Nebraska used its bye week to reset, get healthier and start getting ready for Washington, and Matt Rhule made it clear Monday that the break came with a different feel this season.
With no Week 0 game and only one bye week on the schedule, Rhule had to approach the downtime differently than he has in past years. This wasn’t a two-bye setup with one week devoted to recruiting and another centered on development. This time, the Huskers had to make the most of a single pause.
“In past years with two bye weeks, one was really like a recruiting type week, and the other was more of a developmental week,” Rhule said on Monday.
Rhule said Monday was Nebraska’s first practice since Thursday, Oct. 22. He spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday on the road recruiting before returning to Lincoln.
The coach was also asked about the role a bye week can play in contract conversations, especially with the news surrounding Oregon State standout freshman wide receiver Jesse Legree’s resigning announcement.
“That’s Pat (Stewart’s) deal,” Rhule said. “I don’t see us being the type of organization that’s putting out a lot of statements mid-season about guys…(Stewart) will do a great job of making sure that we have the best possible roster in 2027.”
Health remains part of the equation, too. Rhule said senior defensive back Jamir Conn and senior defensive lineman Anthony Jones Jr. are both expected back this season. Conn left Nebraska’s Oct. 17 game against Indiana in the third quarter with a chest injury, while Jones suffered a broken foot at some point in the loss to Oregon.
“(Conn) will definitely be back this season,” Rhule said regarding Conn’s injury status. “It’s just a matter of time.”
As for Jones, Rhule said the defensive line room is equipped to handle the loss, even if no single player can simply take over everything Jones was doing.
“I’m a big believer that when you lose a starter, you don’t try to replace him with one,” Rhule said. “You always try to replace with two.”
The bye also gave Jamal Rule extra time to recover, and Rhule said he hopes Rule and junior running back Mekhi Nelson will be ready to go.
While Nebraska was off, Washington was off too. The Huskies had their own bye in Week 8, which meant both staffs had the same amount of prep time entering Saturday night’s game at Memorial Stadium.
Rhule said Nebraska had already started studying Washington last week and was able to get “football stuff done” on Wednesday and Thursday.
He had plenty of respect for what Jedd Fisch runs.
“Coach Fisch runs a fantastic system; for that, have been in the NFL or guys that study NFL type,” Rhule said Monday. “He runs a true West Coast offense; it’s really, really, elitely well-constructed.”
Rhule said Washington’s quarterback situation will demand discipline from Nebraska no matter who starts. He described the Huskies’ offense as one that asks the quarterback to use his head, arm and feet, while also leaning on check plays and run options.
Junior quarterbacks Demond Williams Jr. and Elijah Brown have combined for 15 passing touchdowns and six interceptions this season. Brown finished the game against Iowa after Williams Jr. left with a significant rib injury in the first half, and Brown started against Purdue, going 21-of-27 for 302 passing yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
“They both can do it,” Rhule said Monday. “They get outside the pocket, make a ton of plays, just extending plays.”
Rhule said the challenge looks familiar to the one Nebraska handled against Maryland, where the staff identified Malik Washington’s strengths and attacked his weaknesses. When he talked about Washington’s big plays, he stressed that the Huskies keep their quarterback in different kinds of action and can present multiple looks from the same system.
“Nobody who’s at quarterback, and we won’t know until the first snap of the game,” Rhule said Monday. “I think they both run the same system; they just bring a different flavor to it. They are both elite quarterbacks.”
Nebraska hosts Washington on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
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