Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Rutgers

It might be October, but it certainly won’t feel like it at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Photo courtesy Nebraska Athletics

It might be October, but it certainly won’t feel like it at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. With temperatures expected in the mid-90s at kickoff, both Nebraska and Rutgers are preparing for a hot one.

That’s especially true when you consider how much heat the turf holds.¹²

"It's going to be really hot Saturday . . .,” Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said earlier this week. “Temperatures are predicted in the 80s. The way the stadium is set up, they flipped the sidelines when Matt (Rhule) got back there, so the sun will be beating on us. We've got a lot of things that we're up against."

Yes, Nebraska switched its sidelines from the east side to the west for the 2024 season. That was announced this past spring, with former athletic director Trev Alberts saying it would provide the Huskers with a competitive advantage. 

It was only a matter of time too. Rhule, Alberts and current athletic director Troy Dannen all brought up the switch at various points over the last year. One of those times followed Nebraska’s 45-7 loss to Michigan last season, which also happened to be a mid-90s October game day. The Huskers were in the sun the entirety of the game on the east sideline, while the Wolverines’ side on the west received shade from the press box. Former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh called Alberts after the fact and told him he believed the west sideline was 30-40 degrees cooler than the east where Nebraska was.

One year later, the Huskers made the switch. How quickly did Rhule realize it was the right move?

“I think in the first game of the year, I knew it was the right move,” he said this week. “Everywhere in the country, the home sideline is on the press box side. You’re not having to hide yourself from the opponent, people can’t see your signals. All kinds of things, so there’s reasons people do it that way. Purdue this past week was the first time we had the chains on our sides. I must’ve apologized to the gentlemen so many times, I kept running into them because we haven’t had that. 

“Then the heat is obviously another factor, and we dealt with that right away in the first ball game against UTEP. It was hot and it was a 2:30 game.”

Outside of the 2020 season — when former coach Scott Frost moved the Huskers to the west sideline — Nebraska had used the east side since 1962. Sixty years later, things look a little different but it’s paying off for the Huskers.

After all, why make things harder than they need to be?

Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Rutgers:

TV Channel: FS1 (Alex Faust, Robert Smith)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 5

Time: 3 p.m. CT

Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)

Radio: Huskers Radio Network 

Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

Weather: Sunny and windy. High of 96 degrees. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.

Line: Nebraska -6.5

Over/Under: 39.5

Notable quotes:

Matt Rhule on if Rutgers’ matchup with Washington is a blueprint:

“I think they are in the top two or three. They convert third downs 51 percent. They have 33 minutes in time possession. They are top 10 in red zone defense. Washington had a ton of yards, but they were one for five for touchdowns in the red zone. Even the touchdown we scored, we had to go on fourth and inches to get it in. So, for us we are throwing the ball around decently. Can we get the tough yards? Can we get the fourth and one? Can we get the third and one without everything having to be a speed sweep? Can we line up and knock them back and go and get that yard. We need to look at the things that we are not doing well. So it’s hard tough yards that I am anxious to see.”  

Rhule on officiating in the Purdue matchup:

“You send in questions you have. They’ll send you back whether they agree or disagree. There’s a weekly tape that they send you that has points of emphasis from the week before. It’s from the whole league, so you can hear what’s being said to the officials. If it’s something that rises to a higher level, you might get on the phone with someone. I got a penalty because I injected myself in the game so I made a call to figure out what I did right or wrong. You just send your plays in and get them back and they tell you what they agree or disagree. As much as anything, you’re trying to figure out as the rules change, can we do this, can we not do this. What used to be a great play is now a penalty sometimes.”  

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano on if the Scarlet Knights shift their approach against a young quarterback:

"It might, if you didn't see what he's done so far. He does not look fazed by disguised coverages. He does not look fazed by . . . he gets hit and pops up and is fine. I think this guy is mature beyond his years. He's grown up in a football family. I think he's kind of made to do this."

Defensive coordinator Tony White on Kyle Monangai and Rutgers’ run game:

“He is probably the best one we’ve seen to date. Contact-balance, vision, the guy does not stop his feet. The unique thing about him is his YAC (yards after contact) are ridiculous. He’s getting hit at two and three yards, and when they spot the ball he’s gained six and seven. That’s between falling forward, breaking tackles, the offensive linemen hitting the pile forward, they do a really good job of finishing plays.”

Offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield on designing a run game with a non-running quarterback:

“You just try to be creative. Sometimes you run it when you should throw it, you throw it when you should run it to try to keep things off balance. Based on who you’re playing, you can always find different angles, formations, motions and alignments. There’s times you have to get the ball to the perimeter in unique ways like we’ve been doing the last couple of weeks.”

Other games we’re watching this week:

(All games in CT)

Erin

No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M, 11 a.m., ABC

Hey, Big 12 teams meet again. Fun times. As for the game itself, the Aggies are a narrow favorite in this one and that seems right. Missouri will rely on its run game – the Tigers went for just over 200 yards against Vanderbilt — and Texas A&M is No. 56 in opponents’ yards per rush attempt. Will the Aggies be able to stop the Tigers on the ground? If you want to look at the spread specifically, Texas A&M is 0-1 at home this season against a single-digit spread. Feels like this one might go to Missouri.

Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State, 2:30 p.m., CBS

This will be a real test for the new and improved Iowa offense. The Hawkeyes are No. 65 nationally in total offense and No. 53 in scoring offense, which is a major improvement from last season.³ Regardless, Ohio State’s defense is likely too strong for Iowa to overcome. This shouldn’t be a 2017 surprise all over by any means. However, Big Ten matchups can always get a little wonky so who knows.

No. 8 Miami at Cal, 9:30 p.m., ESPN

You could call this one . . . ACC-tion after dark? I don’t have a lot to say about this one, but it should be fun. Cal will try to slow down Miami’s quarterback, while the Hurricanes will try to overpower the Cal defense. Here’s the thing: Cal hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in a game so far this season. Does that change on Saturday?

Brandon

SMU at No. 22 Louisville, 11 a.m., ESPN

Here lie two teams that are probably undervalued. SMU, a darkhorse pick to win the ACC, lost in Week 3 at BYU (which is 5-0 and ranked 17th) and, because the circadian rhythm of college football is to overreact to early losses, left for dead. But the Mustangs are 4-1 and outscoring opponents by nearly 21 points per game. Louisville failed its first big test at Notre Dame last week, but the Cardinals appear to be for real in a second straight season under Jeff Brohm. Louisville is nearly a touchdown favorite, but I'm tuning in because I think it'll be closer than that.

No. 23 Indiana at Northwestern, 2:30 p.m., BTN

Indiana hasn't played the toughest schedule to date, but it has beaten the teams on the schedule (which includes a 2-0 start in Big Ten Play) by an average of five touchdowns. Despite that, the Hoosiers are "only" a 14-point favorite at Northwestern's ad-hoc stadium this week. The Wildcats can still defend (15.8 points per game allowed), and maybe they give Indiana a test. Either way, this is Nebraska's next opponent, so use your half-hour lead-in wisely.

No. 11 USC at Minnesota, 6:30 p.m., BTN

The Trojans are making their second, long trip into traditional Big Ten territory as an 8-point favorite having already lost at Michigan. This feels like an intersection for Minnesota's season. The Gophers have been a little unfortunate at 2-3 this season (should've beaten North Carolina, and made the Michigan game a coin flip last weekend after basically surrendering the first half). I don't have much doubt this team is better than its record, and this is a great opportunity at home, at night, to get one of those missed opportunities back. On the USC side, a loss probably knocks them from real-Big-Ten-playoff-contender status at the midpoint of the season. The Trojans would probably have to win out to really be in that discussion and they still have to play Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska and Notre Dame, though all those games are in LA.

1. We’ll have to keep an eye on our friend Rusty Dawkins’ Twitter account. He’ll share updates of the field temperature leading up to kickoff.

2. Double footnote! But when we talk about the turf, it’s worth noting that athletic director Troy Dannen told the Nebraska Board of Regents on Friday that Nebraska will update Memorial Stadium’s field from turf to grass “at some point in time” when the stadium renovation gets underway.

3. Iowa was dead last in 2023, so . . . Anything is an improvement.