The first six games of the Matt Rhule Era are in the books, and Nebraska is currently sitting at 3-3. Some fans are disappointed and thought the team would be better than 500 at the midseason mark, and some fans expected a mediocre team that would show flashes of greatness in the near future. Let’s take a look at the first half of the Huskers’ Season, and grade Matt Rhule…

Nebraska found themselves in a 0-2 hole to start the season, with two road losses against Minnesota and Colorado. Though he didn’t coach winning football in either of those games, Rhule doesn’t deserve all the blame for Nebraska’s performance in the first two weeks of the year. Jeff Sims was awful in both games, and Nebraska’s defense had a rough day in Boulder against Shedeur Sanders. After the 0-2 start, Rhule made a gutsy decision that has paid off so far for the Cornhuskers: Turning to Sophomore QB Heinrich Haarberg. Jeff Sims went down with an injury late in Nebraska’s Week Two loss against Colorado, and Haarberg has been the starting QB since. Under Heinrich, Nebraska is 3-1, with the lone loss being against the number two team in the country. Haarberg’s elite athleticism and understanding of the offense have made the offense look functional, and it’s been nice to watch a QB who does a decent job of taking care of the ball. Though the offense has looked better since Heinrich has taken over, the Cornhusker’s defense is the Heart and Soul of the team. First-year DC Tony White has done a terrific job with this Nebraska Defense, as they rank top five in the nation in run defense. The Michigan and Colorado games were the low points for this defense, but other than that, they’ve been lights out. Rhule has leaned on this defense to be the culture setter of this 1990s brand of football Nebraska wants to play, and this style of play has led to a 3-1 record since the Colorado loss…

Overall, it’s been a rollercoaster ride for Rhule and Nebraska through six games. Blowout losses to Michigan and Colorado are the lowest points and wins against LA Tech, NIU, and Illinois are the highest points. We’ve seen the formula Nebraska needs to use to win games: Rely on the defense and play mistake-free football on offense. It’s a boring style of play but it’s been effective over the past month or so. Long story short, Rhule has been outcoached multiple times this year, but he has also coached Nebraska to some gutsy and tough wins and has changed the attitude of this program. My grade for Matt Rhule in his first half a season as Nebraska Head Coach is a B-…