LINCOLN, Neb. — Matt Rhule is just getting warmed up.
It’s Tuesday night, and he’s decided that this team meeting is going to go long. He’s frustrated that he’s seeing the exact same mistakes made in practice that he saw in Nebraska’s loss to Colorado last year. The same too-shallow routes run by receivers, which clogs up the middle of the field and doesn’t free anyone up. The same big plays allowed by the secondary, receivers that shouldn’t ever be that wide-open. Bad snaps, too, for good measure. These are the kind of mistakes Nebraska can’t make on Saturday if it is going to beat the Buffs this time.
“Can’t happen. Can’t happen. Can’t happen,” Rhule says. “You can’t have bad Tuesdays.”
He cues up a video of the fight between boxers Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford from last summer. He tells his players he wants them to see what winning looks like. They watch the first, seventh and ninth rounds. In the first round, they hear Crawford described as a fighter who collects information early and someone who is capable of winning in multiple ways. He wants his players to collect information, too. He wants them to learn during their games.
In the seventh and ninth rounds, they see a man who is not in a hurry. Crawford is, Rhule says, completely in the moment, making the right decisions second-by-second. He has a stillness about him as he protects himself between launching (and landing) punches. Rhule points out that Crawford is willing to take a punch in order to land a counterpunch later. He trusts both his plan and himself innately. Crawford wins.
“Put the work in, then you execute,” Rhule says. He then dismisses the team.
Rhule emphasized all week that Colorado will land its metaphorical punches, and he’s not overly worried about that part. He’s entirely focused on Nebraska’s counterpunch. He knows how talented Shedeur Sanders, Travis Hunter and Jimmy Horn Jr. are, so the defense is studying them and their tendencies. The Huskers have to contain the Buffs’ stars and control the game with productive offensive drives and their stout defense.
Nebraska allowed NBC Sports to embed within its football program this week leading up to Saturday night’s game against Colorado, attending various position meetings and practices. It’s clear how important this game is — and how painful the loss was a year ago — and how Rhule knows he’s got a team good enough to win it … and to win a bunch of other games this year.
True freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola is a big part of that belief. He doesn’t carry himself like a freshman, teammates say, and he’s meticulous in his preparation and note-taking. He calls out coverages in quarterback meetings without hesitation. He embraces the pressure of returning Nebraska to national prominence, knowing how important that is to so many people in this state. To stay grounded, he keeps his family close — which is easy to do when your father’s number has been retired here, your uncle is on the coaching staff and your sister (and housemate) works in the recruiting office. Raiola threw for 238 yards and two touchdowns in his collegiate debut last week against UTEP. He looked so smooth it was almost effortless.
Rhule’s teams always strive to have a defensive identity, and even with the glitz and glamour of a five-star recruit at quarterback, that’s still his goal here. Everybody saw his vision come to life last year, with Nebraska boasting one of the stingiest and most physical defenses in the country in Rhule’s first season. The Huskers want to build on that to pair it with an offense that can beat you through the air or on the ground. And they want to avoid turning the ball over — that’s been their Achilles heel for years now. Last year, Nebraska was dead last in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 31 lost turnovers. The Huskers were -17 in turnover margin on the season, which is why “win the turnover battle” is listed as the No. 1 priority for this team on videoboards all throughout the new facility.
The formula to beat Colorado is fairly simple: Make Shedeur Sanders uncomfortable, find ways to limit the other stars and trust Raiola and co. to put together sustained drives that end in points. In other words: Collect information, be still and counterpunch.
Oh, and those mistakes from Tuesday’s practice? They didn’t happen again at Wednesday morning’s practice. Rhule points this out with a smile.
Here’s what else I’m watching for in Week 2:
No. 3 Texas (-7.5) at No. 10 Michigan
So much of the focus heading into this game is on the Longhorns’ high-powered offense vs. the vaunted Michigan defense, and rightfully so. Quinn Ewers looked fantastic in Texas’ Week 1 win over Colorado State, and the expectation both in and out of Ann Arbor coming into the season was that the defensive front wouldn’t miss a beat, despite all of the talent lost to the NFL Draft. And I do believe Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham are among the best defensive tackles in the country this season. They’ll need to show that on Saturday to give Michigan a chance to stay in this game.
I’m not sure I trust quarterback Davis Warren and this offensive line just yet, so it’ll be on the defense to limit the scoring that Michigan will have to match. The Wolverines will also need to run the ball effectively — that was another part of the offense that looked much more difficult for the Wolverines to execute this year — to eat clock and limit possessions. But that’s a lot to ask. Texas is favored for a reason.
Boise State at No. 7 Oregon (-21)
Ashton Jeanty is a beast. The Boise State star rushed for 267 yards and six touchdowns last week while Oregon struggled to put away Idaho, which gives us great storylines heading into this matchup. I picked Boise State to make the CFP as the highest-ranked conference champion, so I’m quite high on the Broncos — in large part due to Jeanty, who had opportunities to transfer to Power 4 programs but opted to stay put. I love that, and I certainly hope he gets rewarded for that decision by season’s end.
And while I believe the Broncos could keep this game more competitive than Vegas does, I do think Oregon will take out a week’s worth of frustration on Saturday night, with more explosive plays in the passing game against a defense that allowed 45 points in three quarters to Georgia Southern, which converted 63 percent of its third downs and also went 7-for-7 in the red zone. Dillon Gabriel should have a big day, and I expect the Ducks to figure out a way to slow (but not completely stop) Jeanty.
Appalachian State at Clemson (-17)
I expected the Tigers to lose to Georgia last week, but it was the way that they lost that taught us all just how wide the gap is between a sure-fire title contender and Clemson in the year 2024. It’s big. This is why I talk about the transfer portal stuff. It’s not that a few portal additions would have won the game for Clemson, but it would close the gap a bit — and it would show that Dabo Swinney has adapted to the times and understands how to use an important avenue for roster construction, one that allows you to address holes and weaknesses faster than high school recruiting (which can be hit or miss) and multi-year development within a college program. Clemson doesn’t have Trevor Lawrence anymore, and it doesn’t have Justyn Ross or Tee Higgins, either. Which means that Swinney’s belief that there are no guys available in the portal better than what he’s got on his roster makes me have questions about his talent evaluation of his own roster.
All that to say, boy, does Clemson need to beat App State this weekend. It’s a tough time to face one of the best Group of 5 programs in the country, but it’s also an opportunity for Clemson to show actual signs of progress on the offensive side of the ball against a quality opponent. The Tigers need to run the ball early and often, and I’d like to see Cade Klubnik get into a rhythm as a passer, too. But if the offense struggles to string together first downs to actually sustain drives like it did a week ago, then we can’t just chalk this up to Georgia being Georgia. It’ll be time to full-on panic.
