Matt Rhule responds to question about Terence Crawford possibly leading Nebraska out of tunnel vs. Michigan

Last weekend was massive for the state of Nebraska, as the Cornhuskers blew out Houston Christian 59-7 on the gridiron. In addition to that, Nebraska native Terence Crawford defeated Canelo Alvarez for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight titles in the most-watched championship boxing match of the 21st century (41.4 million people).

Crawford, a lifelong Nebraska fan, led the Huskers out of the tunnel prior to last season’s 28-10 win over Colorado. Following his big win, rumors have begun to swirl about Nebraska possibly enlisting Crawford to once again lead them out of the tunnel this weekend against No. 21 Michigan.

Rhule and his program will certainly need all the help they can get, as the Huskers have lost 28 consecutive games to Top 25 opponents. He touched on this rumor during Thursday’s edition of ‘The Pat McAfee Show’.

“You know I don’t know that,” Rhule said. “I tried to call him the other day and he was like ‘I’ve got The (Pat) McAfee Show right now’. People have reached out to me, I’m talking about superstars. What he’s done with the Fight of the Century… I don’t know how that’ll play out because he’s got a lot of things going on. But the day he decides to come in we’ll be ready for him.”

Saturday’s game is biggest of Dylan Raiola’s young career at Nebraska

The matchup will pit two of the most promising young quarterbacks in college football against each other. Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will face off against Nebraska sophomore quarterback Dylan Raiola in the second game of Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore‘s two-game suspension.

“I think (Raiola) knows how good the Michigan defense is,” Rhule said on the latest edition of the “House Rhules” podcast. “They have a top-25 run defense. This is Wink Martindale. They get off the bus and they’re pressuring you. This is an elite defense with an elite defensive coordinator. Dylan understands that it’s him making the right check, him executing the right plays and him throwing the ball to the right guys. It’s just that.”

Michigan has won four consecutive matchups over Nebraska dating back to the 2018 season. They last met in 2023 (Rhule’s first season in Lincoln), where the Wolverines rolled 45-7 en route to their perfect 15-0 season and College Football Playoff National Championship victory. Kick-off between the two programs this weekend is set for 3:30 PM ET. The game can be seen on CBS.