After today's loss in the Las Vegas Bowl, Matt Rhule is 2-25 against ranked opponents
Matt Rhule is now 2-25 against ranked opponents in his career originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Matt Rhule has built a solid reputation as a program builder throughout his college coaching career. He began his head coaching journey at Temple from 2013 to 2016, where he led the Owls to two 10-win seasons and a conference title game appearance, finishing with a respectable 28-23 record. Moving on to Baylor from 2017 to 2019, Rhule transformed a struggling team that went 1-11 in his first year into an 11-3 squad that reached a bowl game by his third season.
Since taking over at Nebraska in 2023, Rhule has continued his pattern of steady improvement. By late 2024, he had guided the Cornhuskers to an 18-15 record overall and into the AP Top 25 rankings. Over roughly a decade coaching at major programs, Rhule’s overall college record stands around 66-60 with a 2-3 record in bowl games. His strength clearly lies in taking on challenging rebuilding jobs and making teams competitive again in a short time.
Matt Rhule falls to 2-25 vs ranked opponents in his career pic.twitter.com/p9kDuCgNPP
— College Football Report (@CFBReport) December 31, 2025
Matt Rhule’s Struggles Against Ranked Opponents
While Matt Rhule has earned praise for turning around struggling programs, his record against highly ranked teams paints a different picture. Over his entire FBS head coaching career, Rhule has only recorded 2 wins against 25 losses when facing AP Top 25 opponents. His time at Nebraska has been especially challenging in these high-pressure games, where he is currently 0-6 against ranked teams as of late 2025.
Rhule’s last victory over a ranked opponent came all the way back in 2016 at Temple. This continued difficulty in beating elite competition raises serious questions about his ability to win on the biggest stages, despite the steady progress he’s made in rebuilding his teams.
After Nebraska’s recent 44-22 loss to Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl, the question remains: should Matt Rhule’s name still be mentioned in conversations about top-tier coaches? His struggles against ranked opponents and inability to deliver wins in crucial moments continue to overshadow his rebuilding successes.
I’ve never understood the narrative that Matt Rhule should be considered an elite college coach.
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) December 31, 2025
This isn’t a particularly stellar resume. pic.twitter.com/beuXiMNcTQ
Is Matt Rhule an Elite Coach?
Looking at Rhule’s coaching resume, it’s easy to see his ability to improve struggling programs. At Temple, he delivered two 10-win seasons and a conference title appearance but didn’t secure a championship. At Baylor, he achieved two winning seasons and led the team to a Big 12 Championship game, where they lost a close overtime battle to Oklahoma. Rhule took a team that had just one win in his first season at Baylor and turned them into a contender in just three years before leaving for the NFL.
His NFL stint with the Carolina Panthers was less successful. After winning 11 games and losing 27, he was fired early in his third season. Returning to college football, Rhule took over a struggling Nebraska team, turning two 5-7 seasons into 7-win campaigns. However, he also faced controversy, including losing two quarterbacks—one a three-star recruit who had committed to Nebraska—and rumors of his brother Dylan possibly leaving the program.
So, is Matt Rhule an elite coach? The answer is probably no. Despite his talent for rebuilding, he has just one conference title on his resume, and that was at Temple back in 2016. Baylor won a Big 12 title in 2021, but that was after Rhule left. Nebraska hasn’t won a conference title since 1997 under legendary coach Tom Osborne, when they finished the season undefeated at 13-0.
While Rhule has made a solid living coaching programs that needed rebuilding, his lack of big-time wins against top competition and absence of recent championships raises questions about whether he can take a team all the way. For now, he remains a good coach who can turn teams around but has yet to prove himself as an elite, championship-winning leader.
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Category: General Sports
