Nebraska Football: Matt Rhule press conference after UTEP (Aug. 31, 2024)

yeah I think I think the thing that I'm probably the most proud of was it was was I thought the um I thought the way they came out after the second half as I told them the team that maybe I I first knew would have been up 30 to 7 and would have relaxed and I challenged them you know hey we have to build a competitive stamina to play for 60 minutes and B you have to love your teammates enough to get all those the best part of that was seeing all those kids at the end getting you know guy like Maverick n and have a tackle for loss who missed a whole year with a knee injury or the guys who walk on the guys who on the scout team have a chance to play so that that to me was you know everyone will be walking around the building with a little bit more you know a little bit more uh um them in Vigor because they got a chance to play so that was awesome uh there's a lot of good things in the game obviously there's a lot of things we had to clean up one drive exposed us a little bit you know just the tempo they do such a great job with their Tempo and they're aggressive I really like their team um you know we wanted to give all of our guys a chance to play but you know didn't didn't want to embarrass him wanted to give Jaylen you know grams had a chance to throw the ball some and um you know they he it to the end I really like their team but happy with for our guys to come away with the win and get all those guys in the game so with that I'll take your questions I know it's first game and and you hav a chance to watch the tap your general impression of the way that not only threw the ball but managed moments in the first there were some good and there were some bad right so like the the best one was the like he he he three-way checked he he three-way checked the long run by EMT right like he checked it and then they kind of moved and he checked it back um and so then he checked it again and got us to that run so like when you have a freshman that's checking and reloading things a that's a that's an unbelievable job by sat putting those kinds of things in great job by Glenn teaching it great job by Dylan learning it and then also all the other the oine and all those guys may be on the right call there were some other things like there was a third and two where he heard RPO the receivers didn't you know so there were some of those moments right I thought I thought the biggest thing was you know we were I think uh until that last one we like 11 of 16 on on third down I think we probably finished 11 of 17 on third down a lot of those were runs late the game but I think we had some really big third down conversions and then you know I I told you I told you guys I think sometimes people think maybe I say things and I don't really mean sometimes cuz you know I say a lot of things but like with eight seconds left in a Timeout to take a shot in the end zone right that is saying that we're going to play the way we want him to play someday and I didn't call a timeout and say hey now remember you know hey get it up get it down and he took a shot and boom me so we we were I was really happy with that so I thought for a first game for Dylan a lot of great things I think there's a lot of things we have to clean up as a staff and um yeah we will is Guy waited a couple years to be football field himself can you say about his he end is that what he did I'm so happy for him yeah I thought that you know big big time Big Time catch you know down the sideline for that long ball you know we also had a lot of pass interferences right where we were we extended drives by taking shots down the field um he worked the middle of the field too you know some big catches on RP's going up you know he's not afraid to go up and extend it across the middle I thought really we got a contribution from pretty much everyone you know um big big third down by boner big third down by neor then then the shot to banks at the end so really happy for Isaiah um you know he does everything right for us you know um we got him Mitch had known him Mitch chinsky had known him in Texas said he was a great guy he's been a great addition and um you know that receiving core there was there was no jealousy out there today it was just an amazing vibe from those guys what did you think about that safety that kind of game yeah you know I mean we've worked so hard on not fumbling the ball and we talked all week about hey they're going to tackle us low and so for us to put that ball on the ground on the four yard line and um I went out to the defensive huddle I tried to say something Maris was like man we know what we're doing we've been here before like he was they were excited to play and um um you saw them I mean I don't even know I don't even know how that all happen I you know I didn't see you know I didn't see exactly what happened but I just saw guys playing really hard and fast on defense and so um that was great cuz it was such complimentary football because I think they kicked it to us you know jakori had a decent return um and then we went down and scored right so that was a nine-point swing and that that's kind of that's kind of you know we want to go on runs we want to score stop somebody get the ball back with good field position to score or kind of like that and and that that happened there mat you had 33 carries across those four running backs what did you learn about that group today I thought they all made plays you know the thing the shame of it with Dante you had that fumble but he was really running well you know Dante's done such a good job like at the end of the spring I would have probably put him at Fourth right and he's really brought himself where I think he was the first he was the second back in the game today and you know it's not really like hey this guys ramir went first you know it's kind of like hey ramir and Emma do the same thing so it's kind of you know a little different thing but Dante I thought he was really playing well running the ball well and then had that fumble right but uh happy to see him come back so um Gabe you know showed some really good plays EMT with the long run uh ramir I thought he ran hard so I was pleased with the whole group and Maurice got in there and played well too so about the offensive Liney enjoyed a clean Pock most of the day and also they help yeah I mean you know I don't I don't we finish with rushing but you know I mean we uh think two I don't know what what is it we finish with 57 yards but it's 223 yards rushing I mean um I thought I thought they were clean you know this is a team that Blitz us a lot you know we gave up one sack where you know Dylan had to come out and we got bit beat on a late twist and Dylan signaled something the receiver didn't get it that's one of those things going back to you know we have to be cleaner at when you when you play get in the Big 10 play you know you can't have Miss signals so we have to improve but um had that ball got out think we going come away one the day with no sacks and really again those third and 12 even you know we had that that unfortunate OPI moved us back it was like second and 17 or third and 17 we hit two plays in a row I thought the old line gave great great great protection and our backs do a good job of chipping which is really good how beneficial was it