Matt Rhule doubles down on seriousness of viral locker room video: 'I was legitimately mad'

On Monday, a video surfaced of Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule giving his team a not-so-subtle wakeup call at halftime of their Week 2 showdown against Akron. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, Rhule addressed the viral video.

“I’m emotional,” Rhule said with a smile. “I’m not walking in like, ‘Hey, Pat. What should I say here?’ I was legitimately mad that they drove the ball down and kicked and almost made a field goal. They hit the goal post. At some point at Nebraska, we got to be Nebraska. You just got to end the game. Like, if the quarterback draws back, you got to go sack him.

“I respect Joe Moorhead. I respect Akron. They played hard to the end… But, we’re supposed to be Nebraska. And so I’m just trying to get our guys to realize, when you say the word Nebraska, you got to think the way the guys at the preeminent program in the country think. So I was legitimately mad.”

Rhule’s frustration wasn’t lost through the phone screen. Fans across the country chimed in on Rhule’s unexpected outburst while his team was ahead 33-0 at halftime.

“I don’t like them freaking moving the ball again,” Rhule said in the video. “They’re dropping back at the end of the f***ing half. We’re on the side that’s saying, ‘They’ll take a knee here. They’ll run the ball.’

“They don’t fear you and they don’t respect you enough yet and if that sounds like coachspeak, you’ve got the wrong brain. They’re dropping back against our starting defense. They’re cutting our O-line at the end of the half.”

Rhule’s message connected with his players. The Cornhuskers didn’t relent in the second half, ultimately running away with a 68-0 blowout win over Akron.

The win was Nebraska’s first shutout victory during the Matt Rhule era. In the triumph, the Cornhuskers racked up a jaw-dropping 728 total yards of offense. In contrast, Akron finished with just 175.

Quarterback Dylan Raiola shone for Nebraska, completing 24-of-his-31 pass attempts for 364 yards and four touchdowns, without throwing an interception. Jacorey Barney Jr. was his go-to target. Barney finished the game with a team-high seven catches for 132 yards.

Nebraska will look to keep its momentum rolling this Saturday as it squares off against Houston Christian at 11 a.m. CDT. The game will air live on FS1.