Stukenholtz: We Are Watching Nebraska Evolve into Matt Rhule’s Image

Talk is cheap, and in a flat, hype-free offseason, Husker fans weren’t having it. If you wanted to elicit an eye roll, all you had to do was suggest Nebraska would win eight games. Maybe even seven would’ve done it.

NU fans had heard it all before. This time, the transfers will be good! The new coordinator will get them flying around! Matt Rhule always wins big in year three!

Blame the 3-game losing streak to end 2025, blame the basketball team drawing everyone’s attention, blame who or whatever you want.

Talking season was not the big deal it usually is around here ahead of the 2026 football season.

But you don’t have to talk the talk if you walk the walk.

And that’s exactly what Nebraska has done through four games.

As NU dominated Michigan State 31-13, it was evident that the football program’s hibernation was productive. Players and coaches appear to be in sync with each other and with the game plan. Physical gains were made by returning starters. The proverbial next step taken with improved on-field play.

Sure, there were press conferences at typical mile markers. Not much beyond that, though. Coaching hires, player acquisitions, mat drills, spring practices, summer workouts, fall camp, all with minimal public discussion. It was by design, too – no more House Rhules podcast, no more Pat McAfee Show appearances, and a scaled-back social media presence.

Now with a Big Ten opponent crossed off the list, it’s fair to say this team is playing up to the level Husker fans have hoped for. What’s more is this is becoming a team built in Matt Rhule’s image.

Rhule likes to tout his CEO-type leadership style. Hire and delegate. He still has the final say on whatever he wants, but it’s clear that Dana Holgorsen is running the show on offense and Rob Aurich is putting his stamp on the defense.

It was an uneven day offensively, with three 3-and-outs and a 4-and-out, plus two touchdown drives were extended by MSU penalties on a 4th-down punt and a personal foul before what would have been a 3rd & 14. But credit to Holgorsen and QB1 Anthony Colandrea for collecting six explosive plays (15+ yards passing or 10+ yards rushing), including a 17-yard scramble for Colandrea on 3rd & 10 and another 15 yards on a Luke Lindenmeyer catch-and-run on 3rd & 8 before halftime.

When the Spartans had the ball, it was the Rob Aurich show on full display. Nebraska’s new DC – a native of Spring Lake, MI, a village of less than 3,000 people about 100 miles west of East Lansing – was not shy about sending pressure in high-leverage moments. Linebacker Dawson Merritt blitzed through the middle for a sack. So too did safety Jamir Conn.

The play of the game had to be when nickel back Donovan Jones rushed Michigan State QB Alessio Milivojevic, hit him, stripped him, and dove onto the loose ball for a fumble recovery. It was one of three turnovers and one of six sacks on the day for the Blackshirts.

In addition to the coordinators finding success, how about the old coach’s adage of ‘next man up’ when a starter goes down? Freshman running back Jamal Rule, NU’s leading rusher on the year, did not return after an awkward twisting tackle on the last play of the first quarter. Mekhi Nelson and Isaiah Mozee stepped in with 61 and 23 yards rushing, respectively.

But I want to talk about North Platte’s finest, Vincent Genatone. The backup short-yardage back who spends most of his practice time on the scout team had a chance to make a play, and boy did he! Only on the field because Nebraska faced a 3rd & 1 in the final minute of the first half, Genatone picked up the first down, then lined up next to Colandrea for the next play as the game clock ticked down to ten seconds. He ran an underneath route, kept running towards the sideline and angled into the end zone with just two seconds left.

As if that wasn’t enough, Genatone scored the final touchdown in the 4th quarter to seal the game. Having been a walk-on himself, Matt Rhule couldn’t have been more excited to talk about the fifth-year player, one-time Husker linebacker, and transfer from Montana. In fact, Rhule gushed about Genatone in his halftime interview. Nobody likes to do those interviews, but Rhule couldn’t resist a good walk-on success story.

Sticking with the run game, there’s a very specific stat Rhule has desired: rushing for 75 yards in the 4th quarter. It means his team is probably winning, controlling the line of scrimmage, and putting the game away. This has been a struggle. Over Rhule’s three-plus seasons, here are the per *game* rushing totals: 136, 131, and 116. That’s the entire four quarters, not the 4th quarter.

Now in 2026 (I know what the four-team sample size is), it’s 236.5 rushing yards per game. And the 4th-quarter performances? 95, 64, 67, and 61 yards on the ground, or an average of 72 4th-quarter rushing yards per game.

Is this sustainable? Probably not against Ohio State and at least a couple of others on Nebraska’s schedule. But in four Big Ten games? Five? Maybe six? As of this writing, we don’t know the status of Jamal Rule, who averaged 110 rushing yards per game entering East Lansing. I will confirm that this is one helluva start, though!

As Matt Rhule has endeavored to build Nebraska football back into a contender, he has made undeniable progress. He’s made some great hires amongst some not-so-good ones. He’s trending toward a dominant 4th-quarter run game. And he’s instilled a mentality that lends itself to little-used backups being ready to contribute when their number is called.

Perhaps most importantly, Rhule has learned from his mistakes. The transfer portal results have continued to improve through the years. He made a midseason coordinator change and kept the old OC on staff (who does that?). He pivoted away from the wrong defensive coordinator after just one season, the wrong quarterback after two, and a special teams coordinator who – while excellent at special teams – wanted to coach a position but seemed to clash with other staff members.

For his next trick, can Matt Rhule guide Nebraska to their first 2-0 start in conference play since 2017? A win over Maryland at home would do just that.

Good teams tend to take on the personality of their coach. After a real Big Ten road win, Rhule and his Huskers are both on an upward trajectory.