Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule earned some respect from Hawkeyes fans with his take on the Iowa-Wisconsin game.
The Hawkeyes’ 15-6 win over the Badgers might not have been every college football fan’s cup of tea. However, head football coaches understand wins aren’t easy to come by, and you’ll take them any way you can get them.
With the victory over Wisconsin, Iowa improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes are in prime position to potentially win the Big Ten West in its final year of existence.
Asked his thoughts on the Big Ten West being down this year, the Huskers’ first-year head football coach wasn’t buying into that idea. Though it’s his first and only trip guiding Nebraska through a Big Ten West season, Rhule celebrated what he saw from Iowa against Wisconsin.
— Connor Happer (@ConnorHapper) October 16, 2023
“There is always the narrative out there, people watch the Iowa-Wisconsin game and say it’s a bad football game or it’s an ugly football game. I think it’s a beautiful defensive football game. I see a lot of teams that scored a lot of points early in the season in games this weekend not score quite as many points as the year gets on and people catch up and it gets a little colder.
“Iowa is on its way to having another great year. People are making a big deal about how many points they score. They’re scoring one more than their opponent most games,” Rhule said.
Though the Hawkeyes’ offense is known to drive its own fan base a little batty on a weekly basis, at the end of the day, a 6-1 record with control of the Big Ten West is a good spot to be in. Every other team in the West would trade for it.
Iowa fans had some fun with Rhule’s comments on the Hawkeyes, too. The Iowa-Nebraska game has turned into a legitimate rivalry with the Heroes Trophy on the line.
There wasn’t a ton of love lost on former Nebraska head football coach Scott Frost. With Rhule at the helm, that could be thawing some for Iowa fans.
Take a look at how Hawkeye fans reacted to Rhule’s praise.