'I'm Here': Rhule Talks Love for Penn State & Nebraska, The Need for Greater Investment

LINCOLN—No time was wasted asking Matt Rhule about the topic of the day across college football.

His name has been mentioned in the wake of the Penn State firing of coach James Franklin. Rhule grew up a Nittany Lions fan and played at PSU in the 1990s.

Rhule mentioned his love for Penn State, where he met his wife Julie, and athletic director Pat Kraft, and his sadness for James Franklin.

"When you think about what he did for my alma mater," Rhule said. "The program was in peril. James takes over a program in disarray and gives stability, excellence. To see videos of people yelling at his kids—I just don't understand in our country now why coaches are villains."

James Franklin was fired on Sunday after a 3-3 start to the season. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Rhule also dove into how he feels about Nebraska, including athletic director Tory Dannen.

"Troy and I are in an unbelievable relationship, too," Rhule said. "Troy and I are in constant, constant, constant communication about this program and where we're headed."

Rhule noted that he chose to coach at Nebraska for two reasons.

"I love the community here and wanted to live here. I love it here. And I wanted to rebuild Nebraska football," Rhule said. "Troy and I understand the steps that you need to take to make us Big Ten champions and national champions. This place is elite.

"I want to be a great father and I want to be a great football coach. I absolutely love it here."

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule leads the team onto the field at Arrowhead Stadium before a game against Cincinnati. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

With the steps that Nebraska needs to take to become conference and national champions, Rhule has spoken about the level of investment being raised thanks to Dannen and the 1890 Collective. He added more to that Monday.

"The thing I've always said, we have to be unabashed. You can't always worry about the optics of everything. It's a really hard time in higher education; there's cuts. There's all these different things," Rhule said.

"But athletics here are a separate entity. We're not taking money from the university."

Rhule noted a quote from Oregon coach Dan Lanning that the Ducks are "investing to win".

"In a world of 30 and 40-million-dollar rosters, which isn't going away, I'd like us to do the same thing," Rhule said. "There's sort of like a, 'Hey, that's not really the Nebraska way.' I'd like it to be. I'd like to invest. I'd like to be at the front of everything.

"We have history here at being at the forefront in investing. I just don't want to stop that. I want to be the absolute best at it. I think we can be a perennial, one of the best teams in the country."

Team Meeting Room inside the Tom Osborne Legacy Complex. | Nebraska Athletics

Rhule also mentioned where the decision-making power lies in his family.

"Julie decides where we live," Rhule said.

On the field, Nebraska gave up a double-digit lead for the second straight week. And then, as the Huskers have done all season, they dominated the fourth quarter.

"I think they’re starting to figure out a) they’re a good team b) what we do works c) they understand we’ve got to continue to improve because there’s somethings we’re not doing," Rhule said. "A 10 point lead and a 14 point lead and we give them up, that doesn’t make any sense. Coming out of the half and not scoring, that doesn’t make sense.

"In the past three games after we have trailed in the second half, Dylan (Raiola) is 33-46 which is 71.7% for 357 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and we’ve scored on eight of our 12 drives. My job is how do we put it all together to get us to be able to do that all the time?"

Despite a trio of interceptions at Maryland, Dylan Raiola displayed his talents and poise when it was needed the most. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

NU is fighting history on a short week, headed to Minnesota for a Friday affair. The Huskers have not beaten the Gophers since 2018 and haven't won in Minneapolis since 2015.

"We haven't won road games in back-to-back weeks since 2006, which is mindboggling," Rhule said. "Quite a challenge. They've beaten us five times in a row. You know, for me it's a great measuring stick for where we were two years ago when we first got started to now."

You can watch the full media session from Monday below. Continue scrolling for more coverage.

Coverage

Husker247 | McGahee planning a redshirt year with no 5-in-5 rule passing on the immediate horizon
USA Today | Rhule addresses Penn State opening: 'I absolutely love it here'
CBS Sports | Rhule reaffirms commitment to Nebraska in wake of Penn State opening
Nebraska Athletics | Rhule quotes
Omaha World-Herald* | Shatel: Would Matt Rhule leave for Penn State? His answers seemed to leave the door open
Omaha World-Herald* | Rhule sees Minnesota game as measuring stick
Omaha World-Herald* | Rhule addresses Penn State opening, calls for continued Nebraska roster investment
Lincoln Journal Star* | Rhule praises leadership, gives injury updates ahead of short week
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From the Other Side

Daily Gopher | How nervous should we be about the offensive line and run defense?
Gopher Illustrated | P.J. Fleck details his Nebraska success and his appreciation for Matt Rhule
Gophers Nation | Everything P.J. Fleck said Monday — Nebraska week
Minnesota Star Tribune* | Five takeaways from P.J. Fleck’s news conference: Gophers are slow starters
Pioneer Press* | Nebraska coach Matt Rhule deals with Penn State questions
Minnesota Athletics | Fleck presser video

More Info

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

Aug. 28 Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
Sep. 6 Nebraska 68, Akron 0
Sep. 13 Nebraska 59, Houston Christian 7
Sep. 20 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27
Oct. 4 Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27
Oct. 11 Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
Oct. 17 (Friday) at Minnesota 7 p.m. FOX
Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CBS

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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