While the 2024 season witnessed programs like Ohio State, Colorado Buffaloes, and Penn State Nittany Lions have a glowup, someone witnessed a glowdown. That’s none other than Matt Rhule and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. However, this definitely did not fit well with the Huskers’ history. After all, they won back-to-back Natty crowns in 1970 and 1971. This made a comeback in the 90’s with Natty victories in 1994, 1995, and 1997. However, since the 2000’s there has been a drought, which Rhule was believed to break. After all, he had spread terror with his ‘Patrick Mahomesque’ quarterback, Dylan Raiola. But unfortunately, their fire fizzled out. Now, pressure is mounting on the head coach with a tough road ahead…
It’s not that Rhule’s 2024 chapter was all about disappointments. The Huskers sought their revenge against Colorado, which handed them a 34-14 loss back in 2023. Plus, they qualified for the Pinstripe Bowl, which marked their first Bowl appearance in a span of 8 years. Drawing motivational juice from these high points among myriad setbacks, Rhule must be feeling all confident. And as usual, just when he is trying to stay positive, the transfer portal came up with a grounding alert. Even though he was mentally prepared to lose 30-50 players to the portal, he faced four blows in one day. That raised the count to Nebraska losing 36 players. If Rhule thought that was all for the off-season, here comes some more concerning news.
On May 7, analyst Wilson Dittman talked about he biggest problem that is looming in Nebraska. And it’s about making sure that Rhule and his boys crush the opponents, even though not all. “Talking about the biggest obstacle that’s in Matt Rule’s way. From only winning six games next season to potentially being in the mix for the cultural playoff nobody’s talking about this.” If Nebarska is to win six games, they must ensure winning ALL SIX OF THEM. There is no room for compromise and distractions, there. As Dittman noted, “This is none other than taking care that you are actually supposed to win every year we look at the schedule, and we get hyped up about the Michigan game, we get hyped about the Iowa game, the Penn State game.”
So every year, Rhule and co. makes one common mistake. That is focusing on the games they are potentially going to lose, the hard ones. The analyst shared, “We never focus on the games that when you’re looking in May… in June, you’re penciling down as W’s. Because those are always the games that we sit here in the fall, Nebraska shows up and plays in Illinois, they play in Northwestern, they play in Minnesota, and they lose.” So, long story short, Rhule ends up obsessing so much about the tough games that he fails to prepare enough for the ones where victory is guaranteed. The end result?
Zero. The Huskers will begin the season on August 30 against the Cincinnati Bearcats in a neutral-site game. The first true road game of the year will occur on October 11 when Nebraska heads east to face the Maryland Terrapins. While Rhule needs to fix his mindset, he needs to hold the reins firmly for his quarterback Raiola.
Matt Rhule’s QB gets lucky with his Patrick Mahomes dream
Turns out that Raiola’s Mahomes’ obsession is hitting the roof. Last season, Rhule’s quarterback did turn heads carrying a doppleganger look of the Kansas City Chiefs’ star. He stepped into the Omaha training camp, sporting a broccoli haircut, just like Patrick Mahomes, and Oakley sunglasses. It made the ones present at the field skip a heartbeat for a moment. Raiola and Mahomes even share the same jersey number, 15. Did Rhule’s signal-caller restrict himself to physical looks? Absolutely not.
Raiola flew off to Kansas City after wrapping up the 2024 spring games. The purpose? To be under the tutelage of Bobby Stroupe, Mahomes’ trainer. Sadly, all these efforts went in vain as the young chap failed to spread the Mahomes magic on the gridiron last season. From afar, it looked all good. The quarterback completed 19 of 27 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns in less than three quarters of action against UTEP. However, his biggest turn-down came with his struggle with sacks. For instance, against Illinois, Rhule’s quarterback took three sacks. But amidst all this, his love for Mahomes did not get dampened.
On the May 4 episode of the Crain & Co. podcast, analyst Jake Crain brought up the question that is looming in the Nebraska fans’ hearts. “You mean to tell me that Dylan Riyola, who cosplays as Patrick Mahomes opening an Arrowhead, is going to play in Arrowhead?” Matt Rhule’s Nebraska and Scott Satterfield’s Cincinnati are facing off for the first time since 1906. To mark the historic moment, they selected Arrowhead Stadium, one of the NFL’s most historic stadiums, the Kansas City Chiefs’ home. That’s when Jake joked about that Rhule has kept Raiola’s wish to fulfill his Mahomes dream. In the thick of it all, Nebraska has to keep aiming straight for the mark.
The post Nebraska Insider Names Matt Rhule’s Biggest Problem as Dylan Raiola’s Concerning Obsession Hits New High appeared first on EssentiallySports.