Matt Rhule 'pissed off' at himself, Nebraska coaches for loss against Minnesota

Nebraska opened the season with a 5-1 record and climbed to No. 25 in last week’s AP Top 25 Rankings, its first appearance in the Top 25 since Sept. 2024. With an opportunity to get to 6-1 and climb even higher however, the Huskers were walloped on the road 24-6 by Minnesota last Friday night.

The loss was extremely ugly, as Nebraska was outgained 339-213 and quarterback Dylan Raiola was sacked nine times. It jumped ahead 3-0 thanks to a field goal as time expired in the first quarter, but was then outscored 24-3 over the remaining three quarters.

Head coach Matt Rhule was visibly frustrated with himself and the coaching staff during Monday’s press conference. During his mini tirade, he blamed himself and the coaches for the blowout loss.

“It wasn’t good enough,” Rhule said. “I think I’ve been honest with you guys so I’m saying it wasn’t good. I’m pissed off. I’m pissed off at the coaches. I’m pissed off at myself. I’m mad, so yeah. I don’t know how to say it any other way than that to be honest with you. Emmett (Johnson) ran the ball hard, but they blitzed us and we never made them pay. We got some big sets a couple of times and we had the ball in the red zone twice in the first half. You’ve got to score touchdowns. It’s a pretty simple game to me.”

Rhule takes full blame for disappointing blowout loss to Minnesota

“Run the ball, stop the ball, protect your quarterback, affect their quarterback, don’t beat ourself with penalties,” Rhule continued. “We get into the red zone and we dive on somebody’s head and get a targeting call. 4th & 3 you get a defensive holding. You can’t beat yourself with penalties. We haven’t taken the ball away on defense in two weeks. Those things all fall on me. I’m the head coach.”

The 18-point loss was just Nebraska‘s second loss by more than two possessions over the past two seasons. Through seven games, the Cornhuskers now sit at 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Big Ten play. Their dreams of making a push for the College Football Playoff are all but over, but they can secure bowl eligibility with just one more win. In the six seasons prior to Rhule’s arrival, the Huskers didn’t hit the six-win mark.

They’ll look to bounce back at home on Saturday against Northwestern, which has rattled off three consecutive conference victories (UCLA, Penn State and Purdue). Kick-off is scheduled for 12:00 PM ET. The game can be seen on FS1.