Everyone said the same thing after Matt Rhule lost his Nebraska debut
Matt Rhule’s coaching debut for Nebraska against the Minnesota Golden Gophers ended in familiar fashion at Huntington Bank Stadium on Thursday night.
The Cornhuskers lost their season opener 13-10 on a last-second field goal by Minnesota kicker Dragan Kesich.
KESICH CALLS GAME 🙌@GopherFootball WINS IT IN THE FINAL SECONDS 😱 pic.twitter.com/mg9U8lVfZi
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 1, 2023
Nebraska initially looked poised to win the contest with a field goal of their own before quarterback Jeff Sims threw an interception with 58 seconds left.
The defeat had Nebraska supporters reliving their worst nightmares under previous coach Scott Frost.
Social media was flooded with several comments about the Rhule era starting off with the same late-game meltdowns the Cornhuskers experienced under Frost.
Scott Frost started the tradition of losing 1-score games at Nebraska. And Matt Rhule has stepped in and embraced right off the bat.
— Dave Biddle (@davebiddle) September 1, 2023
I believe the official word for that is Frosted.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) September 1, 2023
There were also several memes clowning Rhule as if he were just Frost in disguise.
Matt Rhule Scott Forst pic.twitter.com/T6G13uNzSV
— Austin Mock (@amock419) September 1, 2023
— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 1, 2023
Nebraska has had a penchant for losing their composure late in games. Entering the season opener, the Cornhuskers led FBS in one-score losses (25) and blown leads in the second half of games (16) over the last five seasons. They are also 2-14 in games decided by one score since 2021.
Not ideal! pic.twitter.com/qyJ0GTncz6
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) September 1, 2023
Nebraska is now 2-14 in one-score finishes since the start of 2021. Genuinely incredible.
— Bill Connelly (@ESPN_BillC) September 1, 2023
Nebraska brought in Rhule to try and change the losing culture that emanated during the Frost era; the team was 16-31 under Frost. While Rhule is expected to be an upgrade over his predecessor, his first outing as head coach did not yield a much different result.