1-on-1 with DP – 93.7 The Ticket KNTK - How Serious of a candidate was Matt Rhule at Penn St? - July 27th, 2026 - 11:25am

Episode Date: July 27, 2026

How Serious of a candidate was Matt Rhule at Penn St?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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Once again, DP is headed out to Chicago for Big Ten Media Day. So that's a big part of our focus here today. Thanks to Downtown Lincoln, our sponsor here on the show. But also thanks to our sponsors for Big Ten Media Day, San Hills Global, Gary Michaels, Clothiers, Warhorse Casino, and Ben Bliker. professional realty group. Once again, also keep in mind, old school today will be live from You Stop over there at 200 West Aramant Lane over there by the Warhorse Casino. Luke Lindenmeier, Nebraska Football tied in, will be signing autographs and taking pictures for free from 3 to 430.

Free hot dogs and Dr. Pepper from 3 to 5 by the Budweiser grill over there. It is in the shade. So that will be good. We'll be a fun time and myself and Harrison will be out there. So if you kind of like what we're talking or specifically don't like what we're talking. You can come out there and tell us all about it tomorrow or excuse me today here at 3 o'clock. And once again, they sorts in Rudy, some of our other ticket personalities will be out there as well. Should be a lot of fun. We were going over the Big Ten media poll via via Cleveland.com. Once again, it is the unofficial official Big Ten poll because the Big Ten doesn't do one themselves. So Cleveland.com has taken care of that for the conference for years.

I didn't want to get to some of your guys' response here. Dave Rasker says, my outlook for Husker football this season, hurry up and get it over is so I can concentrate on Husker basketball. That is an interesting way to do it. Never heard that in my entire career. I don't think so. But I do love Husker basketball.

So I do understand that at the same time. I mean, you're picking between children there. I mean, you still got to focus on Husker football, I think, but maybe he's been let down enough, I suppose. D-Man asked this question. He says I asked it before. I'm very curious. Is Matt Campbell a struck out on Matt Rule higher?

Because that sounds crazy to me. I don't know. Listen, I'll say it. I don't think Matt Rule was ever the guy. I don't think Penn State was ever serious. I think they struck out on others before they got to Campbell. I don't.

And that's why the extension doesn't make sense to me. I'm not going to sit here and bash Matt Rule for taking the money, but I really don't. I don't think he was a serious. his candidate, unless you do, but I don't think Penn State was ever going to give him a call. I mean, I think he got, I think he was in the discussion and maybe placed higher in that order because, like you said, they, you know, started not getting the response that they wanted or getting the top guys in the industry. I mean, I think it could have been, it could have played out

had Matt Rule had some success here and you see a year three jump from Nebraska, right? So I think that it's all kind of the timing of it, right? Remember, year and it's so different than this year where it's like, uh, didn't happen, uh, all the stuff, you know, and so it's just kind of this mosey and around the off season. Last off season was like, it's year three Matt rule. Dilma Rillo, year two. This is the year. This is going to happen. We've been waiting for it. Season rolled out. Yeah. And it's like, all right, we look great against Houston Christian, but some of these other, like even the Michigan state game, like special teams are better. Boy, there's some close calls in that Michigan state. And we really didn't

take it off until third and fourth quarter, Northwestern. It took a touchdown at a halftime on the return kickoff to like kind of swing that game in our favor. Even if like say we don't give Matt Rule the extension yet and he wins that game against USC, like is that enough to make Penn State think like yeah, he's the guy for the job? Again, like you're replacing James Franklin. Matt Rule is a great program builder at Temple Baylor yet to be seen here at Nebraska. Penn State's not building a program.

The programs, the foundation's there. They needed somebody to take it over the top. And not that Matt Ruhl can't do it. He just hasn't done it yet in his college career. So that's where I really would be hard pressed. Outside of him being like a consideration call, because he does have ties with the AD. I don't think it was ever like a real, real candidate unless they start getting

towards the bottom of their list. Like we just need to get somebody because no one wants the job right now. Well, it just would have been so interesting. Again, part of it is how this play. doubt. I think with the Michigan loss, you know, had they beat Michigan, I think it would have definitely been higher on the list. Remember, because then at that time, Nebraska would have been undefeated. I still think that Minnesota game, not only soured the Husker season, but it's kind of soured Penn State maybe's idea of, because that was, remember, that was all the hype, that was

that week where it's like, you couldn't, all around ESPN, as Matt rule, you know, the Penn State guy. And it was weird because I did seem to get like national attention, which, like, like, more like focused us on like the local attention had to like kind of keep up I suppose because nationally that was kind of it was the big story and the obvious name to be speculated because of the ties like you said with the AD and in the fact that he went to Penn State and played there but again I just think the season would have to play out differently I think he was in there I think he was probably a candidate but it just didn't play out the way that they needed to but the one thing that was always going to hurt in that discussion to your point earlier

was that James Franklin's problem was the big game. Matt Rule hasn't beaten top 25 teams since, what, 2016? Yeah, he hasn't, doesn't have a great record. Right. Those top 25 opponents either. Yeah, the one unquote big game. So even if he's got one under his belt, it's not something that he's consistently done. And again, when you're flipping over programs, you're going to lose those early until you get to that point.

