After a disappointing 24-6 loss at Minnesota, Matt Rhule promised his Nebraska football team would show up on Saturday against Northwestern, and show up the Huskers did.
Nebraska beat the Wildcats 28-21, making big plays in all three phases to secure bowl game eligibility.
“I’m happy with the fact that our offense went down and scored on offense at the end to win the game,” Rhule said Monday afternoon. “Defense got the stop when they had to, and obviously to be able to convert in four-minute, get the first down, something we haven’t been able to do here. So, I’m glad that we made that step. I’m proud of the guys, proud of their resolve.”
Offensively, the Huskers took control on the ground and through the air. Junior running back Emmett Johnson, rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola went 16-of-22 for 141 yards and one score.
“I thought Nyziah (Hunter) and Dane Key and Jacory Barney’s blocking effort on Saturday was the best I’ve ever seen from a team that I’ve coached,” Rhule said.
The special teams unit had a tremendous day, opening the second half with a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown from sophomore running back Kenneth Williams. This marked the Huskers’ first kickoff return for a score since JD Spielman did it on Sept. 2, 2017.
“We have the best special teams unit in the country,” senior corner Ceyair Wright told Hail Varsity after the win. “That’s how I feel, that’s what I know. The way that those guys prepare, the way that coach (Mike) Ekeler teaches and coaches, I think that they do a great job of making sure that we get explosive plays during the game.”
Unfortunately, the news wasn’t all good coming out of the win. Rhule announced that senior right tackle Teddy Prochazka tore his ACL and will miss the remainder of the season. Turner Corcoran stepped in for Prochazka against the Wildcats and Rhule praised his efforts despite not getting any reps at right tackle in practice leading up to the game.
Now, Nebraska will turn its attention to USC.
The Trojans are coming into Saturday’s game ranked No. 23 and have an overall record of 5-2 with Lincoln Riley at the helm. Rhule faced the former Oklahoma head coach many times when the two coached in the Big 12.
“I think he’s a great guy, first of all,” Rhule said of Riley. “A brilliant offensive mind, he’s going to score no matter what. Different kind of quarterbacks — drop-back quarterbacks, they had Jalen Hurts and he’s running power read, I think last year we played, I think he ran 15 QB draws in the fourth quarter against us. He’s just going to find a way to score points.”
USC has a talented offense led by redshirt junior quarterback Jayden Maiava, who made his first career start against Nebraska last season. Maiava currently leads the Big Ten in passing yards with 2,180 and has only been sacked five times.
“He manages the game at a really high level,” Rhule said of Maiava. “He can throw the deep ball, he can move, he can run zone read. They will utilize him as a runner down in the red zone. He gets outside the pocket, can see the field.”
In August, Nebraska announced that the game against USC would be a black-out. Rhule said he expects fans to show up and support their Huskers.
“Our crowd at home is a distinct advantage,” Rhule said. “Not to steal it from (Texas) A&M, but it’s a true twelfth man. We’re Nebraska nice, I get all that, but let’s have a real game-day environment. That was an unbelievable game-day environment and a battle. The lead’s evaporating, and our crowd last week just kept amping it up, and amping it up, and amping it up. That was a different crowd than two years ago, so our crowd’s awesome. It’s a night game; I think it’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”
The Blackshirts are a staple of Nebraska football and its defense. Rhule said he hopes the team will wear these uniforms once a year.
“This is the world of recruiting; kids love this,” Rhule said. “When people come in, they ask if they can try this on. Even in our official visit pictures, we’ve only ever let the committing guys wear the black jerseys. So it’s like, for you to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to be a Blackshirt someday, or I’m going to be this,’ you’ve got to be committed to us. So, I think in the history of Nebraska football, when you look at a black jersey, a black shirt, who has more right to wear that than us?”
Going into Saturday’s contest, Rhule had one reminder for the team.
“Every team, every week, is going to show up and play their tails off against you,” Rhule said. “That’s part of going from a team that hasn’t won, to a team that’s starting to win. You start realizing like, wait a minute now. Do you guys remember my first year, when you got the schedule and you guys were like ‘Oh man, we got these guys at this time’? Well, you want to start to become a team that people circle, right? So, you’re going to get everyone’s best shot.”
Nebraska will welcome USC into Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, with NBC carrying the broadcast.
“I think our guys know what they can do when they execute at a high level,” Rhule said. “So my message to them is just focus on execution. Don’t focus on the other team, don’t focus on anything else, just focus on execution. Hopefully we’ll do that this week.”
