Some old grudges just refuse to die, and Matt Rhule might be nursing one of those. Last year, his Nebraska Cornhuskers took a tough loss from a 4-8 team—the Colorado Buffaloes, who defeated Rhule’s squad 36-14. Now, the sting from that defeat still lingers, but Rhule’s shot at payback comes this weekend.

Speaking to the press on Labor Day, Nebraska’s head coach kept things straightforward about the upcoming rivalry game. “I just look at this as a really good football test for 2 teams,” he said.

Well, the Cornhuskers are set to face off against their rivals this Saturday, September 7th, with kickoff at 7:30 pm ET. However, Rhule seemed a bit off on the schedule at first, telling reporters, “Let’s all be Nebraska Nice on Sunday. It should be a loud, loud raucous atmosphere.” He meant Saturday, of course, but hey, mistakes happen. No matter what, the ‘clash of cultures’ will surely be a treat to watch. 

After all, their rivalry has been spanning for centuries now. And with Rhule and Deion Sanders bringing two very different coaching cultures into play, it’s only heating up. While Rhule goes the traditional route, visiting and recruiting for the long run, Coach Prime opts for flashy recruiting tactics and frequently reshuffles his roster. Despite the contrasts, Rhule dismisses any notion of a cultural clash, simply acknowledging the Buffs’ “competitive culture” instead. 

And Rhule probably would have thought his press conference went smoothly, avoiding any controversy. However, his innocent sweet appeal now faces mockery from the internet. 

Huskers fans troll Matt Rhule

Matt Rhule had a bit of a mix-up during his press conference when he asked Nebraska Cornhuskers fans to cheer loudly on “Sunday,” even though the game is actually on “Saturday.” Naturally, the internet had a field day with this, with one user joking, “On Sunday? That’s fine,” while another quipped, “I guess I’ll just have to make an exception for Saturday then 😉.”

But jokes aside, both teams are off to a strong start this season with 1-0 records. The Colorado Buffaloes beat North Dakota 31-26 in their opener on Thursday, while the Cornhuskers won 40-7 against UTEP last Saturday. Both squads look much better than last year, but only one will stay undefeated after this weekend. Despite the scheduling confusion, Nebraska fans are definitely ready to cheer on Saturday, not Sunday.

As one user put it, “lol, no,” and another simply said, “No.” It’s clear they’ll bring their support when it counts. Some fans even took shots at Buffs HC Deion Sanders, who handed Nebraska a painful defeat last year. One fan sarcastically commented, “I’ve got nothing but respect for Deion, as evidenced by my 1-finger salute. 🖕” 

Still, Rhule might count on a “loud and raucous” atmosphere, as one of the fans mentioned, at Memorial Stadium, which once drew 92,000 fans for a women’s volleyball game. Could Rhule and Sanders pull off something similar? Share your thoughts below.