Matt Rhule reveals his feelings on Nebraska amid Penn State opening: 'There's no place like Nebraska'

Following a 3-3 start to the season and back-to-back losses to UCLA and Northwestern, Penn State parted ways with James Franklin after 12 seasons earlier this week. It was news that rocked the college football world.

Over his 12 seasons in Happy Valley, Franklin led the Nittany Lions to a 104-45 (64-36) record with six 10-plus win seasons and an appearance in the 2024 College Football Playoff. Just six games into the 2025 season, however, he is searching for a new job and the program is searching for a new head coach.

One of the first potential candidates to pop up on Penn State’s head coaching hot boards was Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule, who didn’t shut down the rumors when he was asked about them on Monday, is an alum of Penn State and has previously worked with Penn State AD Pat Kraft at Temple. Rhule has been at Nebraska for three seasons now, where he’s led the Huskers to a 17-14 record (0-7 against ranked opponents).

Rhule speaks highly of Nebraska fans amid Penn State rumors

Amidst all of the speculation and rumors pitting him as the “favorite” to earn the job, Rhule spoke highly of the Nebraska fanbase during a media opportunity on Monday. There, he proclaimed that there’s “no place like Nebraska“.

“There’s no place like Nebraska,” Rhule said. “The locker room at Maryland is so small that there isn’t even a training room in the visiting locker room. So, all of our coaches sat outside and we did our halftime meetings outside. We couldn’t get inside. So I sat on the grass and talked to Dana (Holgorson) for like an hour, and before they would let the people in the stadium, you could hear them chanting ‘Go Big Red’ outside before they came in.”

“It’s unlike any other, and that’s why I tell the players to go out and thank the fans. People pay their hard-earned money for that. My thing is the fans. Not the Twitter accounts. Not the people on social media. Listen to social media, but the people… I’ve never had anyone say anything rude to me since I’ve been here.”

Nebraska is off to a 5-1 start this season, with its lone loss coming at home to No. 21 Michigan 30-27 on Sept. 20. It is currently scheduled to face just one ranked opponent (No. 20 USC) over its final six games of the regular season.