Game Week: at Minnesota

NEBRASKA at MINNESOTA
AUG. 31, 2023 | HUNTINGTON BANK STADIUM
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. | 7 PM (CT)
 
BROADCAST INFO
TV - FOX (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
RADIO NETWORK - Husker Radio Network (Greg Sharpe, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App
 
HUSKERS
Record: 0-0, 0-0 B1G
Last Game: at Iowa (W, 24-17 in 2022)
Rankings: NR
Coach: Matt Rhule
Career/NU Record: 47-43 (8th Year)/0-0 (1st Year)
vs. Minnesota: First Meeting
 
GOPHERS
Record: 0-0, 0-0 B1G
Last Game: vs. Syracuse (W, 28-20 in 2022)
Rankings: NR
Coach: P.J. Fleck
Career/Minnesota Record: 74-49 (11th Year)/44-27 (7th Year)
vs. Nebraska: 5-1
 
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time Series: Minnesota leads, 36-25-2
In Minneapolis: Minnesota leads, 24-13-2
As Big Ten Foes: Minnesota leads, 7-5
Win Streak: Minnesota, 4 games
 
The Matchup
Nebraska kicks off its 134th season on Thursday when the Cornhuskers begin the 2023 campaign with a Big Ten Conference road matchup at Minnesota. Thursday's season opener - the Nebraska debut for head coach Matt Rhule - will be televised on FOX with radio coverage on the Huskers Radio Network.

Rhule returns to the college game after spending the past three seasons as a head coach in the National Football League. In his last season as a college head coach in 2019, Rhule was the Big 12 Coach of the Year after guiding Baylor to an 11-3 record and a No. 13 final ranking. Each of the Bears' three losses came to top-10 opponents: a three-point setback to No. 10 Oklahoma in November, a seven-point overtime loss to the sixth-ranked Sooners in the Big 12 Championship Game and a 26-14 defeat to No. 5 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

A proven program builder, Rhule guided both Temple and Baylor to the highest win total in school history in his third season at each school. Rhule will not make his Memorial Stadium debut until Sept. 16, as NU begins the season with back-to-back road games for the first time since 1995. Rhule is the first Husker head coach to make his debut in a road game since Bernie Masterson, whose first game was also at Minnesota on Sept. 28, 1946 (33-6 loss).

As for Nebraska, the Huskers are beginning the season with a Big Ten Conference game away from home for the fourth straight season. NU traveled to Ohio State to open the Covid-shortened 2020 season, while the Huskers began the 2021 season at Illinois and took on Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland, in last year's season opener.

Series History: Nebraska vs. Minnesota
Nebraska and Minnesota have met every year since the Huskers joined the Big Ten with the 2023 season marking the 13th straight year the schools have played. Overall, Nebraska has faced Minnesota more than any other Big Ten team with Thursday's game marking the 64th all-time meeting between the two schools. Minnesota holds a 36-25-2 advantage in the series. 

• Minnesota has a 7-5 edge since Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, with four straight victories and five wins in the last six meetings. 

• Nebraska owned a 16-game win streak in the series between 1963 and 2012, before the Gophers snapped the streak with a 2013 victory in Lincoln. 

• The 2020 game in Lincoln was played on Dec. 12, the only December game in Memorial Stadium history. 

• Five of the last seven meetings between the teams have been decided by seven or fewer points, with Minnesota holding a 4-1 record in those close games. 

• Each of the last three meetings have been seven-point Minnesota victories. The Huskers held a 10-0 halftime lead last season before Minnesota outscored Nebraska 20-3 in the second half. In the 2021 meeting, NU had three second-half drives come up scoreless inside the Minnesota 35- yard line, including two empty drives inside the 10-yard line in a 30-23 loss. In the 2020 meeting, Minnesota outscored Nebraska 14-0 in points off turnovers in a 24-17 victory.

