Will 2025 Be a Breakout Year for Husker Football?

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule recently admitted he's under pressure this season to improve on last year's 7-6 season — the first winning season for the Huskers since 2016.

So why is there more pressure going into the 2025 season? Because at his head coaching job at Temple, the Owls improved from 2-10 his first year to 6-6 in year two In his third year, Temple finished 10-4. That was just the second 10-win season in program history.

In 2017, Rhule took the job at Baylor. That year, the Bears finished 1-11. In year two, they went 7-6. In his third and final year, the Bears went 11-3. That's the reason for the lofty expectations for Nebraska in year three of the Rhule era.

Can NU make a big leap forward this fall? For the answer, we need to see what improvements NU made in year two of the Rhule era (2024).

NU made some modest strides (mostly on offense) in 2024 over the previous year.

Where did NU improve in national statistical rankings (cfbstats.com)?

Season Record
2023: 5-7
2024: 7-6

Offense:
Scoring ppg: 23.5 (2024) compared to 18.0 (2023)
First Downs Made: 283 to 198

Passing offense
Yards Made: 2,969 to 1,631
Attempts, completions, INTs, TDs: 435-288-12-13 (261-136-16-10)

Rushing offense
Attempts, yards, TDs: *448-1,698-22 (478-2,122-16)
*Fewer rushing attempts, less yardage, but more TDs.

Total Offense: 4,667 to 3,753

Offense
Scoring: 103rd to 123rd)
Passing: 65th 129th
Total O: 94th to 117th

Defense
Rushing: 8th (9th)

Most of the areas NU didn't improve was on defense.

For example, NU allowed more points last year - 253 to 219 in '23. The Huskers allowed more rushing yards 1,316 to 1,115, passing yards 2,817 to 2,527and total yards 4,133 to 3,642.

In national rankings in scoring defense, NU fell from 13th to 17th. In pass defense, NU slipped from 40th to 65th. In total defense, NU dropped from 11th to 18th.

Regarding special teams play, NU dropped one slot from 70th to 71st in 2024. Not a big change, but for Nebraska to regain its position as a college football powerhouse, it can't settle for 70th in the country in anything.

To his credit, Matt Rhule made a few changes to his staff in the offseason including naming three new coordinators and hiring four new assistants. Time will tell if the changes will make the Huskers stronger this fall.

If it is to have a breakout year this year, Nebraska is going to have to show significant improvement between now and August 28th.

How 'Bout Them Huskers

This week, Will and I opine on Husker baseball, softball, volleyball, men's wrestling, the Crown Tournament, Husker spring football practice and the men's Final Four. Don't miss this week's podcast episode!

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