Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule to Penn State? ESPN’s Rece Davis, Paul Finebaum Predict it Will Happen

The Penn State coaching search moves into its second week which means the speculation about Nebraska's Matt Rhule steams, unabated, into its second week.

Two ESPN commentators recently predicted that Rhule will be hired by Penn State. And a Fox Sports report said Rhule was the favorite and added a new name to watch, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko..

Fox Sports says Mike Elko could be a candidate for the Penn State coaching job. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Penn State Nittany Lions on SI reported that “two sources outside Penn State’s athletic department considered the Cornhuskers coach to sit atop [athletic director Pat] Kraft’s short list.

Rhule, who played at Penn State, immediately was brought up by the media and fans alike after the Nittany Lions fired James Franklin on Oct. 12.

At his weekly news conference the following day, Rhule did not dismiss the rumors, saying how much he loved both Nebraska and Penn State. He also talked about his close relationship with Kraft.

The Penn State job is one of the most prestigious in the sport and there are plenty of commentators weighing in on the opening.

Making Matt Rhule predictions

Rece Davis and Paul Finebaum both predicted that Rhule will land the job.

Finebaum, who hosts an ESPN radio show, frequently appears on ESPN to talk about college football. The other day, Finebaum was on ESPN’s “Get Up” and the conversation was about Rhule.

“He wants the job,” Finebaum said. “And there are a lot of reasons. He played at Penn State. And his best friend, by the way, is the athletic director, who was his boss at Temple, where Matt Rhule had great success. He hasn’t had a lot since then with the [NFL’s Carolina] Panthers. Well, he did at Baylor, excuse me. But he hasn’t had it at Nebraska.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum said Nebraska's Matt Rhule 'wants the Penn State job.' | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

“But I think he fits there well. And Penn State is about fit. I don’t think anybody can fit that job better. [Indiana coach Curt] Cignetti is now out of the picture.

“To me, Matt Rhule is the de facto choice. I would hire him today, although that’s not possible because he’s coaching at Nebraska.”

Cignetti agreed to an eight-year contract with an average annual salary of $11.6 million with the Hoosiers last week, shortening the field for Penn State.

What Rece Davis and Bruce Feldman say

Davis is the host of “College GameDay,” among other duties at ESPN. He was on the “College GameDay Podcast” with ESPN’s Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel when the conversation turned to Rhule.

“I would say, if I had to make one [prediction], and you had to dance around it, I’m going to say Rhule,” Davis said. “Because of the Penn State tie.”

ESPN's Rece Davis predicts Nebraska's Matt Rhule will land the Penn State job. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Thamel and Wetzel included Rhule as a possibility for the Nittany Lions job.

“I’m going to say it’s one of the Matts — Campbell [Iowa State coach] or Rhule,” Thamel said. “I’m not convicted (sic) on either but I think it’s going to be a Matt.”

Wetzel said: “I like either of those as a real possibility. I think it makes sense on both sides. There’s not been a lot of Power 4-to-Power 4 moves. Generally you got to go down. I think both of these guys would make a lot of sense.

“Here’s another name: Pat Fitzgerald [former Northwestern coach]. Pat Fitzgerald is sitting there … If I’m Wisconsin I’m crawling to his place … I want to hear how he would do it in this era. That’s a great football coach.”

Fox Sports college football reporter Bruce Feldman said on the network’s “Big Noon Kickoff” show: “There are two names we expect to be in the mix at Penn State.

"There's two names we expect to be in the mix at Penn State..." 👀

More from @BruceFeldmanCFB on how Curt Cignetti's contract to stay at Indiana influences the head coaching vacancy at Penn State. pic.twitter.com/bQdmUuy3DM
— Big Noon Kickoff (@BNKonFOX) October 18, 2025

“There’s Mike Elko, who has done terrific work at Duke and now at Texas A&M and he is a Northeast guy from New Jersey, but timing could be tricky with the Aggies’ playoff expectations looming. Then, there’s Nebraska’s Matt Rhule, who is the favorite for this job.”

Rhule, in his third year at Nebraska, is 5-2 and coming off a 24-6 loss at Minnesota. The Huskers play Northwestern at Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

More From Nebraska On SI

Stay up to date on all things Huskers by bookmarking Nebraska Cornhuskers On SI, subscribing to HuskerMax on YouTube, and visiting HuskerMax.com daily.