All signs pointed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers beginning their 2026 season with an easy win, as they were slated to open at home against the Ohio Bobcats at home as 23.5-point favorites. Well, as has been the case in the Matt Rhule era, nothing came easily in this game for the Cornhuskers, who allowed a 68-yard completion that led to an Ohio touchdown on the first play of the game and trailed 13-7 after allowing a field goal early in the second quarter.
Not even one minute into a new season and Nebraska has already Nebraska’d pic.twitter.com/fmatTmTjnH
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 5, 2026
Now, Nebraska did take control of the game from there and wound up winning the game handily, but this game was a bit too close for comfort in the first half. The Cornhuskers certainly didn't look like a team capable of doing much of anything in the Big 10. For anyone wanting them to fire Rhule and make a change, his buyout suggests change is at least a couple of years away, and even that could be wishful thinking. That is a problem that runs rampant across college football and suggests something has to change.
Matt Rhule's outrageous buyout makes it nearly impossible for Nebraska to move on
If Nebraska were to elect to fire Rhule, they'd be on the hook for $63 million in a buyout. If they were to wait a year, he'd be owed $54 million. Firing him after 2028 would still put Nebraska on the hook for a $44 million buyout. They can fire him, but what're the odds of that happening anytime soon?
There have only been two buyouts (Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly) worth over $50 million and three buyouts over $21 million (Fisher, Kelly and James Franklin). It's extremely uncommon for head coaches with monstrous buyouts to be let go, even when things go horribly wrong. What's particularly awful about this Rhule buyout, in particular, is that he never should've been extended.
Rhule was given a two-year extension last October, locking him in with the Cornhuskers through 2032. Yes, he was under contract through 2030, and they gave him a two-year extension worth over $12 million each, when the best he's done with Nebraska is go 7-6. He has never even had a winning record in the Big 10 with Nebraska. The Cornhuskers were just so terrified of the possibility of him leaving for Penn State that they were willing to throw absurd money at him when it clearly wasn't warranted.
College football programs refuse to adapt as massive buyouts haunt programs
Programs are walking into the trap of handing coaches these massive contracts with absurd buyouts, and it's only getting worse. Nebraska extended Rhule, and it's safe to say they regret it. There's every reason to believe the same thing is going to happen with Brent Venables, who signed a six-year extension worth over $60 million in August.
Venables was already under contract through 2029, but Oklahoma ensured he'd be under control through 2031 while handing him a substantial raise. Why this extension happened, I have absolutely no idea. Sure, Oklahoma made the College Football Playoff in 2025, but the Sooners have gone 0-4 under him in the postseason, and just 1-3 against Texas, their arch-rival. Is making a CFP appearance (and not even winning a playoff game) really enough to add more years onto an already long contract? What has Venables proven?
There's every reason to believe this goes downhill, but Venables sticks around longer than he should because his contract is now massive. The Sooners were really negotiating against themselves, yet still handed him an extension when he hasn't accomplished much of anything.
At the end of the day, programs continue to fall into this trap. They continue to hand out ridiculous extensions with abnormally large buyouts, forcing themselves into uncomfortable situations with no realistic way out other than waiting until the buyouts become more manageable. Extending championship coaches like Curt Cignetti is one thing. Willingly accepting extensions that come with absurd buyouts with coaches who haven't proven anything like Rhule is a problem, and as the Venables extension proves, nobody is learning anything.
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