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Matt Rhule Stiff-Arms Notion of a Colorado-Nebraska Football ‘Culture War’

Huskers’ head coach previews Saturday night’s game against Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes

Joe Hudson

HuskerMax Practice Report, Sept. 2, 2024
HuskerMax Practice Report, Sept. 2, 2024 /
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Nebraska head football coach Matt Rhule didn't take the bait Monday when asked if he sees Saturday's game against Colorado as a “culture clash.”

There's no denying that Rhule and Colorado head coach Deion Sanders take sharply contrasting approaches to building a team — Rhule by emphasizing long-haul player development and buy-in, and Sanders with his heavy use of the transfer portal to shuffle players in and out at an almost dizzying rate.

But a culture clash? “Not at all,” Rhule insisted during his game-week press conference Monday.

“I think they’re a competitive culture,” Rhule said. “They go recruit and get the best players they can get. They do well in school. They don’t get in trouble off the field and they compete. I respect that with what they do.” 

With that, the Huskers’ second-year coach avoided giving the Buffaloes any bulletin board material for Saturday night's clash in LIncoln. He also heaped praise on Colorado’s playmakers on offense, including Sanders’ son Shedeur, the Buffs’ starting quarterback. The CU-Nebraska series, he said, is “a great rivalry that I grew up on. A lot of those rivalries are dead now, so it’s great to play it.”

But a “great rivalry“ doesn't mean special motivational schemes are being used this week. “I’m just trying to get the football right and nothing else,” he said. “I’m not going to not wear black this week and I’m not going to not say their name. ... I’m just going to keep bringing the guys back to ‘hey guys, let’s execute. Let’s play third down. Let’s protect the football. Let’s not fumble on the seven-yard line.’ For all we’ve talked about not fumbling, we fumbled on the seven yard line [Saturday against UTEP]. We have a lot more work to do here.”

He did implore fans to bring the noise Saturday. “Let’s all be Nebraska Nice on Sunday,” Rhule said. “It should be a loud, loud, raucous atmosphere.”

Rhule also spoke about the award-worthy debut of Husker quarterback Dylan Raiola, the possible redshirt year coming up for wide receiver Malachi Coleman, and much more. Scroll down for all the coverage, and refresh this page for the latest updates. Asterisk indicates item may require a subscription. | HuskerMax discussion

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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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