LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — No. 23 Nebraska will enter its game against Northern Iowa on Saturday as a Top 25 team for the first time in five years.
That fact elicited little more than a shrug from coach Matt Rhule.
“It’s where we should probably be, but it’s not where we want to be,” he said. “My kids were excited, so I’m happy for them. My players were probably excited, but we have bigger plans than that.”
The Cornhuskers, who are 2-0 for the first time since 2016, will host an opponent from the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision before opening Big Ten play with next week’s Friday night home game against Illinois.
UNI, from the Missouri Valley Football Conference, is ranked No. 21 in the FCS after opening with wins over Valparaiso and St. Thomas (Minnesota), both members of the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League.
The Huskers are coming off an emotional 28-10 win over Colorado in a night game that produced one of the loudest and most raucous atmospheres in recent memory at Memorial Stadium.
“I don’t think you get prepared for it,” Panthers coach Mark Farley told reporters in Cedar Falls, Iowa, this week. “I think you guys will be just excited when they start shooting the fireworks off. I bet your heart rate goes up a little bit too. So it’ll be fun, that part of it.”
Rhule said he is looking for his team to be sharper than it was in the second half against the Buffaloes. The Huskers were held scoreless and were called for nine of their 12 penalties after halftime.
“I believe there is three stages,” he said. “There is eliminating losing football, then you play winning football, and eventually you are going to play championship football. I think we are playing winning football and so we have to get to championship football.”
FBS vs. FCS
Nebraska is 14-0 in games against FCS teams, all since 1992. North Dakota was the most recent FCS opponent, in 2022. Northern Iowa has played at least one FBS opponent every year since 1992. The Panthers have beaten Iowa State four times, most recently in 2016, and also own wins over Ball State (2001), Ohio (1999) and Eastern Michigan (1998).
Special team concerns
A point of emphasis for Nebraska will be polishing its play on special teams. The Huskers had a punt blocked, missed a field goal and gave up a 61-yard kick return against Colorado.
“The worst special teams performance I’ve had in a long time. The worst,” Rhule said, adding that he’s confident special teams coach Ed Foley will get the problems fixed.
Panther ground game
The Huskers probably won’t see a bigger running back than UNI’s 6-foot-4, 230-pound Tye Edwards, who leads the FCS with 157.5 yards per game.
“Every run, he’s running hard,” Farley said. “And whether it’s a 1-yard gain or a 20-yard gain, the guy is hitting the hole the way he’s supposed to.”
Another UNI running back, Amauri Pesek-Hickson, is running for 93 per game.
The Panthers will be facing a defense that has allowed a total of 72 yards rushing through two games, 1.57 per attempt.
Coming home
The UNI online roster lists five players from Nebraska. Blake Anderson (Omaha) is a starting offensive lineman, Pesek-Hickson (Omaha) started one game and offensive lineman Sam Thomas (Omaha) and Brogan Ling (Lincoln) have played. Defensive lineman Aidan Miller (Omaha) has not played but is a major contributor on the scout team.
“For these players, these hometown guys to be able to go back, I’m sure they grew up Cornhuskers and so I’m sure it’s a huge deal for them to go on that football field,” Farley said. “So, yeah, there’ll be a lot of emotion going into this thing as there isn’t any kind of game like this for them.”
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