Nebraska football's Matt Rhule makes eye-opening hire to help struggling offense
On the heels of three straight losses, Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule decided to make a change to his offense. Rhule made a late-season addition to the coaching staff by hiring former West Virginia and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen.
Holgorsen will assume the role of offensive consultant with the Cornhuskers, per ESPN's Pete Thamel. At the time of his hiring, Holgorsen held a minor role at TCU on Sonny Dykes' coaching staff.
As a coach, Holgorsen was most recently with Houston in 2023. He led the Cougars to a 13-2 season in 2021 but regressed in his next two years, leading to his firing just one year after signing a contract extension.
Before joining the Cougars, Holgorsen had a more successful eight-year tenure with West Virginia from 2011 to 2018. Seven of his eight years with the Mountaineers ended with a winning record, as opposed to just two of his five with Houston.
With three regular season games left in the year, Nebraska needs one more win to clinch a bowl appearance. Their high-powered offense — led by freshman sensation Dylan Raiola — has sputtered in the last few weeks, averaging just 15 points per game in their last three appearances.
The biggest concern for Rhule and Nebraska ahead of the end of the season will be Raiola's health. Raiola exited their Week 10 game against UCLA in the second half and did not return. He did, however, appear to believe the injury was minor after the game.
Nebraska's three-game stretch to end 2024
Like most Big 10 teams, Nebraska will have a bye in Week 11 before returning to close out the year with three final games. The Cornhuskers just need one win in their final three games to qualify for a bowl game but will be in a dogfight each time.
Nebraska's next outing will be on the road when they travel to the West Coast to take on USC in the Memorial Coliseum. Both teams will be coming off a bye in that game, with USC in an even more desperate state than Nebraska. The 4-5 Trojans need two wins to become bowl eligible at the conclusion of a mostly disappointing 2024 campaign.
After returning home from Los Angeles, Nebraska gets their final home game of the year in Week 13 against Wisconsin before hitting the road again. In the final week, they will be visitors in Iowa to end the season against the Hawkeyes for the fourth consecutive year.
