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Preview: Maryland at Nebraska
Both head Coaches sat on hot seats before season started. One is cooled off; the other is hotter. Matt Rhule of Nebraska is 4-0. Despite three wins over teams the Huskers were supposed to defeat, his latest 31-13 win over Michigan State has cooled things off for the time being.
After a 56-3 smackdown from UCLA last week, the seat under Maryland HC Mike Locksley seems ablaze. With wins over FCS Hampton (62-0) and G6 UConn (38-14), the Terps loss to VA Tech and now at home to UCLA, the Terrapin faithful began fanning the flames once again. His 37-49 record before this season wore thin on Terrapin fans; 16-43 against the Big Ten. Surprised he lasted so long in College Park.
Two programs heading in different directions
Nebraska looks to have things under control going into this before hosting Indiana and then visiting Oregon on consecutive weeks. Led by QB Anthony Colandrea with 904 yards, ten TDs, and one INT. RB Jamal Rule has rushed for 333 yards and five TDs. They run a balanced offense averaging 482 yards per game. Nebraska has probably faced tougher defenses already than Maryland’s. The Terps allow 25.8 ppg. Take away the Hampton (1-4) win and against inferior, non-FCS competition, that’s 31.3 ppg allowed. At least Nebraska’s FCS win came over North Dakota (4-1).
And UCLA exposed touted sophomore QB Malik Washington last weekend. He totaled only 142 yards passing, completing 18 of 38 for no TDs, and four INTs – a far cry from devastating Hampton. Take away the 62 points against Hampton and their offensive output averages 22. 3 against FBS programs. The Huskers have allowed an average of 13.7 points thus far against the same.
Low expectations for excitement in this one
We look forward to finally getting to Lincoln after all these years. Unusual for us, we will spend Friday checking out pregame festivities downtown. But to be honest, Saturday does not look to offer a very competitive game that we usually seek. Hopefully, we’ll at least see a Nebraska team on the rise. We’ve always admired Matt Rhule’s head-coaching capabilities. We watched him turn Temple into a respectable program over the years he coached there. He coached his players to be better. He didn’t get the blue chippers, but he won with players recruited from lower levels of high school talent that he and his staff brought the best out of.
In 2015, we witnessed him defeat Penn State and lose a close one to Notre Dame, 24-20. Attended wins against UConn and USF in 2016. Later that season, Temple defeated Navy in the AAC championship but saw him fall after to Wake Forest in the Military Bowl. Has a good turnaround going on there for the Owls
Impressed by his eventual turnaround of struggling Baylor in three years before moving up to NU. Maybe he will turn few surprises with the Huskers in tougher Big Ten games going forward. Now in his fourth season in Lincoln, his team seems due to move up another notch within the conference. Not an easy slate ahead, but we look forward to seeing his team play this week to give us a better indication of its future as he continues to improve this program looking to regain its past prominence.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 746 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
Edited and written by Stephen J. Koreivo, member of Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) and Author of “Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.”
Catch us on Spadora on Sports
During the course of or season, catch us on Pete Spadora’s podcast featured in IHeart radio. Click here to listen to our latest interview recorded on Septembe 17. Looking for other podcast opportunities. Please recommend any of interest that you can suggest. Thanks.
