offensive coordinator in 2003), Bob Diaco (DC in 2017) and Mark Whipple (OC in 2022) as the only coordinators since two guys named Tom Osborne and Monte Kiffin were promoted in 1969 to serve just one year in a play-calling role. The others all left as part of head-coaching changes.

Meanwhile, Rhule is one month removed from signing a two-year contract extension that will pay him $79.5 million in base salary through 2032. Butler is owed $1.1 million in 2026, per his contract. Behold the disconnect. Rhule said Monday in a statement that Phil Snow, his former DC at three coaching stops and the first-year associate head coach for the Huskers, will coordinate the defense in December.

For a defensive coordinator in 2026, Rhule will scan the coaching landscape. As with openings in the past three years at Nebraska, candidates who shared a past with Rhule figure to earn traction. You might hear about Elijah Robinson, the DC at Syracuse, or Geoff Collins, the former Georgia Tech coach.

Take note, though, that Rhule’s best hires at Nebraska did not have much of a connection — or any at all — to him. To find the next Mike Ekeler or Tony White, Rhule should not limit his options to “OOU,” the “One of Us” mantra that dates to his time and the people who worked alongside him at Temple from 2006 to 2016. Extend a wide net. Rhule knows what he wants. “Defense is about big hits and picking balls off and sack-fumbles and scoop-and-scores,” he said.

Rhule thought Butler was the guy to bring that kind of juice back to the Blackshirts. Turns out, it doesn’t matter if his defense can’t withstand the physicality of November in the Big Ten. Another lesson to file from the long and twisted path to wherever Nebraska is headed. Expect more turns in the offseason ahead.

 

  • Hook 'Em 1

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