WATCH: Matt Rhule lightning round press conference ahead of Penn State
Matt Rhule will lead Nebraska football into Game No. 11 on Saturday night.
It’s a matchup that the Huskers (7-3 overall, 4-3 Big Ten) will enter as underdogs against Penn State (4-6, 1-6) as the Nittany Lions (-8.5) opened the week as a favorite by more than a touchdown. It marks the second time Nebraska will be a road underdog this season and just the fourth time* the Huskers will be underdogs at all in 2025.
*Michigan closed as the favorite at -1, USC closed as the favorite at -4.5 for those two matchups in Lincoln, and UCLA was a -3 favorite for that Husker road game.
Saturday’s game will be the second time Nebraska will be without its starting quarterback, Dylan Raiola, since the 2023 season finale vs. Iowa. Since that game, the sophomore had started every game as QB1 for the Huskers, but that 22-game streak came to a close against UCLA two weeks ago.
Now, Rhule and Nebraska will lean even more heavily on its true freshman starting quarterback, TJ Lateef, for the second consecutive week.
Lateef’s first career start against the Bruins came one week after playing most of the second half in a pivotal matchup in Lincoln – a deflating 21-17 loss to then-No. 23 USC in the Huskers’ most significant game of the Rhule Era.
Rhule’s team had to adjust its end-of-season goals with a College Football Playoff berth no longer a possibility, as the program’s best regular-season record since going 9-3 in 2016 was within reach, sitting just one win away with three more tries to go. Win all three, and Nebraska will equal that 2016 group.
But that all began with getting the first one.
The Huskers got the job done at the Rose Bowl with a 28-21 victory over UCLA. Now, what will Rhule, Lateef, the rest of the Nebraska offense and John Butler’s defense have in store this time around?
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Opening kickoff in Happy Valley is set for 6 p.m. Central Time with the game available to watch live on NBC.
Before the Week 13 matchup gets rolling, Nebraska held its last press conference of Game Week inside Hawks Championship Center on Thursday.
Rhule took the podium for his weekly lightning-round session with the media as the Nebraska head man gave his final updates, injury reports and additional thoughts on the matchup with his alma mater.
Watch and listen to Rhule during the press conference via the video below. You can also check out video and audio of Rhule’s more in-depth comments from his Monday Game Week press conference HERE.
Nebraska coach Matt Rhule:
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