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A Trivia Tidbit to Start the Matt Rhule Era

Where did that ubiquitous fist-pump image of Nebraska’s new football coach originate?

Joe Hudson

Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
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It's a picture you've probably seen a dozen times over the last few days: A photoshop job showing Matt Rhule clad in Husker red and pumping a fist. 

The photo accompanied the Nebraska Athletics press release that announced Rhule as the Huskers' new head football coach Saturday. Two days later, the image was prominent at Rhule's introductory press conference.

Rhule even joked about it from the podium Monday afternoon:

"I also want to thank — the picture is in the back — whoever picked that picture of me with the Nebraska red. That has to be at least 10 or 12 years ago and I do not look that good anymore, so I want to thank that person."

You never know, but the following information just might come in handy in a trivia contest, when making a bar bet or when desperately trying to make small talk with the new in-laws. So here goes:

Matt Rhule 2015 Temple 2022 Nebraska combo
Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports | Nebraska Athletics

It turns out the original photo is from seven years ago — Halloween night of 2015, to be exact. It was Rhule's third season as head coach at Temple, and the Owls were hosting Notre Dame at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Photographer Derik Hamilton, shooting for USA Today Sports, captured the image of Rhule reacting to a play during the first half. 

The No. 9 Fighting Irish beat 20th-ranked Temple that night, 24-20, on a touchdown with a little more than two minutes to play. It was the first of two 10-win seasons for Rhule in Philadelphia.

That was then. Seven years later, Rhule has a few more gray hairs at age 47 as he takes over as the Huskers' head football coach. On the same day he referenced the photo for laughs during the introduction festivities in Lincoln, his young daughters — Leona and Vivienne — also had some fun with the image of their intense-looking dad during an elevator ride:

When they get older, maybe they can tease him about that Under Armour shirt with an Adidas logo slapped on it.

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Joe Hudson
JOE HUDSON

Joe Hudson has operated a Husker-related website since 1995 and joined forces with David Max to form HuskerPedia (later renamed HuskerMax) in 1999. It began as a hobby during his 35 years as a newspaper editor and reporter, a career that included stints at the Lincoln Star, Omaha World-Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer and Denver Post. In Denver, Joe was chief of the copy desk during his final 16 years at the Post. He is proud to have been involved in Pulitzer Prize-winning projects in both Philadelphia and Denver. Joe has been a Nebraska football fan since the mid-1960s during his childhood in Omaha. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in journalism and economics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. He resides a few freeway exits north of Colorado Springs and enjoys bicycling and walking his dogs in his spare time. You can reach him at joeroyhud@outlook.com.

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