Matt Rhule says peers to blame for broken college football narrative
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CHICAGO – Matt Rhule is taking aim at his fellow college football coaches.
Nebraska’s fourth-year coach has a message.
“I think one of the narratives that's out there right now, that is really perpetuated by coaches, is that college football is broken,” Rhule told reporters Thursday, July 30, at Big Ten Media Days. “Like, college football is as great as it's ever been. And maybe there are things that some of us don't like, but like I think viewership last year was near an all-time high or (was) an all-time high.
“Teams that have never been in the mix for a national championship are now in the mix for championships, there’s more access than ever before. Football is as great as it's ever been.”
Rhule’s retort on the state of the sport came on the heels of being asked about the Cornhuskers’ nonconference schedule — both this year and in the future. Nebraska opens its 2026 season with back-to-back home games against MAC teams — Ohio, Sept. 5; Bowling Green, Sept. 12 — before hosting Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) program North Dakota.
The Cornhuskers bought out a home-and-away series with Tennessee, which was scheduled for the 2026-27 seasons.
Should at least one Power Four nonconference opponent be required for all Big Ten teams?
“We have Arizona on the schedule, I'm not sure if that's maybe ’28 or ’29,” said Rhule, who is 19-19 atop the Nebraska program. “We have Oklahoma, which is a very important series, obviously, to Nebraska.
“I think that that's a question for Tony (Petitti, Big Ten commissioner)… I think if we go into a 24-team playoff, then it makes full sense to me. It's never been about what the requirement is;. it's is the requirement the same for everybody else? Like in the NFL, one team doesn't play more games than the other. We're in conferences; like, you know, one maybe plays nine conference (games), one plays eight. I think we should always make it the same. I think when things are transparent and they're equal, the best way to settle these things is on the field.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Rhule says peers to blame for broken college football narrative
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