just to home the day in this type of setting compared to maybe a year ago you had to open on the road on a Thursday night sold out just to kind of build this team the way you build well I think first of all I'll say this it's a I mean there's not many places in the country where people stay that stay for the whole game the way our stands do I me it's unbelievable right like usually at the end of the game you can kind of yell out like hey you know run it give it to so and so run it and we're still having to use the headset I mean if you notice in the game I started off with a single we probably didn't notice but I started off with a single and I had to go to a double earphone today it was so loud on the field I was so loud it's loud on offense you know like we put Hinrich in and everyone got real loud and I'm kind of like I'm doing the old hey be quiet be quiet but um uh you know but it was great it was great to have that atmosphere have that crowd when you're at home you have all those kids that can get in the game last year was really tough you know I I've talked a lot about that but you last year's now kind of over so we got a chance to start our home we got off to a good start you know coming in you know some of the older guys were really happy they were saying they had never really experienced that kind of a game where the game was over at halftime really and it was you know they're watching all their young guys get in they had really maybe they have I don't know but they they said they hadn't had that we certainly didn't have that last year this game last year Louisiana Tech was what 284 or so um it was good to see them you know put it away for two on fourth down what's the biggest thing to fix I'm sorry yeah I I I didn't hear what you oh no sorry sorry 0 for two on fourth down what was the the biggest thing to fix going into Colorado uh 0 for we for two on fourth down yeah we had a couple I think that that got maybe got by penalty so um no I think I think we're going to go for on forth I mean the the last one was you know at the end where we don't want to you know we have the third Team guys out there but there's a lot of things we have to fix before Colorado um you know there's a lot of things we have to fix before Big 10 play nor this is game one you make your biggest jump you know before from game one to game two so I just felt like with our team we just really needed a play like we needed to get out there and play see what it looked like see what was good see what was bad and now we can go back and fix it like um thought igc did a nice job on the punt returns I thought Jak Cory was Dynamic on the kick returns so you know you see you know what I thought we got close to maybe blocking a punt you know so there's a lot of things though that I can go back now and say okay let's fix this that's why I'll say I'm sorry to inter say this that's why I thought it was really important at the end like I at the end you don't want to embarrass the opponent and they're so competitive but I thought it was really good we at least got to kick a field goal you know what I mean like we've talked so much about kick to kick a field goal I think was really important for us sorry you spent n months trying to the off part of that the picture that you saw today was that maybe the first step that you were hoping to see going into the game the way that they played the yard they gain in yeah you know um yeah we're a lot we're a lot I mean we're better than we were right and so uh you know even even the the crew that was here they said what do you want to see on offense I said well last time you called one of our games you called us a disgrace on offense so and they were kind of like oh we don't mean I said no no we were like I don't take that offense like that's where we were the thing I didn't do was overreact I didn't know fire sat and fire everybody I said okay we'll get a little bit better and now you're out there you know you see you see guys making plays you see the o line block and tight end I mean our tight end play today was excellent you know they had some catches but they had a lot a lot of key blocks so um you know our check game the ability to you know check the runs was so much better um so yeah I just think we're I just think we're better than we were and we're going to continue to get better and you know guys like jakori add a dynamic element you know now one of those plays got called back but that would have been a dynamic play the the big receivers made some plays so we're just better and but we have to get a lot better moving forward I don't but what is plus one on the turnover margin me today after yeah and let me ask you this did they count the safety as a turnover no well they they should I might do it in our building yeah that seems like a turnover does it not I mean I I was sitting there because we were minus one and then we did that and I was like okay we're even right now but um yeah you know and I was happy for ramir you're talking about a kid that I did not bring to camp okay did not bring the camp and over really over his body weight right and even in pregame today he said to me said hey I'm 205 you know which is what I told him I said if you're 205 you can play if you're 206 you can't play right which is funny me you know I me me fighting with guys about their body weight like call the C old black but um but uh you know but he made a play he's a really good football player and so I was so happy to see that I mean you know uh who else had one uh Malcolm had one you know so I mean um you know that that was good you know to be plus one and it's not like sometimes you guys have heard me say plus seven what I really would like to do is be like plus one plus two every game you know I don't want to have like hey we got seven in one game and that skews the numbers I just want to come out every game plus because you know a lot of these games are going to come down to the last possession if you can steal a possession then you have a chance and I think the safety is a way of stealing a possession reward wi so hard obviously yeah they but you know they had to they had to reward themselves like they had to go do it right and so um I feel like you know I feel like uh um I just there was such energy today in the meetings and the walkthroughs this has been a great week of practice there was so much energy about playing and then again the challenge at half time to come out in the second half and then they came out in the second half and I thought they played right and so you know I made this comment about all the fans who stayed to the very end but you know I thought our guys played hard to the very end and I thought their team played hard to the very end I mean I really respect that you know and so it wasn't one those sometimes you get those games right everyone starts throwing punches and it gets chippy and ugly and that was two teams that respected each other so that's what Nebraska football's about to me and it was it was good to be a part of it but I'm happy for our guys you know we're one know I told them I said I don't you know I'll answer the one I don't care about next week's game yet I'm GNA wake up tomorrow morning I'm going to enjoy this this was this was hard to do and they've worked really hard to get there we'll wake up tomorrow we'll start it all over again sorry thanks guys