By Rock Westfall
We must admit, we’ve heard it and felt it all before. In 2017, then-Nebraska head coach Mike Riley, fresh off a 9-4 bowl campaign, was touted at Big Ten Media Days as having a Nebraska team ready to contend for the Big Ten title in his third season. Instead, the roof caved in, and Riley was fired after a miserable campaign. In 2019, Riley’s successor, Scott Frost, and sophomore sensation QB Adrian Martinez arrived at Big Ten Media Days. The Big Red was touted as the dark horse team of the year with Martinez a betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy . Instead, Nebraska floundered and was never a factor. Frost was out three years later, having been one of the biggest flops in college football coaching history.
This week coach Matt Rhule addressed Big Ten Media Days with three players who forsook the chance to play in the NFL to remain Huskers and finish the job of restoring the Big Red to glory. While skeptics can say, “We’ve heard it all before,” there is a much different vibe to the 2024 Huskers. Nebraska is a culture-based program based on reality and substance with zero shortcuts. And its confident head coach expects big things in the season ahead. In response, the media has given its unanimous agreement.