Nebraska's Matt Rhule Makes Plea to Cornushers Fanbase Before USC Game

The USC Trojans will make the trip to Lincoln to play the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska is known for having some of the most passionate fans in college football and they will provide a tough environment for the visiting Trojans. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on NBC. This is USC’s third consecutive game in this time slot on NBC.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule is challenging his fanbase to make the atmosphere extra difficult to USC to play in.

Matt Rhule on Nebraska Crowd: “It’s a True 12th Man”

USC Trojans Nebraska Cornhuskers Matt Rhule Lincoln Riley Jayden Maiava Road Game Big Ten Conference College Football Playoff — Aug 28, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule reacts after a call against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the fourth quarter at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Matt Rhule spoke to reporters about the chants that Nebraska fans were making in their last game against the Nortwestern Wildcats. There were some questionable calls made by the officers that trigged the Nebraska crowd to chant “Ref, you suck.” Rhule isn’t in favor of these types of chants, but wants a “real gameday environment.”

“I think our crowd at home is a distinct advantage. Not to steal it from (Texas) A&M, but it’s a true 12th man,” Rhule said. “We’re Nebraska nice, I get all that, but let’s have a real gameday environment. That was an unbelievable gameday environment…Our crowd is awesome. It’s a night game. I think it’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

"We're Nebraska nice... but let's have a real gameday environment"

Matt Rhule says he heard the chant at the refs on Saturday and believes the #Huskers fans can make the night game versus USC an even more daunting environment.

(@1011_News, @kevinsjuts) https://t.co/wdJHhuds1G pic.twitter.com/Jxb51lKcdO
— Chase Matteson (@ChaseMatteson) October 27, 2025

Nebraska is 6-2 overall this season with a record of 3-2 in Big Ten conference play. They beat the red hot Northwestern Wildcats in their last outing.

USC on the other hand is off a bye week at 5-2 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play. A loss in this spot for either team will likely end any hopes of them making a run at the College Football Playoff.

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A Playoff Elimination Game For USC, Nebraska

USC had extra time to think about their road loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they were on their second bye week of the season. The Trojans have struggled mightily on the road the last two seasons with coach Lincoln Riley. Their record in road games dating back to last season is 2-6. This season they are 1-2 with the lone win coming over the Purdue Boilermakers.

USC has dropped their last two road games; to Illinois and Notre Dame. The fact that USC is coming off a bye and a loss essentially eliminates them from the playoff raises the pressure on Lincoln Riley and his team.

These two teams faced off last season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with USC defeating Nebraska by a final score of 28-20. This was quarterback Jayden Maiava’s first start as a Trojan.

The current betting line according to ESPN BET has USC as a 6.5 point favorite with odds of -240 to win outright. Nebraska is +200 to win. The over/under is at 59.5 points.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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