All Matt Rhule has to do is win one more game to get the Nebraska Cornhuskers to bowl eligibility in his first season at the helm of the long downtrodden program.
However, the Huskers have dropped two incredibly winnable ones in a row after having been on a three-game winning streak previously. Losing to a lifeless Michigan State team was only to be outdone by another disaster vs. Maryland.
Mike Locksley's team may have been christened in supreme excellence from the sanctity of the most sacred Charlottean mayo bath. The Terrapins were actually 5-0 at one point. After losing four in a row, the Terps got back in the win column with a less-than-thrilling 13-10 road victory over Nebraska in Lincoln. Locksley stopped the bleeding, as Maryland is officially going bowling with their 6-4 record.
As for Nebraska, well, the Huskers are 5-5 with two big division games left: at Wisconsin next week and home for Cornucopia vs. Black Friday rival Iowa. The Badgers may be rebuilding too under new head coach Luke Fickell. As for the Hawkeyes, they could still get to Indianapolis as Big Ten West champions, despite having arguably the worst offense in the Power Five. Nebraska is not that far off...
So if Rhule wants to run a serious college football program like Iowa, he must punt on his offensive coordinator. Rhule may think highly of Marcus Satterfield, but at least he will not be firing his own son.
Matt Rhule must replace Marcus Satterfield to have momentum for 2024
No, this is not the first time Rhule has worked with Satterfield. He has been on Rhule's Temple, Baylor and Carolina Panthers staffs previously. After spending the last two years in Columbia as a part of Shane Beamer's South Carolina program, he reunited with Rhule to help make the corn tougher. Well, it is just corn with Satterfield calling plays, as he is no longer on a Beamer heater of a lifetime either...
It may be a great time to be a college football fan, but it is a bad time to be a coach in the sport with the last name Satterfield. While Marcus Satterfield's team can still technically go bowling, Scott Satterfield's Cincinnati Bearcats have lost seven games in a row and have yet to win a Big 12 game since moving up from the Group of Five. He was the worst coaching hire made last offseason cycle.
So what is Rhule to do? Figure it out and hire somebody who can run an offense that will not get everyone fired. Rhule has struggled mightily in that department since leaving Waco. Offensive ineptitude is what got him fired in Charlotte, although David Tepper has quickly revealed himself to be a bottom-tier owner in the NFL. Frank Reich accepted Carolina's bag, only to find it was full of crap...
Even if Nebraska loses out, the team can move in the right direction if it moves off Marcus Satterfield.