It's been seven long years since the Nebraska football team has been bowl eligible. It may not sound like it, but that is an eternity in Lincoln, Nebraska. How's this for context: From 1962 to 2016, the Nebraska football team had missed out on a bowl game at season's end only four times. That's fewer than Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State or Notre Dame in that very same stretch. We're talking about a once-proud powerhouse of college football that won three National Titles in the 1990's under Tom Osborne, and two in the 70's right before Osborne took over as head coach.

Those days of collecting championship trophies seems like a distant memory at this point. But it's not so distant that Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule isn't envisioning a return to that sort of glory. After the Cornhuskers recorded their fifth win of the season (and their third win in a row) against Purdue on Saturday, the fiery Rhule wasn't afraid to express his hopes and expectations for a Nebraska football program that needs just one more win to return to bowl eligibility.

“I don’t want just one more. You want just one more? I want to win every game we play. I say that humbly. I want to come out every week and compete. I’m still mad about some of the games we lost. I’m excited about the opportunities that are ahead.” (h/t Eric Olson of the Associated Press).

Matt Rhule has a history of quick program turnarounds at the college level (not so much the case in the NFL, but ya can't win 'em all, right?). In four years at Temple, Rhule transformed the Owls from 2-win squad to having back to back 10-win seasons for the first time in program history. From there, Rhule went to Baylor and the turnaround was even quicker. In his first season with the Bears, Rhule went 1-11 with a team that had been severely impacted by a sexual assault scandal under previous head coach Art Briles. Only two seasons later, Rhule and the Bears were playing in the Sugar Bowl.

If Rhule's previous stops in Philadelphia and Waco are any indication, great things could be ahead for the Nebraska football program. There was no prestige for Rhule to lean on at Temple or Baylor. There is in Lincoln. And even though it's unlikely they'll ever reach the heights Tom Osborne reached with the Cornhuskers, if Rhule can turn Nebraska into a consistent contender in the expanding Big Ten, he'll be celebrated like a hero.