Tag: Nebraska Football head coach Matt Rhule

Nebraska ready to continue rivalry with Iowa

Nebraska will conclude the 2023 regular season this Friday when the Huskers host the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska will conclude the 2023 regular season this Friday when the Huskers host the Iowa Hawkeyes at Memorial Stadium. This will be the 54th meeting between these two teams and the 13th time they’ll play for the Heroes Trophy.

Nebraska leads the all-time series with a record of 30-20-3. While Iowa leads the Heroes Trophy record with a mark of 8-4. While meeting with the media on Monday, head coach Matt Rhule told the press that he understands the importance of this rivalry to fans.

“I don’t get outside the building very much but that’s definitely something I’ve felt since I’ve gotten here. I know how much it means to our players. Obviously last year I took the job here before the game or the morning of the game. I can’t remember how exactly it played. Probably the night before. Then watched the game and saw that. I think it has a tremendous impact on the community and the team and all those things. For me the game is about these seniors. The game is about our team. I love them. I care deeply about them. Grateful for them. I want to see them win.”

He even talked about the role last year’s victory over the Hawkeyes played in having him accept the job as head coach.

“The job had been open for awhile and kind of like all the jobs that were open, you were kind of watching them each week when they were on TV, some teams weren’t always on TV but Nebraska’s always on TV so we watched it every week. I just remember that game just how free and loose they looked, how explosive they looked. You look at this defense, Trey Palmer hitting a deep ball, they don’t give those up very often so obviously he’s a great player but I just remember seeing the guys play and I remember watching the video afterwards, seeing Garrett Nelson crying as he exited the field and how much that meant to those guys personally.”

The Heroes Game between Nebraska and Iowa will take place this Friday at 11:00 a.m. and can be seen on CBS. You can find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s victory over Iowa last year below.

Rhule pleased with Purdy’s performance

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with the media following the team’s 24-17 overtime loss against Wisconsin.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule met with the media following the team’s 24-17 overtime loss against Wisconsin. Chubba Purdy made his first start of the year at quarterback and the man in charge was pleased with his performance.

“I thought Chubba played really well. He had that one play on the sideline where maybe it was an interception and the ball went out of bounds but I thought he protected the football. I thought he pulled the ball out when he wanted to run. I thought he converted on third down. I thought he was hot in the first half.”

Purdy finished the game 15/24 passing for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He added 14 carries for 105 yards and one touchdown. Rhule told the press that he believes his quarterback’s performance is something that Purdy can grow from.

“He was doing a nice job in my opinion if it wasn’t there of just pulling the ball down and going. Obviously, we hit a little bit of a lull there at the beginning of the second half. Kind of watching them, that’s kind of what they’ve done to people. But found a way at the end to go make some plays. For his first start for us this year, I thought it was really something to build on.”

There’s been no indication of who will start for the Cornhuskers in Friday’s regular-season finale against Iowa. The decision will likely come down to Heinrich Haarberg or Chubba Purdy. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. on CBS.

A photo gallery of Nebraska’s loss to Wisconsin can be found below.

Rhule says Huskers are ready to battle Iowa

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are entering the final game of the 2023 season with a chance to become bowl-eligible.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are entering the final game of the 2023 season with a chance to become bowl-eligible. The Huskers are 5-6 and will host the Big Ten West Champion Iowa Hawkeyes.

Nebraska enters the game on a three-game losing streak. Following the loss at Wisconsin on Saturday, head coach Matt Rhule said that his team is ready to battle on senior day and extend the season.

“These guys are pretty crushed right now. They’re pretty crushed emotionally. But that’s OK. It shows that they care and it shows that they put a lot into it. Sometimes in life we give up on our dreams but our dream never gives up on us is one thing I’ve always believed. I’d love nothing more to go out with them on Senior Day and go battle a great Iowa team, a ranked team, and play them at home and try to go get a sixth win and go to a bowl game and extend this with these guys. But even if it doesn’t work out, I’m honored to take the field with those seniors, and I’m honored to be out there with them.”

Nebraska will kick off their regular-season finale against Iowa this Friday at Memorial Stadium. The start time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on CBS. A photo gallery of Nebraska’s loss to Wisconsin can be found below.

Nebraska falls in overtime to Wisconsin

Based off the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin.

Based on the first two drives, it seemed as though Nebraska came to dominate on offense against Wisconsin. But those hopes were soon extinguished on a gutsy fourth-down call by head coach Matt Rhule. Instead of attempting a 50-yard field, the Huskers went for it on fourth and one, only to be halted by the Badgers.

Then everything changed. Wisconsin outscored Nebraska 24-3 from there on out, resulting in a 24-17 overtime win for the Badgers.

Chubba Purdy earned the start for the Huskers and delivered the best showing by a Nebraska quarterback in the last few weeks. Purdy threw for 169 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 105 yards and a touchdown. Purdy’s touchdown pass saw him throw a dot to freshman Jaylen Lloyd, who broke a tackle and took off for a score.

But Nebraska never found its way into the endzone after that. Tristan Alvano sent the game into overtime with a 30-yard field goal after missing a 42-yarder earlier, but the inconsistent offensive play resulted in the loss.

Despite surrendering 24 points, the defense made big stops on the night, including back-to-back fourth down stops and holding Braelon Allen to just 62 yards rushing. Allen did score two touchdowns as Wisconsin slowly but surely worked its way into the endzone each time.

