Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Minnesota
Nebraska kicks off its 134th season of football on Thursday. Here's what you need to know for the matchup against Minnesota.
Nine months and six days. That’s how long it’s been since Nebraska last played college football. A lot has changed in that time.
It’s Matt Rhule’s debut as Nebraska’s head coach, and he returns to the college game after three seasons with the Carolina Panthers. Before that he was at Baylor, and before that Temple. But you’re not here for Rhule’s coaching history. At least not in this newsletter.
Let’s get to the point: It’s game day, Nebraska fans. Here’s what you need to know.
Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Minnesota:
TV Channel: FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Date: Thursday, Aug. 31
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Location: Huntington Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Weather: Sunny during the day with a high of 83 degrees. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Overnight low of 65 degrees expected.
Line: Minnesota -7
Over/Under: 43.5
Notable quotes:
Matt Rhule on playing the first two weeks of Nebraska’s season on the road:
“Let me say this very carefully. I cannot wait to be at home in front of our fans and to experience that. That will be like a bucket list item for my family and I. I’ve never coached in an environment like that as my home environment with that many people, so I can’t wait for that. That being said, I love to be on the road. I love being on the road. I love being in the hotel. I’m going to make sure Julie knows, I love being at home, but I love being in a hotel bed, I love being around the guys. I love seeing the guys in the elevator as we come down the elevator. I love it, if we go see a movie . . . going to the movies.
“I just love being on the road and having it just kind of be us. I love getting to some ugly locker room and trying to figure out where my locker is and walking out on the field and they don’t know who I am and they stop me and ask to see my pass and I have to get out there. I love all that. It’s just like us against the world, together. Now, I know here, we’ll travel well, which will be awesome. But I just love being sequestered and being together. And that’s what we did at Selleck. That team that was playing at Selleck is the team that I want to show up on 8/31 and play out there.”
Defensive coordinator Tony White on what it took for the 11 defenders to earn Blackshirts:
“Consistency. Who’s been the most consistent guy and I think Chief [Borders] stood out. His attitude, his efforts, and again, that’s the cool part when you get to reward the effort. Talent. You put that to the side because all the guys are talented. We’re highlighting the effort and the attitude.”
Rhule on how Nebraska will handle captains throughout the season:
“We won't do captains. We will be doing game captains and when we get to bowl season, then we’ll vote on permanent captains. There will be guys that emerge as the season goes on. We have our single digits, and we have our unity council that the guys will vote for who will be on that. There will be different opportunities for guys to serve in different ways.”
Other games we’re watching this week:
(All games in CT)
Erin
Morning - Northern Illinois at Boston College, 11 am, ACC Network
Northern Illinois travels to Nebraska in Week 3, so that’s probably a strong enough reason to pay attention to this matchup. However, it offers some intrigue just beyond a scouting report opportunity for the Huskers. NIU was 3-9 in 2022, as was Boston College. Yet, Boston College is an 8.5-point favorite in this one. I’ve read plenty that tells me why that line is justified, so I won’t rehash it here. I’ll just say I’m curious to see how NIU responds to the haters.
Afternoon - Northern Iowa at Iowa State, 1 pm, ESPN+
I picked this game almost entirely because of Joe Ganz. You’re welcome. However, I also picked it because I think UNI could be an interesting Week 1 test for Iowa State. The Cyclones should win this one without much problem, but if they start slow? Could be an intriguing watch (at least for a bit). Also, Joe Ganz.
Evening - Washington State at Colorado State, 6pm, CBS Sports Network
I feel like I’m going to watch a lot of Pac-12 teams this fall, mostly because of what’s happening to the Pac-12. I also picked this game specifically because it just struck me as one of the better options later in the day on Saturday. It’s also a rematch from 2022, where Washington State sacked Colorado State seven times, had 12 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. I should mention that the Cougar defense looks pretty much the same as last season. We’ll see how the Rams hold up this time around.
Brandon
Morning - Colorado at No. 17 TCU, 11 am, FOX
All eyes will be on Deion, as they have been all offseason, when his version of Colorado debuts at TCU. The Frogs have plenty of key pieces to replace, while the Buffaloes are trying to replace most of a roster that went 1-11 last year. It’s going to be bizarre and ridiculous, but most Husker eyes will be on it as Nebraska heads to Boulder next week. If it gets out of hand, and it might, consider giving Fresno State-Purdue a look.
Afternoon - Boise St at No. 10 Washington, 2:30 pm, ABC
If you’d given me a magic wand with the ability to make anyone Nebraska’s head coach last October, I probably would’ve waived it over Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. Big fan, though the Huskers ended up in a good spot with Matt Rhule. DeBoer and the Huskies are in a good spot, too, but Boise State, I think, should return somewhere close to its classic form this season. I won’t be surprised if the Broncos keep it closer than the two-touchdown line.
Evening - Texas Tech at Wyoming, 6:30 pm, CBS
War Memorial Stadium in Laramie is one of my favorite settings in all of college football, and hosting what should be a good Texas Tech team is just the start of a killer September schedule for Wyoming. The Cowboys also host historically significant Portland State then travel to Texas to face the Longhorns before returning home to host Appalachian State. I want to be at all of those games. In a dream world, I would’ve already rented a cabin on the high plains and just become a Wyoming football superfan for a month. Instead, I’ll watch from home and that’ll be good, too.