Nebraska's Matt Rhule Is 'Grateful' for What James Franklin Has Done at Penn State

Kraft was right there for the celebration, as he often was for big moments with Rhule. The Nebraska coach remembered Kraft getting a scolding from the American Athletic Conference during a differrent game because they got into an argument with officials. "He got in a bunch of trouble," Rhule said.

Little wonder, then, that Rhule had a significant impact on Kraft's pitch for the Penn State job in 2022.

"Matt’s a good sounding board," Kraft said at his introductory press conference. "When this process came to fruition in a very quick window, he was a wonderful sounding board: 'What am I walking into? I know what it looks like, but what am I walking into?' Bigger than Penn State, we talk about just how to run programs and how to do things and how to live this crazy life in athletics that we have. Matt’s a brother to me, and I’m proud of him and what he’s doing."

Rhule and Kraft remain close, even though they're conference rivals now. And though Rhule isn't aware of how Kraft runs Penn State's athletic department, he's certain Kraft does so vigorously.

"I don't know what Pat's done there, but I do know Pat," Rhule said. "What Pat does is, he comes in, he raises the level of expectation, he removes the excuses. You're here to play for championships. And if you want to do that, there has to be a certain investment from the university. I know he makes that investment, and then he expects you to perform.

"And what I love about Pat is, I know if I turn on a Penn State football game, I'm going to see him on the sidelines. ... He's a player's AD."

Rhule played linebacker at Penn State in the 1990s, joining the team as a walk-on and starting his coaching career as a volunteer assistant in 1998. He's still a Penn State alum, and the program still means something to him. So he views Franklin perhaps differently than other Big Ten head coaches.

"Sometimes I hear people that take a lot of shots at coach, but what he's done is amazing," Rhule said. "He's had consistent, consistent, consistent, winning teams year after year after year. They were a game away last year. So I'm grateful for coach Franklin."

Together, Rhule said, Franklin and Kraft have built something at Penn State.

"I think it's an unprecedented time in terms of the success, playing in Final Fours, playing for national championships, at Penn State," Rhule said. "And [Kraft] would be the first to say it's all these other people, but he's certainly a huge part of it. He's done that everywhere he’s been."

Regarding Nebraska, Rhule said took the job because he saw a program that could bring its history into the new phase of college football.

"It was a beautiful mansion that just hadn't been painted in a while," Rhule said. "There was no landscaping. The shutters were messed up, but I knew we didn't have to dig down to the foundation. I knew it had everything it needed."

Penn State and Nebraska will meet for the first time since 2020 on Nov. 22 at Beaver Stadium.