Nebraska is headed into its first road game of the season, and Matt Rhule spent Monday’s media session laying out the pieces that matter most before the Huskers go to East Lansing to face Michigan State.
The biggest immediate update centered on tight end Carter Nelson. Rhule said Nelson will not play this weekend, after limping off late in the win over North Dakota.
His status beyond the Michigan State game is still unclear, though Rhule did say the injury is not ACL-related. He added that Nelson is the only significant injury Nebraska is dealing with as Big Ten play begins.
Rhule also pointed to the travel roster as one of the small but meaningful shifts this week. Nebraska can take 80 players on the road now, six more than before, and that extra room has made the process smoother. With redshirts no longer part of the conversation, Rhule said the final decisions come down to who can help in the game and who has been practicing best in the days leading up to it.
"I’m talking deliberate practice, 'I need to work on this, I need to work on that,'" Rhule said.
Special teams remains an area Nebraska wants cleaned up quickly. Rhule said the Huskers have been too penalty-prone there and need to sharpen things up before facing a strong Michigan State unit.
On the matchup itself, Rhule expects the Spartans’ corners to be aggressive from the start. He said Nebraska’s receivers will have to win at the line of scrimmage, and he made it clear this game will be decided by how well the Huskers execute.
"This won't be a schematic game," Rhule said. "This will be an execution game."
Rhule said Nebraska’s non-conference schedule should help prepare the team for what’s ahead in the Big Ten. Facing three opponents with different styles, he said, forced the Huskers to stay disciplined.
"Some of the things they did really challenged us to playing our responsibilities," Rhule said.
He said he feels good about Nebraska’s ability to handle the road environment, especially with older players who have already been through plenty. Rhule also singled out Anthony Colandrea at quarterback as an important veteran presence.
"I don't think there's any doubt that older, more mature teams typically win," Rhule said.
Rhule’s connection with Michigan State head coach Pat Fitzgerald goes back years, though this will be the first time Rhule has coached against him. The two got to know each other when Fitzgerald was at Northwestern and Rhule was at Temple, back when both schools were sponsored by Under Armour.
Defensively, Rhule said Michigan State linebacker Jordan Hall is one of the best players Nebraska will face in Big Ten play. He also talked about Nebraska’s move to a four-man front, saying there wasn’t one single turning point, but that using it more often fit the personnel better. Rhule gave defensive coordinator Rob Aurich credit for how he mixes things up.
"He doesn't just sit in four-down, quarters," Rhule said. "He's going to bring some pressures.
He's a savant in football…he's not just sitting in that world. It matched our players."
Rhule also called athletic director Troy Dannen’s decision to schedule Notre Dame a "forward-thinking" move, particularly with the College Football Playoff considering expansion to 24 teams.
And as Nebraska shifts fully into conference play, Rhule said the staff has been careful not to overuse freshman Jamal Rule early in the season. A three-man rotation, he said, has helped the Huskers manage that workload through the opening stretch.
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