Are you out on Rhule?

[Dawgsauce]

Again, it’s not static.

Winning 10 with our ’24 or ’25 schedules likely leaves us outside the playoffs.

Maybe. I have to see what other craziness happens by seasons end. SEC last year whole landscape changed drastically next to last weekend. Depth on top teams is thinner than ever. An injury can change a teams expectations instantly. Lower teams now often have more than a punchers chance in games against higher ranked teams. Go 11-1 this year though and don't have to worry about it. 10-2 is still a maybe for me. I agree year three Rhule narrative needs to die, but you want to see improvement each year. 10 or 9 wins is that improvement. Doesn't mean that's his ceiling at all.

 

[Quint]

Maybe. I have to see what other craziness happens by seasons end. SEC last year whole landscape changed drastically next to last weekend. Depth on top teams is thinner than ever. An injury can change a teams expectations instantly. Lower teams now often have more than a punchers chance in games against higher ranked teams. Go 11-1 this year though and don't have to worry about it. 10-2 is still a maybe for me. I agree year three Rhule narrative needs to die, but you want to see improvement each year. 10 or 9 wins is that improvement. Doesn't mean that's his ceiling at all.

Zero argument from me.

 

[DrinkItIn]

Maybe. I have to see what other craziness happens by seasons end. SEC last year whole landscape changed drastically next to last weekend. Depth on top teams is thinner than ever. An injury can change a teams expectations instantly. Lower teams now often have more than a punchers chance in games against higher ranked teams. Go 11-1 this year though and don't have to worry about it. 10-2 is still a maybe for me. I agree year three Rhule narrative needs to die, but you want to see improvement each year. 10 or 9 wins is that improvement. Doesn't mean that's his ceiling at all.

Totally agree. Winning in college football is harder now than it’s ever been. Between the transfer portal, NIL, and constant roster turnover, maintaining depth and stability is almost impossible. Every week feels like a toss-up, and even mid-tier programs have enough talent to challenge the top teams. The margin for error has never been smaller.

In today’s college football landscape, going 9–3 or 10–2 is a significant accomplishment. With so much parity and movement across rosters, winning consistently requires more than just talent — it takes adaptability, culture, and a little luck.

What’s frustrating is how many Husker fans can’t seem to grasp that reality and remain stuck in the past. The game has completely evolved, and 9 or 10 wins today carry far more weight than they ever did before.

 

[Toe]

My mood is pretty much take a deep breath, shake my head, and take the W.

If we can keep finding a way to win ugly, I'll take that over another seven years of close losses...

 

[Alcaus]

Winning 8-9 would be a breakout in my mind for a program that hasn’t done it since 2016.

 

[Ext. 55]

The psychotic PTSD, irrationality, and just plain WTF runs deep.

Just read a poster say we will prolly win 8 or 9 games, but it’s not the big year three jump and we don’t look good in some parts of our game and it should be better.

pre-season…virtually this entire board says 7-5 or 8-4 is predicted and 8-4 to 9-3 would be a big step in recruiting potential, and improving the program.

Then…when we are on the 8-4 to 9-3 trajectory, a significant population goes full retard when the team is doing what everyone thought they would.

Never change y’all.

 

[Ext. 55]

So’s my neighbor.

She’s a PSU grad and has an extremely high level of ass pain after the loss to UCLA. Had a meltdown after Oregon beat them and said he needed to get serious or get gone.

Serious ass pain…did she have to give up the two hole because they lost!?

Bully to him, huh!?!

 

[HCFord1]

10 games a year not the same now as when Pelini got 10. That gets you in playoffs most years probably.

What a lot of people are forgetting about the Pelini years is that outside of 2009-2010, when he had a defense comprised of studs recruited by the previous staff, losing 1-2 games in blowout fashion was a staple amongst an otherwise “successful” 9 win season. Tack on 1-2 wins that almost seemed to be gifted from the heavens each year.

These days if we’re winning 9 games and keeping the losses competitive, I will be much more optimistic than I was in 2014.

 

[huskerj12]

I think at this point I’m good with saying we’re not going to have a typical ‘Rhule breakout year three’.

Gotta keep in mind, his famous Year 3 at Baylor happened with a whooooooole lotta incredibly close games. They had 3 games go into overtime, and 5 of their 11 wins were by one score. Winning ugly close games is a key part of going from a bad team to a potentially good team someday. We're progressing!

 

[Driveway Jordan]

My mood is pretty much take a deep breath, shake my head, and take the W.

If we can keep finding a way to win ugly, I'll take that over another seven years of close losses...

THIS.

 

[cwessel76]

Winning 8-9 would be a breakout in my mind for a program that hasn’t done it since 2016.

If guaranteeing us a nine win season meant selling a kidney on the Russian black market, 99% of us would gladly do it.

 

[cwessel76]

Gotta keep in mind, his famous Year 3 at Baylor happened with a whooooooole lotta incredibly close games. They had 3 games go into overtime, and 5 of their 11 wins were by one score. Winning ugly close games is a key part of going from a bad team to a potentially good team someday. We're progressing!

Amen brother.

An ugly-ass win = a blowout win on the overall record.

 

[MaxHuskers34]

This team is still going 10-2. I've seen nothing that changes my opinion on that.

 

[cwessel76]

This team is still going 10-2. I've seen nothing that changes my opinion on that.

If we can squeeze out better OL play and the defense keeps progressing then I can see that as a possibility.

I’m in the 8-9 win camp myself.

 

[wildcat_husker]

What a lot of people are forgetting about the Pelini years is that outside of 2009-2010, when he had a defense comprised of studs recruited by the previous staff, losing 1-2 games in blowout fashion was a staple amongst an otherwise “successful” 9 win season. Tack on 1-2 wins that almost seemed to be gifted from the heavens each year.

These days if we’re winning 9 games and keeping the losses competitive, I will be much more optimistic than I was in 2014.

The Big 10 was arguably the worst power 5 conference back when Pelini was coaching and there was less parity.

9-10 wins in 2025 is much, much more impressive. The bad teams today are lightyears better than the bad teams during that time.

 

[Napkins]

Donovan Raiola. We get a 5-star legacy QB but we get a shit family member OL coach in return. CFBs conundrum.

The Raiola paradox: if you keep him you cannot protect him.

 

[cwessel76]

The Raiola paradox: if you keep him you cannot protect him.

Raiola’s Cat:

Dylan is both simultaneously alive/throwing to a check down receiver for a 3 yard gain or he’s dead/crushed by a 330 pound DT until recorded by an outside observer.

 

[Napkins]

Raiola’s Cat:

Dylan is both simultaneously alive and throwing to a check down receiver for a 3 yard gain or he’s dead/crushed by a 330 pound DT until recorded by an outside observer.

Dylan’s razor: the simplest check down is most likely the throw to be made.