Matt Rhule Previews Northwestern, Gives Injury Updates for Rocco Spindler, Malcolm Hartzog Jr.

LINCOLN—Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule knows his team has another challenge on their hands this Saturday with Northwestern.

The Wildcats are on a four-game winning streak. In a shutout of Purdue last week, Northwestern ran the ball 50 times.

"They're unbelievably well-coached up front," Rhule said. "And they're unbelievably talented up front; their offensive line's excellent. They have good run checks and the backs make people miss.

"It's gonna come down to our ability to get off blocks and make tackles."

The Blackshirts prepare to take the field for their first defensive series against Houston Christian. — The Blackshirts will face another stiff test in the ground game this Saturday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

On the other side of the ball, the Huskers are looking to bounce back from allowing nine sacks to Minnesota.

"The sacks in the previous games have thrown us out of rhythm," Rhule said. "It's just, every guy, it's you vs. him. You gotta block the guy in front of you; you also have to get the play call. It's just us being efficient, playing good football."

Someone who can help with holding down the line is guard Rocco Spindler. The Notre Dame transfer left the Minnesota game to have his hand evaluated at a hospital. He had surgery and was cleared to play, as long as he can tolerate the pain.

"Rocco's as tough as they come," Rhule said. "He wants to play, so he'll go out and play as long as he can. He's handled it this week, so we'll just see how the game goes."

Nebraska offensive lineman Rocco Spindler prepares to block against Michigan. — Nebraska offensive lineman Rocco Spindler. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Another injury update came with nickel Malcolm Hartzog Jr. Rhule said Hartzog has elected to undergo surgery, with the potential of returning for postseason play. He only appeared in the first two games of the season, suffering a lower-body injury against Akron.

The decision to redshirt Hartzog, who is a senior but has not utilized a redshirt yet, comes on the heels of the 5-for-5 plan stalling. That plan would see college athletes receive five years to play college sports, as opposed to the current model, which sees athletes have four seasons to play over five years.

"At one point, I said it would pass, and then it kinda swung the other way. In talking to leadership, I think people think it'll get passed eventually," Rhule said, noting that the decisions are still tough for underclassmen who may redshirt now but lose that season later if 5-for-5 passes. "It's just lawyers somewhere. It's not what's right for the kids. 5-for-5 should absolutely pass.

"You're asking kids to make bets on the future that they don't know. Honestly, it'll probably take someone like last year, going to court and suing to have the rule be remedied."

You can watch the full media session from Thursday below. Continue scrolling for more coverage.

Coverage

Husker247 | Quick hits from Matt Rhule
Nebraska Athletics | Oct. 23 report
Omaha World-Herald* | Malcolm Hartzog to redshirt after NCAA nixes five-for-five proposal
HuskerOnline* | Rhule Report: Nebraska locks in for critical home game vs. Northwestern

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More Info

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

Aug. 28 Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
Sep. 6 Nebraska 68, Akron 0
Sep. 13 Nebraska 59, Houston Christian 7
Sep. 20 Michigan 30, Nebraska 27
Oct. 4 Nebraska 38, Michigan State 27
Oct. 11 Nebraska 34, Maryland 31
Oct. 17 Minnesota 24, Nebraska 6
Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern 11 a.m. FS1
Nov. 1 vs. USC 6:30 p.m. NBC
Nov. 8 at UCLA TBA
Nov. 22 at Penn State TBA
Nov. 28 (Black Friday) vs. Iowa 11 a.m. CBS

Home games are bolded. All times central.

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