WATCH: Matt Rhule press conference answering questions about Penn State loss, previewing Iowa
Matt Rhule and the Nebraska football program are 7-4.
The fourth loss of the season – a 37-10 blowout on Saturday night to Penn State – is arguably the Huskers’ most embarrassing effort of the year, right alongside the Friday night loss at Minnesota in October.
Rhule and the Huskers began the season by rattling off consecutive wins over Cincinnati, Akron and Houston Christian for a 3-0 start. Then came the disappointing Week 4 loss to Michigan followed by bounce-back victories over Michigan State and Maryland before another disheartening loss to Minnesota. After Rhule and the Huskers earned their way into the national AP Top 25 poll on the back of that 5-1 start, things took a sharp turn for them in that lifeless loss to the Golden Gophers.
The Huskers rebounded again by beating Northwestern, then let a massive opportunity slip by in a loss to USC and, again, bounced back with a win by outlasting UCLA on the road.
When the dust of it all settled, Rhule and Nebraska had ANOTHER opportunity in a national spotlight game against Penn State – the NBC Saturday primetime game, where the first step toward a potential 9-win season was on the table in State College.
Instead, the Huskers (7-4 overall, 4-4 Big Ten) flew back to Lincoln after getting chewed up by the Nittany Lions (5-6, 2-6) in a flat, lifeless performance from Rhule and his team.
Nebraska has returned home to prepare for a short week as the Huskers welcome in Iowa (7-4, 5-3) for the annual Black Friday matchup. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Central Time on CBS against the Hawkeyes, who survived against Michigan State, 20-17, on Saturday afternoon.
Related content:
>> The Checkdown: Disaster at Penn State for Nebraska
>> Rhule Rundown: Head coach talks loss at Penn State
>> Report Card: Grading Nebraska offense + defense in 37-10 loss to Penn State
To kick off Iowa Week, Rhule was made available to the media for his regular Game Week press conference on Monday afternoon inside Hawks Championship Center.
Rhule answered a few questions about the Huskers’ loss to the Nittany Lions, gave some updates on the team and looked ahead to Black Friday against Iowa – what he has seen out of the Hawkeyes’ offense and defense, what the Huskers need to do in order to take down their rival and what Rhule’s first win over Iowa would mean.
Watch and listen to Rhule’s press conference via the video below.
Monday’s press conference videos is also available to watch for free on the Inside Nebraska YouTube channel.