The Biggest Week of the Matt Rhule Era Is Here; It's Time for Nebraska to Take the Next Step

Nebraska won again Saturday, dispatching Houston Christian 59-7. For the second straight season, and only the third time in the last decade, Nebraska is 3-0.

Going back to last season, Nebraska has now won four games in a row, something they haven’t done since winning the 2015 Foster Farms Bowl and starting 2016 7-0.

It ended the longest such streak in program history.

And now, the biggest week for Nebraska football in close to a decade has finally arrived. Michigan is coming to town, and with that, a chance for Nebraska to start 4-0 for the first time in nine seasons. A chance for Nebraska to pick up its first win over a ranked opponent in… nine seasons. A chance to beat Michigan for the first time since 2013.

A chance to show the growth of the program – the growth promised with a Matt Rhule year three – is finally here.

No pressure.

We’ve learned some things about Nebraska through three weeks, even in the last two games. At the very least, this is a program that can now play in games against teams like Houston Christian and Akron and not play with their food. They can get in and out of a football game, dispatch an overmatched opponent, and move on to the next week. That’s different than what we’ve seen around here in recent seasons.

But there’s a difference between beating a couple of tomato cans by a combined 100+ points and beating a team like Michigan.

I love games like this. I love weeks like this.

There’s nothing like a matchup in college football that seemingly means everything. One of those games you’ll find yourself thinking about at random intervals in a day without any notice.

When you’re inside the grocery store.

When you’re walking your dog.

When you’re laying down to go to sleep.

One minute, you’re thinking about anything but the game; the next, it’s the only thing that’s on your mind. Because you know – you absolutely know – that a win in this game would represent something your favorite team has been chasing after. Something they’ve long wanted but haven’t been able to grasp. It’s a moment in time where everything can change. A new path finally realized.

For Nebraska football, that path is relevance.

Think of what is at stake for Nebraska football this week.

Think of what is at stake for Dylan Raiola this week.

Dylan Raiola is averaging 276.3 yards per game has 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. — Dylan Raiola is averaging 276.3 passing yards per game has 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Can he put together another near-flawless performance vs. Michigan? | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Nebraska’s five-star quarterback is about to get his national close-up. The first three weeks of the season went about as well as you could have hoped, but he didn’t come to Nebraska to throw for a lot of yards and scores against schools like Akron and Houston Christian. He came to Nebraska for opponents like Michigan. He came to Nebraska to play against top-25 teams and to bring Nebraska back into the rankings in the process.

After an offseason filled with quarterback lists and tiers that put him behind guys like DJ Lagway and Mark Gronowski, this is his moment. An opportunity to remind so many why he held the lofty recruiting ranking he did - a consensus five-star, one of the highest-ranked players in the 2024 recruiting class - and why he made the right decision in choosing to come to Nebraska.

He can become his own quarterback this week. Sure, the comparisons to Patrick Mahomes will never totally disappear, but if he leads this program to a win over that program, it’s another step forward for him as his own person.

Think about what is at stake for John Butler this week.

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler before the Huskers' game against the Akron Zips on Sept, 6, 2025 — Saturday's game against Michigan marks the biggest test yet for Nebraska's defensive coordinator, John Butler. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“Yeah, but what will happen when they play Michigan?” How many times have you heard (or maybe even said) that through the first three games?

As good as the defense has been – as good as the pass defense has been – this is the game we’ve been looking forward to. We need answers. We’ll get a lot of them against the Wolverines.

Is the run defense good enough?

Is the pass rush good enough?

Is the tackling good enough?

Can they slow down a mobile quarterback, or will Bryce Underwood flummox the defense on the ground* like Cincinnati QB Brendan Sorsby did in the opener?

*What’s interesting about Underwood is that, for all of his mobility, he hadn’t really run the ball that much before this weekend’s game against Central Michigan.

Is the defensive backfield really this good?

By 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, we’ll know.

Think about what is at stake for Matt Rhule this week.

Nebraska’s third-year* head coach enters the most massive week of his Nebraska coaching career.

*Did you know it’s Matt Rhule’s third year?

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule during the Huskers' game against Akron on Sept. 6, 2025, in Lincoln. — Matt Rhule hasn't beaten a ranked team in his short time as Nebraska's head coach. Can that change Saturday against Michigan? | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Down one path, Nebraska sits 60 minutes from the end of a nine-year streak for the program without a single win over a ranked team; Rhule’s first as a head coach of the program. A talking point erased in the blink of an eye. An opportunity for his Cornhuskers to enter the top 25 for the first time in a calendar year and truly announce themselves as a different Nebraska program than we’ve seen around here for a decade.

Down the other path, Nebraska sits 60 minutes from being the same program they’ve been; good enough to beat the bad teams, not good enough to beat those that are on their level or better. It would mark the second time in as many Septembers where a ranked team came into their house for an early-fall matchup and left by taking their soul. The big game feeling fans enter Memorial Stadium with turns into a slow shuffle out; “I guess we’re not good enough yet.”

But they are good enough.

This is a game Nebraska should win. Not because they’re better than Michigan; I don’t know if they are. This is a game Nebraska should win because it’s time. It’s time to show the program has improved. It’s time to welcome a program of this caliber into their house, in what is essentially a coin flip game, and lean on the homefield advantage, experienced coordinators, and burgeoning star sophomore QB.

It’s time to show the demons of old are gone.

The promise of the Matt Rhule era could arrive on Saturday.

Let’s see if it does.

Agree or disagree, if you have a comment for Josh, send him an email: joshpeterson.huskermax@gmail.com.

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