Matt Rhule reveals his message to Nebraska fans after disappointing season

Although it entered the season with College Football Playoff aspirations, Nebraska sits at 7-5 following its 40-16 blowout loss to Iowa in its regular season finale. The Cornhuskers opened the year 5-1 and jumped into the AP Poll Rankings at No. 25, but finished the season with a 2-4 mark over their final six games.

Nobody was more disgusted with Saturday’s loss than Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule, who admitted that fans had a right to be upset with the way the season ended. The end to the season hurts even more, as Rhule signed a two-year extension through the 2032 season on Oct. 30.

“I think people have a right to be upset with the way it ended” Rhule said. “For me, all I can say is that I have some of the best recruits here today. I’m going to continue to work as hard as I can and as long as I can, and I’m going to surround myself with some really positive people. Not toxic people. I’m just going to continue to try and move the program forward.”

“This group of guys is the first group to be bowl eligible two years in a row since 2013-2014. Is it enough? No. But is it better than it was? Yes. But if I’m a fan right now, I’m mad. I’m walking off the field and some people are supportive, and good for them. They’re passionate about this place. I love being the head coach of Nebraska. I love being at Nebraska, because people are passionate about this. So I don’t want it to be hope. It just wasn’t good enough, man. Today just has to be that. Don’t be super toxic to the players though, put it on me.”

“I’m in charge of this. Troy (Dannen) and (the administration) extended me. They believe in me, but all of a sudden we lose these last two games. I’m pissed off at myself. But, I know where we’re headed. I know what we’re doing and that we’re moving forward, and I believe in what we’re doing and that the recruits are bought into us. I don’t want to overreact, but these last two games weren’t good enough.”

Matt Rhule falls short of goal of being in the hunt for College Football Playoff

As Rhule touched on, Nebraska is bowl eligible for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-2014. However, a 7-5 finish and a mid-tier bowl game is much different than hunting for the College Football Playoff, which Rhule claimed would be the Huskers main goal entering the season.

“I want to get to the College Football Playoff,” Rhule said on the first episode of House Rhules back in August. “I mean, that’s why we’re doing all this, right? Like, you’re doing all of this to have a chance to get to the College Football Playoff. And so I think what’s really unique, what’s interesting is, like, you look at Ohio State last year, my boy Ryan Day, former Temple Owl Ryan Day, right … When was the last time you lose the last game of the regular season you can make it into the playoffs? It’s never happened before. You can finish 10-2 … and the great job he did of getting him into the playoffs. 

“And so for me, what I saw last year was like, hey, just get your guys to the tournament. So that’s our goal. Man, like, I mean, we want to be a great team. We want to win every game, we want to make people proud. We want to play the game the right way. There’s a lot of other things, but, you know, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that. We want to go to the CFP, because once you get in, man, who knows what can happen? It’s the team that’s the hottest that makes it happen.”

Through three seasons now in Lincoln, Rhule has led the Huskers to a 19-18 (10-17) record. His program however is now 0-8 against ranked opponents, which seems to be a massive hurdle for Rhule and Nebraska. It would now be best case scenario for the program to win a bowl game for the second consecutive season and ride that momentum into a stronger 2026 campaign.