Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule met with the media on Monday afternoon to talk about his team's 68-0 victory over Akron on Saturday. He also moved his attention to this weekend's game against FCS opponent Houston Christian. The Huskies boast a 1-1 record this year, led by second-year head coach Jason Bachtel. While the Huskers were busy routing the Zips, HCU was losing to Eastern Kentucky 20-10.
Unsurprisingly, Saturday will be the first time these two schools have met on the football field. It will be the 16th time that Nebraska has played against an FCS school with a record of 15-0. Nebraska is 3-0 all-time against current Southland members, the conference the Huskies play in, with two wins against McNeese State and a victory over Nicholls.
Matt Rhule praises Houston Christian ahead of Nebraska football's Week 3 matchup
When directly addressing his thoughts on Houston Christian, the Nebraska football head coach made it clear he has a lot of respect for the Huskies' staff, starting with its defensive crew.
"The defensive staff all came over from Hardin-Simmons, which, if you know Division III football in the state of Texas, no one does it better than those programs. They know how to coach football. They’ve got excellent players. They’ve got some FBS Power Five guys that have transferred back. Really really active on defense. They’re going to challenge you with different looks. They’re not going to come out there and just let you line up; you’re going to have to get in the right play because they show you different pictures."
He also has quite a bit of respect for head coach Jason Bachtel and what Houston Christian does on offense.
"Offensively, I like what they do. They can both run the football, and they have athletes on the outside. They have an excellent offensive line. Coach Bachtel was at Argyle when Riley Van Poppel was there, so there are a lot of ties and history here, but I think they’re doing an excellent job. When you’re FCS in the state of Texas there are a lot of high school players and some guys who go off somewhere and want to transfer back. They have good facilities and it’s a great university. They’re doing a nice job there."
It's not surprising that Nebraska football fans aren't all that worried about the Huskers' FCS opponent this week. Still, it's clear that Rhule wants his team sharp and ready and not taking them too lightly.