Matt Rhule defends Nebraska fans right to boo, wants players to block out noise

Nebraska raced out to a 14-0 lead against Michigan State on Saturday. However, the Cornhuskers’ offense sputtered following the hot start and the Spartans scored 21 unanswered points to take a lead late in the fourth quarter.

In turn, Nebraska fans began to boo their team. The Cornhuskers responded, finishing the game a 24-7 run and escaping with a 38-27 victory. After the game, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule addressed Cornhuskers fans booing their own team.

“We’re not trying to prove anything to anybody, that’s the biggest thing for us,” Rhule said. “Our guys have done a good job at blocking out everything. That’s the second game in a row we’ve been booed at home. Our guys are mad. Dylan [Raiola] is yelling at the crowd, I’m like don’t yell at the crowd. They paid their money to come here. They’re paying $12 for a beer. It’s part of the game.

“Go play well. When you’re not playing well, go play well. We’re not trying to prove anything, we’re trying to play good football and it’s really hard. The Big Ten is hard. It’s not like we’re not focused, they have good players too. They game planned for us too. I think the biggest thing is we just keep hanging in there and playing.”

Nebraska fans also booed the Cornhuskers during their Week 4 loss to Michigan. While Nebraska couldn’t turn things around against the Wolverines, it did on Saturday, showing the team’s growth.

In the win over Michigan State, Nebraska quarterback completed 16-of-his-24 pass attempts for 194 yards and a touchdown, while throwing one interception. Nyziah Hunter was Raiola’s go-to target. he finished the game with four catches for 93 yards and a score.

Nebraska’s defense was impressive as well. The Cornhuskers held MSU to 242 total yards of offense. Nebraska squeezed three turnovers out of the Spartans. Although it was far from a perfect showing for Nebraska, Matt Rhule believes the win was evidence of improvement.

“This is a game in previous years we might have lost, or not went the way it went, but we end up with a 17-point lead and then we give up a touchdown and they’re mad afterwards,” Rhule said. “I like the mindset and where it’s headed. There’s a ton of things we have to clean up, there’s a ton of things we have to get better at. We are not a perfect team. We have to play around all of our things.

“We show up every week. Even when it’s not perfect, our guys show up. Even the Iowa game last year, you can’t say we didn’t show up. Our guys show up every week since that UCLA game last year.”