Matt Rhule likes the way Nebraska has handled the emotional reset after its last game. Heading into Saturday night’s trip to Oregon, the focus inside the program has shifted quickly from the past to the task ahead.
“I think they turned the page quickly,” Rhule said. “As I said to them, that game's over.
Pretty much every team in the country has had to deal with. There's six, seven, maybe eight teams left undefeated.
It's really about focusing on a great Oregon team. A Top 25 team.
A chance to go on the road and show everyone what we can do.”
The Huskers and Ducks both arrive looking to recover from losses, with kickoff set for 10 p.m. CT. It will be the latest start in Nebraska history, but Rhule said the team has tried to manage that unusual schedule without making it the center of the week.
“I think the biggest thing for us was we're not going to spend too much time on it,” Rhule said. “We've studied the people who've done it.
We've been prepared to have to do this at some point. It's really just been starting a little bit later every day.
Sleeping in a little bit longer every day. Going to bed a little bit later every night.
So that we can kind of get our body clocks, so that when we finish the game at 2 a.m. our time, it feels like it's 12. So really it's just been a war for those two hours.
But the biggest thing is we want to make this about football.”
There’s also no clarity yet on who Oregon will run out at quarterback. Dante Moore is out, and the options include former Husker Dylan Raiola, Brock Thomas and even Akili Smith Jr.
Raiola started in Oregon’s 17-15 loss to UCLA, then came out in the fourth quarter for Thomas, who helped fuel a rally. A couple of weeks earlier, Raiola had also delivered a strong showing against USC after stepping in for Moore.
Rhule said Nebraska expects Oregon to test it with different looks because of what the Huskers do defensively, and the Ducks’ uncertainty at quarterback only adds another layer.
“When you have a defense that has some of our statistical rankings, you're going to see new things. So I think we try to do a great job of looking at the players that the other team has that can make plays.
And they have a ton of them. Looking at what they can do to cause problems, and they have a ton of that, too.”
Still, Rhule said the Huskers need to stay centered on their own game.
“Let's try to play to our strengths, let's try to do our best to limit the guys that they have that can make a ton of plays and keep it within our system,” Rhule said. “So we don't know what quarterback it will be, we don't know who will call the plays, they've talked a little bit about changing their system.
I guess we'll find out on Saturday night. But I think Rob and his defensive staff do a great job of getting in the game, and figuring out, hey, here's how they're attacking us and trying to react to that.”
Nebraska will be without Jamir Conn, who has already been ruled out. Rhule said the Huskers will lean on the next wave of leadership to help absorb that loss.
“Jamir's a unique spirit. We'll miss having him out there with us both in terms of his play, and also his leadership.
But we have other guys. Caleb Benning is ready to step in.
We have other guys that are tremendous leaders. Whether it's Owen Chambliss, Owen Stoudmire, Ant Jones, or many, many more, they'll certainly fill that void.”
On top of the travel and the late start, Nebraska will also be walking into a far louder road environment than the one it saw at Michigan State. Rhule said that earlier trip still mattered for what it taught the Huskers about communication.
“I'm glad we were able to go on the road to Michigan State. And while it wasn't as loud as this will be, it was still pretty loud,” Rhule said.
“And I think the biggest thing is just the communication of hearing the headset. Last week our crowd was so amazing, you can see the quarterback having to put his hands over his ears to hear the play call.
So we've got to hear the play call, we got to communicate it in the huddle.”
He said the cadence will be another key piece.
“We don't want a false start, we also don't want our offensive tackles to be late off the ball. We practice it all the time, we practice crowd noise in the spring, we do it in the summer, we also do it this week. So it will be a challenge that hopefully we're ready to accept.”
In Other News...
Nebraska Just Got A Break Before Oregon But The Challenge Remains
Oregon is heading into its matchup with Nebraska a little thinner than expected, with quarterback Dante Moore ruled out and wide receiver Evan Stewart downgraded to doubtful. That changes the look of a game that already carried plenty of weight for Nebraska, which has spent the week preparing for one of the most difficult tests on its schedule and now gets a slightly different version of the Ducks than the one it may have been game-planning for.
Even with those personnel questions for Oregon, the challenge for Nebraska does not disappear. The Huskers still have to deal with a program that has the speed, depth and organization to make life difficult on either side of the ball, and the broader Nebraska sports picture keeps rolling too, with volleyball stretching its regular-season win streak to 49 matches in a sweep of Northwestern and basketball set to return with an exhibition against BYU featuring returning players Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Has A Real Shot To End Its Ranked-Game Misery
Nebraska heads into the Oregon matchup with more reason for optimism than it usually carries into a ranked showdown. The Huskers know quarterback Dylan Raiola well enough to at least feel comfortable with the challenge, and they have some offensive answers of their own if Anthony Colandrea can help keep the offense moving and the rushing game does its part.
Oregons recent turnover issues give Nebraska a path to stay in the game, and maybe more than that if the Huskers can capitalize when opportunities arrive. The bigger backdrop is impossible to ignore: Nebraska has spent too long coming up short against ranked opponents, and this one offers a chance to finally change that story. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Stayed Unbeaten But This Sweep Raised New Purdue Concerns
Nebraska kept its perfect record intact with a sweep of Northwestern, but this one looked a little different from the routs that had come before it. Manaia Ogbechie sat out with the flu, which pushed Kenna Cogill into the starting lineup for just the second time in her career, and the Huskers also got extended looks for several bench players as the match unfolded.
Even with some hitting errors in the mix, Nebraska still found plenty to like in its serving and the way it handled a lineup adjustment without losing control of the result. For a team carrying unbeaten momentum, the bigger takeaway may be how the Huskers responded when the margins tightened a bit, because the next stretch will likely demand that same kind of depth and composure. [Read more 🡒]