Matt Rhule excited to rekindle Nebraska-Colorado rivalry
Nebraska and Colorado are slated to rekindle an iconic college football rivalry — one that particularly shined in the 1990s — when the two programs meet up in Week 2. New Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule is excited to get imbued in the rivalry.
Asked about the rivalry at Big Ten Media Days on Thursday, Rhule reflected on some of the great matchups between the Tom Osborne-led Cornhuskers and Bill McCartney-led Buffaloes. He’s hopeful that he and new Colorado head coach Deion Sanders can do the matchup justice.
“Well if you know me you know I love college football. I’m a college football junkie. So I remember the great days. Coach Osborne versus Coach McCartney. Rashaan Salaam, all the great players that played there. I think it’s good for college football. I think it’s great when we have regional rivalries when fans can drive to them. I think it’s good for the game,” Rhule said.
Nebraska and Colorado played annually from 1948 through 2010, when Nebraska and Colorado were eschewed from the Big 12 and joined the Big 10 and Pac-12, respectively. The two programs got together for a home-and-home series in 2018 and 2019, both of which were won by Colorado.
Now, the Cornhuskers and Buffaloes are set for a home-and-home in 2023 and 2024. Rhule doesn’t want this new blip in the rivalries history to get lost on Nebraska — or even his own family.
Rhule, when he was first taking the Nebraska head coaching job after the 2022 season, said he sat down with his wife and son and watched old highlights of Nebraska games.
He wanted his whole family to be on the same page in knowing what Nebraska football means and what it means to beat Colorado.
“As I was looking at this job, my son and wife and I we sat down and went on YouTube, watched some of the old games, wanted to make sure they understood what being at Nebraska means and what a game against Colorado means. I’m excited for it,” Rhule said. Obviously they’re doing a great job at Colorado and we’ll try to do our part to make sure it’s a great thing for college football.”
Rhule wants Nebraska to be ‘feared’ by opponents again
Rhule outlined his bigger picture vision for the program, which includes making multiple steps, one at a time.
The first is to earn respect.
“There was a time when Nebraska football was feared, and we certainly want to get back to that,” Matt Rhule said. “We want to be a team that you say, you know what, that team’s feared. But we’re not at that point yet. We’re at a point right now where I believe we have to take back the respect of what it means to play in Nebraska and to be Nebraska.”