When Matt Rhule’s Tough Choices Must Reach the Press Box
Matt Rhule has already proven he is willing to make difficult staffing changes when a direction stalls. In 2024, the Nebraska head coach demoted longtime assistant Marcus Satterfield midway through the season and fired Ed Foley shortly after. He also moved on from defensive coordinator John Butler after just one season. Now, according to an analysis by Jeremy Pernell, Rhule faces another difficult decision that is getting easier by the week: moving on from offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
The once-innovative offensive mind has seen his unit become stagnant. Despite fielding as much offensive talent as Nebraska has seen in at least a decade, the team cannot generate consistent offense against quality competition. The struggle has been apparent since the Huskers entered the meat of their Big Ten schedule against equal or greater opponents, mirroring a persistent trend of Holgorsen’s tenure since arriving in November 2024.
The Collapse After a Five-Game Start
Nebraska opened this season with five consecutive wins, building strong optimism in Lincoln during Rhule’s fourth year. However, the team has since dropped three straight games against Indiana, Oregon, and Washington. As the competition stiffened, the offense grew progressively less effective.
The Huskers managed just 17 points against Indiana and 14 points against Oregon. Following a bye week, the offense produced a dismal 10 points in a 17-10 home loss to Washington on Halloween night. Over those three games, Nebraska totaled 41 points, scored just five touchdowns, and averaged 13.7 points per contest. Meanwhile, Rob Aurich’s defense held Indiana to 20 points, Oregon to 17, and Washington’s offense to just 10. Nebraska held fourth-quarter leads in all three defeats.
Holgorsen described Big Ten football to reporters as a “race to 21” points, noting the difficulty of scoring consistently against conference defenses.
Playcalling and Personnel Mismatches
The Washington matchup laid bare the offensive disconnect. The Huskers stumbled early when Anthony Colandrea threw interceptions on the first two possessions. Despite eventually putting together a 95-yard touchdown drive, the offense struggled. Colandrea finished the evening struggling through his worst outing as a Husker.
The timing of the offensive struggles compounds the questions surrounding the scheme. Critics note that Holgorsen’s system frequently asks Colandrea to operate from a crowded pocket through full-field progressions, while Colandrea’s success at UNLV in 2025 included throwing for 3,459 yards and rushing for another 649 while accounting for 33 total touchdowns.
As the losses mount, the question for Rhule is no longer whether Holgorsen can game-plan against overmatched opponents, but whether this iteration of the offense can deliver against the tier of teams Nebraska needs to beat.
