‘We’re going to play hard’: Matt Rhule and Huskers confident ahead of season opener

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The wait is almost over.

Just six days remain until Matt Rhule and Nebraska take the field for their season opener at Minnesota on Thursday.

Rhule and several players met with the media on Friday morning to share their thoughts heading into the game.

“I’m confident that we’re going to play hard,” Rhule said. “I’m confident that we’re going to be a physical team. I’m confident that, if things don’t go well early, we’re not going to panic. I’m confident that, if things do go well early, we’re not going to celebrate. I think our guys understand that this is a 60-minute game, and this is a 12-game season.”

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A lot of the confidence players feel came from the hard preseason camp Rhule and the coaching staff put them through.

Rhule’s priority was finding ways to get uncomfortable before Nebraska hits the field, from rooming at the Selleck dorms to practicing in extreme heat. And players say it’s paid off.

“It was the toughest fall camp I’ve been a part of,” junior defensive back Isaac Gifford said. “And I wouldn’t want to have it any other way. All the reps we’ve gotten, it just builds confidence every day. Knowing that I’ve done my job 5,000 times just gives me a lot of confidence.”

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Quarterback Jeff Sims said he feels his team “is ready for anything” ahead of the season opener and trusts in the training they’ve done.

“Al the situational work that we’ve been doing, I think it’s been very helpful, and we’ve come a long way,” he said. “We want to be an offense that converts most of the third downs. So that’s been a big emphasis for us at practice.”

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But there’s still a lot of unknowns until the Huskers actually take the field.

“We won’t know truly who we are until we play a game, and probably a couple games, right?” Rhule said. “My challenge to them has been, ‘Hey, don’t get to game four or game five and have everything all of the sudden slow down and have the light come on. Try to do it now.”