Nebraska football fans are grateful to have made it through the embattled Scott Frost era that produced four-and-a-quarter losing seasons. Carolina Panthers fans found a new lease on their fandom after Matt Rhule's turbulent tenure as head coach came to an end. Both sides needed a fresh start, and have now come together to hopefully revitalize the Cornhuskers' standing in the college football landscape.

Back in his domain, Rhule has immediately bolstered Nebraska's recruiting class by adding multiple four-star recruits, most notably wide receiver Malachi Coleman. They can now go fishing in the same pond as the upper echelon of the Big Ten. That is not the only change, though. Rhule is making it clear that accountability must be taken by every member of the team if the program is going to be resurrected.

The 2022-23 season went off the rails for Nebraska football before it could really get started. A controversial decision to kick an onside kick in the season opener against Northwestern ultimately led to a Cornhusker collapse. It would be the only conference win for the Wildcats. Two weeks later after a home loss to Georgia Southern, Frost was fired. Rhule will not allow his players to dwell on one play or coaching decision going forward, though.

“I told them: Everyone talks about one play that happened in the third quarter, but you had a lead in the fourth quarter,” Rhule said via the Omaha World-Herald.

Nebraska has endured too much losing recently to pinpoint one moment as the cause of its failures. Rhule had to accept his own level of culpability with the Panthers, but he now gets an opportunity to lead the rebirth of another program. He did it with both Temple and Baylor and is primed to capture the same magic in Lincoln.

Rhule has already hit the reset button. His players will have to keep up and adapt, because neither their new head coach nor their  program can afford to waste any more time in the doldrums of football.