But it's just, to me, the whole thing was utterly. bizarre because even that Michigan game that you brought up like yeah does that maybe if we win that game like just take the Minnesota game out of example they didn't have the Sharon Moore and obviously now saying that it's like maybe it's a good thing but they didn't have Sharon more there head coach remember he chose not to be at that game shows that he wasn't yeah that much not Nebraska was a wasn't a threat enough to make him think I need to be there for that game on the road in Memorial Stadium I think it was a morning game too or at least afternoon Yeah, I remember that. Either way, it should feel like an environment you should respect,

but maybe it's kind of telling to where we are as Nebraska football fans. They had pogey, pokey. It's a pokey or pokey? I can never remember. We have pogey is what I said it. Yeah, pogey. And he said it, like, they asked him and he said, we were physically dominating them right now. And they were like at every element of it. So like, again, that's even that game on itself, even if it gets a little bit like, we didn't stand a chance, unfortunately. So that game right there, to tell me how far were we from Michigan. And then you fall off the games after it.

And it's like, and we're still struggling with the middle tier teams too. So again, I know I'm repeating myself here, but to the textor's point, I can remember who it was. Like I'm not saying that they went to Campbell because they couldn't get rule. I think they would have gotten to Campbell before rule anyways. I think he definitely would have got consideration. But I don't think he was ever like their guy that they truly wanted to land. Yeah.

Well, and I think it became pretty clear they didn't have that guy. They just, you know, and I think that's often the problem is let's fire this guy. And you hope every AD should have a list of the 10 calls he would make if his coach resigned that day. I honestly believe that. And it should change. If you need to change it, that should be part of your kind of thing. You should always have a backup plan. And I'm sure, again, they probably had some ideas and then made some calls and found out those ideas weren't going to work.

And then, you know, then they kind of start back over. Yeah, that's kind of interesting. And we got a few questions there, too. Somebody says, so if Matt Rould did leave, would we probably be now coached by Matt Campbell? And that's just hard. I mean, Matt Campbell's always been a name that is of interest, again, to Nebraska because he's winning at what we deem,

I suppose, as a lesser program there at Iowa State, certainly is historically. It's kind of in that LIPold category. Lipold was always one of those names. I kept resurfacing for Nebraska hiring. you know, I don't, I can't answer that if we would go bring on Matt Campbell, but he'd probably be in the consideration for it. Yeah.

Nebraska. We wouldn't be able to go pick the, I don't think if you'd get to cherry pick the next coach. I think we'd have to be. Well, that's, yeah, that's what I would think, too. I don't know if he'd be your top choice to be in state, but where Nebraska has been. I mean, he's in, you know, and especially the buyout.

You know, all that sort of stuff that would have played in. But, you know, they, well, it wouldn't have been fired. So they wouldn't have to worry about the buyout, I suppose. But it, yeah, I mean, I don't think that, to your point, I don't think they'd have the top pick and Matt Campbell would have always kind of been a possibility there. We don't have to worry about it. You know, it is kind of fun to talk about and go back on that because it was such a wild situation. But I think that that, when you talk about, I always talk about believe, like, do you believe in your coach or are you kind of rooting for your coach, right? I mean, you, you know, all that sort of stuff. And I still think that that, I mean, that Maryland, the Minnesota game might have,

turned it for some folks. And I yeah, myself, myself particularly, even go kind of going from, okay, I like, I know where this is heading. I like this is headed to. Okay, now I'm kind of cheering. Yeah, I got to the rooting point. After Minnesota, I was like, all, it's not panic. Great coaches have weird days. Uh, but then Penn State is like kind of embarrassing. I was like, okay, yikes. I get it. They don't have. Franklin, they still have all the talent. Well, they still just completely humbled us. Okay, can we tune it up into Iowa?

Humbled again. Can we tune it up to Utah? Humbled again. I mean, those three games. That's the point where even if you were not rooting, but you were like, you truly believe Matt Roles, the guy. Like those three games, it was hard to hold on to that belief. And I'm not here to say it's over now. Matt Ruhl can't do it. I hope you can. But I'd be lying to say, like, I'm not. more in that rooting category. Now,

the recruiting classes are great. So he's doing something great on that end. But this 2026 year, he's got to show development because of them 27 rolls in. It's more like 28, 29 before we see the development of those guys. It's still a long road for Oscar football to get back to that place. And I think that was probably the most telling thing of last season was we're, year three, all the hoopla, we're still not close. Yeah. And that's what I do think, you know, and especially there at

the end like you're saying the belief versus hope category and i think that's part of the maybe quite kind of the quiet front here of the offseason or nebraska fans not as much going on message board and saying we're going to win this game in that game because that that was a very humbling process especially there at the end of the year um i've never felt that help us watching football yeah like which is that says a lot right there and that statement but uh i don't know if i've had a series of a season like that were minnesota kind of readers its ugly head that i don't know where this team is totally yet. And to get blown out in that fashion, I can't remember a time where we got blown out that

bad in three games in order, just like that, just one, two, three. And there was nothing you could pull that, like, gave you a ton of belief following outside of like guys like Jenkins, you know, a few key players here and there, but there's so many question marks. Now, it doesn't mean, again, like, it doesn't mean those question marks can't get answered this upcoming season. DP says it all time. I think it's actually a very true statement.

Like you can, the health of a program can be deciphered by how many questions you have about them. Yeah. Heading into year four, it's not good that I feel like I have more questions than ever. Doesn't mean they can't be answered, but we are heading into this year with a lot. Yeah.

And just in general, it doesn't matter year three, four, eight, 10. If you have, there's not too many streaks, you can't,

you're not going to get that three game streak. If you do that more often than not, eventually it's going to catch up to you, right? I mean, I just don't know how many times. you're going to be able to fight through that at a place like Nebraska. So hopefully they get that turnaround.

We don't see anything that ugly. We'll continue this discussion. Come up next is one-on-one on 93-7, The Ticket. Watch live on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitch. You're listening to One-on-One with DP on 937 the Tickets and the Ticketfm.com.