LINCOLN, Neb. - After Nebraska's 31-14 win over Purdue, the Huskers are one win away from being bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. 

However, for Head Coach Matt Rhule, the goal remains to have his team win the week, by going 1-0 each week.

Some are calling the Huskers 31-14 win over Purdue an ugly win, but the defense shined yet again, holding the Boilermakers to under 100 yards in both rushing and passing. Even with the hiccups on offense, Rhule says he still thought his team played well. 

"I think when you come to a place like Nebraska, a place where you've won so much, if it doesn't look like the '97 team, people say it looked ugly," Rhule said. "31-14 doesn't seem to ugly to me. I thought we did a lot of positive things, thought we did a few negative things.

The Huskers will search for that coveted sixth win on Saturday against a Michigan State team coached by Harlon Barnett who stepped in after the firing of Mel Tucker. The Spartans are just 2-6 on the year, with wins against Central Michigan and Richmond in their firs two games of the season - they've since gone on a six game losing streak, most recently falling 27-12 to Minnesota. 

Rhule says his team is prepping for a hungry, nothing-to-lose attitude from the Spartans on Saturday. 


"Think about the men in that Michigan State locker room and what they've accomplished over the last few years," Rhule said. "Think about the last time we went there and had it won, but lost it in the fourth quarter on a special teams play. Think about Coach Barnett. Maybe he'll get the head coaching job, but, last game as head coach and their last game at home. How would you coach? How would you play if you were one of those seniors that stuck it out to fight for your team?"

The game Rhule mentioned was back in 2021, as the Huskers nearly knocked off the then ninth-ranked Spartans, but Nebraska fell 23-20 in overtime. 

Another additional note from Rhule's comments Monday on the injury side, defensive back Omar Brown is in concussion protocol. Meanwhile, defensive back Quinton Newsome picked up a weekly honor in being named Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week after recovering a muffed punt and returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown.

The Huskers and Spartans kick off at 11:00 a.m. central time (10:00 a.m. mountain) on FS1.