Nebraska's Matt Rhule defends Ohio State's 'NIL roster' ahead of showdown

At 5-1 and ranked No. 4 in the nation, Ohio State presents a massive problem for 5-2 Nebraska.

One of those problems is that there's simply just a talent gap between the two programs at this juncture. That's been the case for years now, but it's especially true in 2024. Ohio State has spent around $20 million in NIL money on its current roster.

It's a stacked one too. Head coach Ryan Day had players like Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Jack Sawyer and Denzel Burke return for 2024 rather than going to the NFL and transfers like Caleb Downs, Quinshon Judkins and Will Howard joined the roster.

OSU absolutely has taken advantage of NIL, but Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule thinks it's a lot more about money in Columbus.

“I want to first give credit to Ryan Day, okay, in that those guys are at Ohio State because Ohio State wins and people, players want to go to a winner, okay,” Rhule said earlier in the week (h/t On3's Sam Gillenwater). “I mean, so, while there is, you know, an NIL component to everybody? Ryan has won, right. Urban [Meyer] won, Jim Tressel won. You know, Ohio State has won a ton so kids want to go be a part of one of the best programs in the country, right. You know, best receiving corps over the last however many years, all first-round quarterbacks.”

To Rhule, it's more about culture than cash at Ohio State. Sure, the cash helps bring in transfers and perhaps keep talented players out of the NFL for one more season, but it's still all about winning in big-time college football.

That's the place Rhule is trying to get Nebraska to.

"For us to get to that point, we’ve got to win enough to justify players taking a chance on us until we’re at the top of the mountain and then everyone wants to come. You know, you can’t have many 56-7 games, right. You’ve got to go compete at a high level. We’ll get there," he said.