Good News on the Injury Front Two Days Before Huskers Tangle With Buffs

Nebraska has shor up its depth on the offensive line as the Huskers prepare for their Saturday night showdown against Colorado.

Head football coach Matt Rhule said Thursday that Gunnar Gottula and Henry Lutovsky, who sat out last week's season opener, are ready to play against the Buffaloes. Gottula is listed on the depth chart as the No. 2 man at right tackle behind Bryce Benhart, while Lutovsky is No. 2 at left guard behind Justin Evans.

Cornerback Blye Hill also could play Saturday, Rhule said. Hill is No. 3 on the depth chart but had positioned himself as a potential started before he suffered a knee injury during the Red-White spring game.

Rhule said he's looking for a physically dominating but businesslike approach from his team in Saturday's highly hyped game. He showed the team footage of Bud Crawford's performance against Errol Spence in their 2023 welterweight title bout and said it's the sort of thing he'd like to see his players emulate: Methodical, stoic, and “not a lot of emotion and rah rah.”

“It’s the same message we have all the time,” he said. “When we play, we’re worried about us. Try to play one snap at a time. If we play differently because of who we’re playing, then we’re not really who we say we are. We play to our standard, and sometimes we don’t get to our standard, but the goal this week is to play to our standard, and TV cameras and eyeballs watching shouldn’t affect that.”

Scroll down for more from Thursday's post-practice press conference. Refresh this page for the latest updates. Asterisk indicates item may require a subscription. | HuskerMax discussion

Coverage

Husker247 | Final words from Rhule before NU-CU: Be like Bud
Husker247 | Huskers get 'really positive' update on injured linebacker Javin Wright
Daily Nebraskan | Three quick takeaways from Matt Rhule's Thursday press conference
Nebraska Athletics | Practice report, Sept. 5
Omaha World-Herald* | Matt Rhule: More reinforcements on the way for Nebraska against Colorado
Lincoln Journal Star* | 'Prime' Opportunity: Nebraska blocking out noise, but there's no denying what's at stake

Henry Lutovsky during a spring drills of 2024. | Nebraska Athletics

From the other side

Denver Post* | Elite QB talent on display when CU Buffs, Nebraska square off Saturday
Denver Post* | Pushing through adversity, Jimmy Horn Jr. shines for CU Buffs

More info

Depth charts: NU | CU
Gameday flip sheet
Pregame notes: NU | CU
Colorado game page on HuskerMax
KLIN/HuskerMax practice reports (video)
2024 NU roster
2024 NU media guide

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