Nebraska moves on to a ‘whole different animal’ with the Huskers hosting Rutgers this week
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule held his weekly press conference Monday morning previewing the Huskers’ upcoming match-up with the Scarlet Knights. The 4-1 Huskers are coming off a second-half comeback win over Purdue to capture their first conference and road victory of the season.
Big Red used several explosive plays against the Boilermakers to capture the road victory, including a 25-yard touchdown run from receiver Jacory Barney Jr. and a pick-six from senior linebacker John Bullock. Momentum-shifting plays such as those are few and far between against undefeated Rutgers.
“You face some teams like Rutgers, who don’t give up explosive plays. They make you earn it. Coach (Greg) Schiano doesn’t give up explosive plays,” said Rhule. “They sit there and play three or four quarters with rugged, rugged players and they’ll try to knock you back into the quarterback’s lap. It’s a whole different animal that we’re facing this week with the way they play.”
The undefeated Scarlet Knights come to Lincoln after downing Big Ten newcomer Washington 21-18 on Friday night. Senior running back Kyle Monangai leads Rutgers with 596 yards on the ground and has scored at least once in each game. The New Jersey native is on Rhule’s radar.
“He’s like the Matrix. Nothing ever hits him. He’s running and he has such elite body balance and contact balance. He sees it coming, so no one ever gets a true shot on him. It’s always a glancing blow. I think he’s really, really, really a great player,” said Rhule.
Rhule also gave an update on the availability of a couple of players for Saturday. Offensive guard Micah Mazzucca was suspended for last week’s game, but was reinstated for this week.
Cornerback Tommi Hill is still dealing with a foot injury. Rhule says Hill’s return is based on pain threshold and will likely be a gametime decision.
Saturday’s game against the Scarlet Knights is also Nebraska’s homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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