Matt Rhule reveals how Nebraska is using Bud Crawford mindset to improve

Nebraska is ready to go 12 rounds with any opponent this season. On Monday, Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule revealed how he is using boxing superstar and Nebraska native Terence “Bud” Crawford this season to motivate his team.

“He’s gonna risk that because he’s such a competitor that he can’t stand the fact that he has a chance to do something that no one else has done,” Rhule said. “He’s going to go up in weight and challenging himself and being the underdog for the first time ever. But, he doesn’t care about any of that.

“He doesn’t care what other people say. He’s a competitor. He’s going to go out there and he expects to win. So, you think about like a message for our guys. One thing I keep telling them: “If the pressure to perform feels like too much right now. Wait. Just wait. Like, the pressure doesn’t go away.’ … That’s the analogy for our team.”

On Saturday, Crawford will square off against legendary boxer Canelo Álvarez in Las Vegas. Undefeated, four-division king Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) will put his titles on the line against Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs), the reigning WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF super middleweight champion.

Rhule wants his to be as fearless as Crawford, who is a massive Nebraska fan. Crawford met the Cornhuskers’ team last season when he led them out onto the field ahead of their game against Colorado.

Crawford also addressed the team before they took the field. Evidently, whatever Crawford said worked. Nebraska dominated the Buffaloes’ 28-10. With at least 10 more games ahead this season, Matt Rhule hopes his team can only hope his team can remain partially as determined as Crawford.

“I had a chance to go to Bud’s send-off and I told our team, we hope that we have a great year, and we hope that next year is a great year,” Rhule said. “When you look at our sidelines, all these Husker fans, but Bud is one of the OG’s, right?

“What I love about Bud is, he’s going to go out and fight Saturday night, and he’s a first-ballot pro boxing Hall of Famer, right? He’s certainly not just doing it for the money, right? So, he’s risking his legacy because he wants to go out and he wants to be the first person to be a three-time unified champion.”

Ahead of Bud Crawford’s fight on Saturday evening, Nebraska will square off against Houston Christian at noon ET. The game will air live on FS1.