Nebraska falls to 5-6 on the season and will return home to host Iowa on Friday afternoon. The Huskers need to win their season finale to become bowl-eligible. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. and can be viewed on CBS.

Nebraska unsure who will start at quarterback on Saturday

Who will play quarterback for Nebraska on Saturday night?

Who will play quarterback for Nebraska on Saturday night? The top three quarterbacks on the depth chart took the field in the Huskers’ loss against Maryland, and all three are options this weekend.

The Cornhuskers are trying to decide between the injured Heinrich Haarberg, former starter Jeff Sims, and backup Chubba Purdy. Head coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Thursday afternoon and said all three quarterbacks are still in the running to start on Saturday.

“Heinrich’s going to practice tomorrow. He’s obviously been out there on a limited basis. Chubba and Jeff have gotten most of the reps. But I know he definitely wants to play. He’s pushing to come back and play, and so we’ll see how he does tomorrow and get him to the game, warm him up.”

He also complimented the work that Sims and Purdy have done in practice this week. Rhule went on to state that the quarterback room has been hard at work to try and fix the five-turnover performance last Saturday.

“I think Jeff and Chubba have done a really nice job this week. Obviously any time you have the things that transpired last week, I think everyone comes in determined, knowing that they can fix some of those things. I think we fixed a lot of things as a staff and as players. They both, with a chance knowing, ‘Hey, I get all the reps,’ they’ve been able to get a lot of reps, and they’ve done a really nice job. And so we’re prepared to play either one or both.”

When asked about Haarberg’s recovery from his injury, Rhule made it clear that Heinrich will only see the field if he can contribute to the offense in some impactful way.

“He’ll definitely be available in some capacity, but whether he starts or not, I think, will just depend on how he feels on game day. We obviously wouldn’t want to put him out there if we weren’t able to run him and run the option and do the things that he does best. And so he’ll test it full speed again tomorrow and see if he has the same good results.”

Nebraska will take the field at Camp Randall Stadium this Saturday against the Wisconsin Badgers. Kick-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on NBC.

Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s three quarterback options below.

Rhule on Michigan State ‘this is a good football team’

The Nebraska Cornhuskers travel to East Lansing on Saturday to take on the Michigan State Spartans.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers travel to East Lansing on Saturday to take on the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans are currently 2-6 (0-5) on the season and have been playing under an interim coach after Mel Tucker was fired after two games.

Rhule told the assembled media on Thursday that he thinks the Spartans are a quality team that has been placed in some difficult situations this year.

“They played the number eight team in the country, they played the number two team in the country and I think they were told three days ahead of time you probably have to change all your signals before the game. So, I can’t count that against them. They were beating Iowa in the fourth quarter, they were beating Rutgers in the fourth quarter and it was a three-point game in the fourth quarter against Minnesota.”

Nebraska enters the game, having gone undefeated in the month of October with a chance to become bowl-eligible on Saturday. Rhule believes that there are similarities between the Spartans and Cornhuskers.

This is kind of who we are, it was a four-point game in the fourth quarter, it was a seven-point game in the fourth quarter for us in some games. They fight, they battle, they have excellent players. (Nate) Carter is as good of a back as we’ll see all year long. The personnel on defense is outstanding, number eight is dynamic on defensive tackle that we’ll see in the league. They have really good players, really good coaches, they’re playing for each other and I have a lot of respect for them.”

Nebraska and Michigan State will kickoff from Spartan Stadium at 11:00 a.m. The game can be viewed on FS1.

Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s first eight games of the season below.

Rhule says Nebraska’s offense must work through fumble issues

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule met with the media following the Huskers 31-14 victory over Purdue.

Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule met with the media following the Huskers 31-14 victory over Purdue on Saturday afternoon. The Husker defense held Purdue’s offense under 200 total yards, surrendering only 96 rushing yards and 99 passing yards.

It’s the first time Nebraska held an opponent to 100 yards rushing and 100 yards passing since 2012. On offense, the Cornhuskers fell victim to the turnover bug, suffering four lost fumbles.

I just can’t live in a world where it’s what if this happens and what if that happens? Like we have to go out there and play. Good teams play, and bad things happen. We gotta go play, so if I don’t want the players to live in that whole what if world, then we have to be that. I’m not saying that we have to run the option. I didn’t come here to have people say why you didn’t run the option on the last drive. Like that’s what we’re going to do.

Rhule even said that a former Cornhusker told him to keep coaching.

Eric Crouch told me hey, we had 49 fumbles in 1999, so keep coaching and playing. Everything can’t be negative. I’m saying that for me. I got to go out there and be like, hey guys. Part of it is throwing the ball away. There’s no reason to come off the field with your nose bloody.

The head coach also emphasized that the Cornhuskers will continue to run the option and be aggressive.

Run the option, go to pitch it, don’t stop, and take a huge hit. We’re coaching them all the way through it. Heinrich was kind of bloody, so I put Jeff (Sims) in. The ball came to the ground twice with Jeff, so we have to hold the ball. They cleared Heinrich to go. Heinrich went back out there. It was good to go downhill one game pop for a big play. That was kind of what we were looking for.”

The Huskers will retake the field next Saturday when Nebraska takes on Michigan State in East Lansing. Kickoff is set for 11:00 a.m. and can be seen on FS1.

Find a photo gallery of Nebraska’s victory over Purdue below.