Husker History in Season Openers
Nebraska has an impressive history in season openers. The Huskers have won 98 of their 133 season openers, winning their first game more than 75 percent of the time while posting a 98-30-5 record. 

• Nebraska is 32-5 in its first game of the season since 1986. 

• The Huskers are opening a season away from home for the fourth straight year, the only four times this century that Nebraska has played its season opener away from Lincoln. 

• Nebraska is 11-4 when it opens the season against a conference opponent. The Huskers are facing a conference foe in the season opener for just the sixth time since 1950, but Thursday marks the fourth consecutive year that Nebraska begins a season with a Big Ten Conference game. 

• Matt Rhule is making his Nebraska head coaching debut on Thursday and is looking to become the first Husker head coach to win his first game since Bo Pelini in 2008. Overall, seven of Nebraska's last 10 head coaches - dating back to 1949 - have been victorious in their debut game. 

• SEASON OPENER RECORD: 98-30-5 (.756) • AT HOME: 85-14-3 (.848) 
• ON THE ROAD: 9-15-2 (.385) • AT A NEUTRAL SITE: 4-1-0 (.800) 
• BIGGEST WIN: 117-0 vs. Kearney St. (1911) • BIGGEST LOSS: 54-0 at Minnesota (1943) 
• LONGEST WINNING STREAK: 29 (1986-2014) • LONGEST LOSING STREAK: 6 (1942-47)

Nebraska Boasts 14-2 Record in August
Thursday's game will mark the 17th August game in the history of Nebraska football. The Huskers have lost just twice in the month, bringing a 14-2 record into the contest at Minnesota. 

• Nebraska is not only 14-2 all-time in the month of August, but the average score of those 16 games has been 38-17. The Huskers are 7-2 in August when facing a current Power Five Conference opponent, with the average score of those six contests being 32-14. 

• In the history of Nebraska football, Thursday's contest will mark the fourth-earliest date of a conference game in Husker history.

Throwback Thursday: A Husker History on Thursday
Nebraska has played on Thursday a total of 60 times, including the first game in program history - a 10-0 shutout of the Omaha YMCA on Nov. 27, 1890. Nebraska owns a 40-17-3 all-time record on Thursday, including a 38-15-3 mark in regular-season contests. 

• Nebraska played on Thursday 45 times from 1890 to 1938. Since World War II, the Huskers have played only 15 Thursday games, including four bowl games. 

• In the modern era, Nebraska is 9-2 in regular-season Thursday games. The Huskers have won seven straight regular-season Thursday matchups dating back to a 27-13 win at Oklahoma State in 1993. 

• Eight of Nebraska's 11 modern-day Thursday games have been played on the road, with the Huskers holding a 7-1 record in those eight games. 

• Eight of Nebraska's 11 modern-day Thursday games have also been played against conference opponents, with the Huskers holding a 6-2 record in those eight games. 

• Nebraska's most common opponent on Thursday has been Iowa. The Huskers and Hawkeyes played on Thanksgiving every season from 1891 to 1898, including the first six meetings in Omaha and the final two in Council Bluffs, Iowa. NU went 4-2-2 against Iowa in those Thursday games. 

• Nebraska and Minnesota have played once previously on a Thursday. The teams played on Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 29, 1900, with the Gophers earning a 20-12 win in Lincoln to hand the Huskers their only loss of a 6-1-1 campaign.

This Week’s Numbers
1 – Thursday marks the Nebraska head coaching debut of Matt Rhule. Rhule is the first Husker coach to begin his career with a road game since Bernie Masterson, whose first game was also at Minnesota on Sept. 28, 1946. 

2 – Nebraska begins the season with road games at Minnesota and Colorado. The Huskers are opening a season with back-to-back road games for the first time since 1995, when Nebraska traveled to Oklahoma State and then to Michigan State.  

7 - Each of the last three meetings between Nebraska and Minnesota have been decided by seven points, with the Gophers winning each game. Going back further, five of the last nine meetings have been one-score games.