Huskers Wrapping Up Week of Self Reflection, Set Sights on HCU

Nebraska has spent a lot of time looking in the mirror this week.

Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska will beat Houston Christian Saturday.

It's not exactly a hot take, and if you're worried the statement will get on Houston Christian's bulletin board, it certainly isn't the first and won't be the last. If HCU pulls off the upset, this article will be the last thing you're concerned about.

Prediction

Nebraska 61
Houston Christian 3 pic.twitter.com/ZixHXSQ2wW

— CFB Home (@CFBHome) September 9, 2025

It's easy for a sports writer to declare something like that with conviction, but Nebraska coaches and players live under a different set of rules. They take a higher road, highlighting the opponent's strengths and heaping praise on its coach. That's exactly what happened this week.

However, Nebraska also acknowledged that this weekend's showdown with the Huskies will have plenty do with an opponent the Huskers know all too well — themselves.

"We're just trying to get better," head coach Matt Rhule said Thursday during his final press conference before Saturday's game. "It's all continue to improve. There are so many things we have to improve. This was a week about improving."

Expect Nebraska to be more focused on themselves once the ball is kicked off Saturday against Houston Christian. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

This weekend, more than we'll see the rest of this season, Nebraska is focusing on Nebraska. It would be pretty easy to kick the feet up right now in Lincoln, considering you're fresh off a 68-0 throttling of Akron and you're playing your only FCS team of the year next, but Nebraska's coaching staff is doing anything but.

Leaked Matt Rhule halftime video after Nebraska was up 33-0 pic.twitter.com/jUjAa7xSgF

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) September 8, 2025

We all saw the halftime video of Rhule laying into his players despite the fact that they had just opened up a 33-0 halftime lead over Akron. We also saw a fairly grumpy press conference from offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen despite the team's narrow win over Cincinnati in the opener, and he admitted as much.

"A week ago I stood up here in front of you guys frustrated because I didn't think we had a very good practice," Holgorsen said. "It got better on Wednesday, it got better on Thursday, and then they were ready to go. (Tuesday of this week) was better than last Tuesday. They were having a whole lot of fun last Saturday, and I think they're looking forward to having a whole lot of fun this Saturday."

The one criticism that may be able to carry through the first two games of the season for Nebraska is a slow start out of the gate. Nebraska didn't score a point in the first quarter against Cincinnati and led just 9-0 after one against Akron.

Will Nebraska be able to avoid stumbling out of the gate for the first time this season? | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Obviously, the team will be looking to shoot out of the gate against HCU Saturday, and Rhule says if they play like they're practicing, they should be in pretty good shape.

"I felt that this week, everything got better, but you never know til Saturday," Rhule said. No matter what the score is, I'm expecting us to play better than we played last week. If we don't play better than we played last week, then we wasted a week."

Rhule admitted that a great week of practice doesn't mean anything once the ball is snapped on Saturday. He said good practices only give the team a chance to be great on the field, but it's how they adapt to the actual flow of the game that determines that final score.

The Husker coaching staff said the team had a fantastic week of practice, but said it only matters if it transfers to the field Saturday against Houston Christian. | Nebraska Athletics

Another preaching this week in Lincoln is the phrase "play the man, not the brand." Sure, it's a subtle statement that Nebraska's more focused on self improvement this week than anything, but it's also setting the players up to have that same mentality when the team staring back at them is Michigan, USC or eventually Penn State.

Come Saturday, NU fully intends to treat Houston Christian the same way they would some of those higher caliber teams, and that mindset is starting with the guy under center.

Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola has been fairly dialed in through two games of the 2025 season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

"It's just focusing on the next task at hand and the next operation that we've got going on," Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola said. "The guys understand that — they're focused. The biggest change from last year to this year is guys are not worried about outcomes, but they're worried about right now and the process that leads to those outcomes in the end."

Right now, Nebraska sits at 2-0 and is heavily favored to reach 3-0 ahead of their Big Ten Conference opener against Michigan. Barring any unforeseen setbacks, Nebraska will be entering that showdown about as level-footed with the Wolverines as they could ask for.

It's also important to remember that Nebraska started last year 3-0 with convincing wins over UTEP and Northern Iowa, as well as the soul-cleansing win over Deion Sanders and Colorado. In fact, Nebraska found itself ranked No. 23 in the nation heading into its third game of 2024.

Nebraska should be ranked in the Top #25. They are one of the most talented teams in the country and have played well.

The only reason they aren’t ranked is everyone has PTSD.

— John Gage (@johnrobertgage) September 7, 2025

This week, the Huskers are actually sliding further away from the AP Top 25 despite the 68-0 win over Akron. Given that, expect Nebraska to slide even further from a national ranking regardless of how Saturday's game against Houston Christian goes.

Ultimately, you've got to simply beat the team in front of you regardless of how they're nationally perceived, and that appears to be Nebraska's mindset heading in.

"It doesn't matter if it's Houston Christian or if it's Michigan, Michigan State," Raiola said. "It's not us playing the team, but we're really playing against ourselves and our standard. If you look at it from that standpoint, there's really no excuse for us not playing at a high level. We set the bar last week, and we're trying to find a way to raise the bar, keep attacking and keep growing."

Kickoff for the Huskers and Huskies is set for 11 a.m. CDT Saturday, and the game will be broadcast on FS1.

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