Nebraska Cornhuskers HC Matt Rhule Addresses Belittling Paul Finebaum Comments

Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule finally addressed the comments made about him and the Huskers program by ESPN media personality Paul Finebaum.

Finebaum attacked Rhule and the Huskers after Rhule had high praise for the potential of the Big Ten Conference in 2024.

Nebraska Cornhuskers HC Matt Rhule said the Big Ten is college football’s best conference

The comment made by Rhule that initiated a response from Finebaum came when he said that a certain number of teams in the Big Ten have a really good chance at making it to the new 12-team College Football Playoff format.

According to an article from On3, Rhule said that the conference is good enough to put four teams into the College Football Playoff every single year.

“I think we’ll have a lot of access to the College Football Playoff,” Rhule said Wednesday at Big Ten Media Days. “I think four teams from this league should get in every year because this is the best league. This is the NFL of college football, in my mind. It stretches from coast to coast, different time zones, different weather.

“That’s not to diminish any other league. The SEC is amazing, these other leagues are great. But the challenge in the Big Ten is going to be really difficult. Travel, weather, and great teams.”

Paul Finebaum attacked the Nebraska Cornhuskers and HC Matt Rhule

Finebaum was asked what he thought about Rhule’s comments by fellow ESPN analyst Mike Greenberg, who phrased the question by claiming Rhule said there should be four automatic bids from the Big Ten, which is not what Rhule said in his original quote.

Finebaum then attacked Rhule as a head coach, even beyond what he’s done while a member of the Big Ten. Finebaum said that Rhule should worry about making a bowl game before worrying about the “big boys.”

Paul Finebaum implores Matt Rhule to “stay in your lane.”

“Don’t worry about the big boys because you’re not one of them…You’re talking like you belong at the table with Ohio State and Georgia — you don’t…And leave the punditry to the professionals.” pic.twitter.com/UrulCPBhke

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 26, 2024

Paul Finebaum was previously impressed by Matt Rhule

Long before becoming the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Rhule spent time as the head coach of the Temple Owls.

Rhule, in preparation for Nebraska’s opening day game against the UTEP minors in just a few days, was telling the media about his favorite opening day. Rhule’s Temple Owls beat the Vanderbilt Commodores 37-7 after finishing 2-10 in his first year.

Rhule said Finebaum was impressed at the time, but he addressed Finebaum’s recent comments by saying “Things have changed, I guess.”

Matt Rhule’s favorite memory of a season opener? Beating Vanderbilt 37-7 on the road in his second year as head coach at Temple in 2014 (after a 2-10 finish in Year 1.)

Incidentally, Rhule mentioned that he received praise from Paul Finebaum after that win. They later met and…

— Mitch Sherman (@mitchsherman) August 29, 2024

Rhule and the Huskers will have to make a big leap in 2024 if they want to be one of the Big Ten teams that sneak into the playoffs, but Rhule’s past stints with various college football programs show he has consistently improved his programs in year two.

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