B1G Time: Forget disrespect, Matt Rhule's biggest problem is at QB during early stages of Nebraska rebuild

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All Matt Rhule said was, "I'm not one of those guys, I don't let cameras in. There won't be a camera following me around. I want it to always be [about] the players."

Rhule made these comments during an interview on the Bussin' With the Boys podcast, a show co-hosted by former Nebraska linebacker Will Compton, shortly after he was hired to turn around the Nebraska program. At the time, Rhule probably didn't think much of anything would come of it. Saturday, though. he learned otherwise.

"It was extremely personal," said Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders following the Buffaloes' 36-14 win over the Huskers. "[Rhule] said a lot of things about my pops, about the program, but now that he want to act nice -- I don't respect that because you're hating on another man, you shouldn't do that. It was just, all respect was gone for them and their program. I like playing against their DC, I like playing against them, but the respect level, it ain't there 'cause you disrespected us first."

Sanders was also upset about Rhule standing on the midfield logo, but odds are his anger stemmed directly from those comments about the cameras. The comments didn't mention his father, first-year Colorado coach Deion Sanders, by name but were clearly about the man affectionately known as "Coach Prime."

Rhule and Sanders are already connected by a rekindled rivalry between former Big 8 stalwarts, but the timing of their hires and their processes connect them further. Both were hired to revitalize a program that had seen far too many hard times and failed tenures in recent years. Both used the transfer portal to speed up the process, though they took different approaches.

Rhule faced challenging rebuilds during his previous stops at Temple and Baylor. His approach was to get old and stay old. It was effective. It helped get him an NFL job. He's taking a similar approach at Nebraska, relying on experience while letting younger players develop in the weight room and practice field.

Sanders showed up in Boulder, Colorado, with his Louis Vuitton luggage and completely overhauled the roster.

It's hard to say which will prove more effective in the long term, but the short term seems rather clear. The problem Rhule faces, however, is that no matter what approach you take to rebuilding a program, there's one problem you can't get wrong: You can't miss on your QB, and that's an area in which Rhule has whiffed.

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— no context college football (@nocontextcfb) September 9, 2023

Jeff Sims came to Nebraska from Georgia Tech where he'd fallen out of favor because of his inability to take care of the football. Turnovers were a killer for a Georgia Tech team that had to beat opponents at the margins and outweighed the positives of Sims' occasional big plays.

I have created a stat I call, "Whoopsy Daisy Rate," which tracks how often a QB puts the ball in danger. I take the number of fumbles -- not fumbles lost, rather fumbles overall -- and interceptions a QB has and divide it by plays on the field. In three seasons at Georgia Tech, Sims played 1,455 snaps and fumbled or threw an interception on 46 of those plays. That's a Whoopsy Daisy Rate of 3.02%. Among 152 FBS QBs to play at least 750 snaps over those three seasons, it's the second-highest rate in the country behind UMass' Brady Olson (3.22%).

Through Week 2 of the 2023 season, 129 different QBs have played at least 75 snaps on offense, and you'll never guess who leads the country in Whoopsy Daisy Rate. That's right, it's Jeff Sims. Sims has fumbled the ball or thrown an interception on an astounding 7.77% of his 103 snaps this season. He has continually put the Cornhuskers in an untenable position.

QB (since 2020)	Snaps (min. 750)	Fumbles & Interceptions	Whoopsy Daisy Rate
1. Jeff Sims	1,558	52	3.34%
2. Brady Olson	782	26	3.32%
3. TJ Finley	812	26	3.20%
4. Jayden De Laura	1,816	53	2.92%
5. DJ Irons	1,029	30	2.92%
6. Chris Reynolds	1,650	48	2.91%
7. Gavin Hardison	2,031	59	2.90%
8. Cornelius Brown IV	911	26	2.85%
9. Jonah Johnson	864	24	2.78%
10. EJ Warner	832	23	2.76%

He is exactly who he was at Georgia Tech and Rhule made the mistake of entrusting the offense to the most mistake-prone QB in the country as he begins the rebuilding process in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's not an encouraging sign, nor is it encouraging that Rhule seems determined to leave Sims in charge of the offense ahead of the Cornhuskers' game against Northern Illinois.

The good news is the Huskers should win their next two games regardless. However, if anything could cause Nebraska to suffer an embarrassing home upset loss to Northern Illinois or Louisiana Tech, it's turnovers -- the kind Sims has made repeatedly.

To be clear, this doesn't mean it won't work for Rhule at Nebraska. To make that declaration after only two games would be idiotic. But the longer Rhule sticks with Sims under center, the less likely Nebraska will experience any tangible improvement in the win-loss record from previous seasons.

For a program that could use positive results on the field to kickstart recruiting, and to improve the overall vibe and existential dread surrounding the program, rolling Sims out there every week isn't likely to improve matters.

Michigan State Coaching Hot Board

There will be a lot of discussion and billable hours before Michigan State makes a final decision on the fate of coach Mel Tucker, but no matter what has happened or hasn't, it's safe to assume Tucker has coached his final game with the Spartans. So, who should Michigan State tap as a full-time replacement in the event Tucker is terminated?

The Spartans should revert back to their developmental roots. The program's greatest success in recent years under Mark Dantonio didn't come because they were out-recruiting the rest of the league, rather they were out-developing and out-coaching their opponents. With the Big Ten adding four new programs from the West Coast next season, it seems foolish to believe the Spartans will ever be able to out-recruit the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, USC or Oregon. So, get somebody who can build a winning program instead of finding another recruiter.

With apologies to The Sunflower State, the two best options to do so feel obvious to me.

Lance Leipold -- Kansas coach
Chris Klieman -- Kansas State coach
Pat Narduzzi -- Pitt coach
Mark Stoops -- Kentucky coach
Jim Leonhard -- Illinois analyst, former Wisconsin defensive coordinator

If I believed Stoops would be open to leaving Kentucky, I'd have him higher. The hope, if I'm Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller, is I don't have to go past No. 2 on my board.

B1G Time Stat of the Week

Penn State has scored at least 30 points in each game of its current nine-game win streak and has a 14-game win streak against unranked opponents. The last time it failed to beat one? A 20-18, nine-overtime loss to Illinois during the 2021 season. Penn State hits the road hoping to keep the streak alive this weekend against the very same Illini in the Big Ten opener for both schools.

Week 3 B1G Game Power Rankings

There's only one conference game this week, but at least seven of the 12 nonconference games are against Power Five opponents. With six of them being against the ACC, it looks like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge has made its way to football.