'We're Excited to Get Back Home': Matt Rhule Discusses Injuries, Left Tackle Rotation, More Ahead of Akron

LINCOLN—After opening the season with a victory in Kansas City over Cincinnati, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is ready to be back in Memorial Stadium.

"We're excited to come back home," Rhule said at Monday's media availability to open Akron week. "I can't wait. I don't know if there's anything better that I've been a part of in my life than a night game at Memorial Stadium. It's unbelievable."

Rhule also announced a season-ending injury to wide receiver Janiran Bonner. Bonner took a hit on a run in the fourth quarter, which resulted in a torn ACL.

"It's a tremendous loss on the field," Rhule said, listing all of the different portions of the game Bonner played, including every aspect of special teams as well as running back and tight end. "I just know how much he means to everybody. He doesn't mean a lot to us because he's a good player; he means a lot to us because of who he is."

Nebraska wide receiver Janiran Bonner rushes for no gain against Cincinnati at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. — Nebraska wide receiver Janiran Bonner left the game after this hit, which ultimately resulted in a season-ending injury. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Rhule said the inexperience of the defensive line has room to grow from Thursday's win.

"I think anytime you give up 200 yards rushing, you're not going to be real happy," Rhule said. "With that being said, 96 (yards) of it was the quarterback. And a lot of that was pass rush - him getting out and running.

"We'll have to work on that. We talk a lot about it, but I don't know if we did a good enough job as coaches doing it."

Rhule said the "holy grail of things defensive coaches don't like" are offenses that run excellent outside zone, utilize tempo, and have a running quarterback. Cincinnati has all three.

That said, Nebraska defended the pass extremely well, holding the Bearcats to just 69 yards through the air.

"I thought we covered really well," Rhule said. "I mean, in modern college football, to play a Power Four
team and hold them to 69 yards passing. I don't know how often that happens.

"I don't really know what the narratives are out there, but I know that that's really hard to do. I think, like you're Ceyair (Wright), you get no targets, but he's sticky. You look at last year and you look at this year, we're way stickier."

The left tackle position has been a talking point for months, with the Husker ultimately rotating multiple guys there against Cincinnati. Rhule said that won't be the plan much longer.

"We're not going to be a three-man rotation very long," Rhule said. "I think everybody had some good plays. I think everybody had some plays you'd like back."

Rhule said he doesn't see a rotation necessary at the running back position, which saw Emmett Johnson total 32 touches on Thursday and the rest of that room combine for three touches.

"We'll have to play more guys," Rhule said, acknowledging that he wanted to get Isaiah Mozee and Mehki Nelson more touches, but offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen made the call to roll with Johnson. "We have a starting running back, and we have backups. I think they're the backups, and if
he needs a blow, we're going to put them in. But he's he's he's the guy right now."

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

Coverage

Nebraska On SI | Three Observations on Nebraska Football's Depth Chart Ahead of the Akron Game
Nebraska On SI | Janiran Bonner Suffers Season-Ending Knee Injury
Nebraska On SI | Matt Rhule, Mike Ekeler Want More Out of the Special Teams
Omaha World-Herald* | Nebraska wide receiver Janiran Bonner to miss rest of season with ACL injury
Omaha World-Herald* | Why Nebraska's Matt Rhule is increasing his media exposure as football season begins
Omaha World-Herald* | Matt Rhule wants Nebraska RB backups to get more carries: 'They’ve earned the right to play more'
Husker247 | Rhule confirms veteran wide receiver out for season with knee injury
Husker247 | 3-minute drill: Rhule gives takeaways from Nebraska's season-opening win
Husker247* | Cincinnati provided Huskers challenging matchup with running QB, but 'we have to get off blocks better'
HuskerOnline* | Rhule Report: Nebraska turns the page to home opener vs. Akron
HuskerOnline* | Rhule says he wasn't happy with Nebraska's RB rotation in opener
HuskerOnline* | What we learned from Nebraska's Akron week press conference
Hastings Tribune* | Nebraska WR Janiran Bonner lost for season after injury in win over Cincinnati
Hastings Tribune* | Matt Rhule looking for more running back rotation against Akron, Nebraska's left tackle battle continues
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From the other side

Akron Beacon Journal* | 'Look in the mirror and not out the window': Akron moves forward after rough football opener

More info

Nebraska Football 2025 Schedule

Aug. 28 Nebraska 20, Cincinnati 17
Sep. 6 vs. Akron 6:30 p.m. CDT BTN
Sep. 13 vs. Houston Christian 11 a.m. FS1
Sep. 20 vs. Michigan 2:30 p.m. CBS
Oct. 4 vs. Michigan State 11/2:30/3
Oct. 11 at Maryland TBA
Oct. 17 (Friday) at Minnesota 7 p.m. FOX
Oct. 25 vs. Northwestern TBA
Nov. 1 vs. USC TBA
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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