Nebraska football overcame a sluggish start to roll past Maryland, 48-23, in Week 5 of the 2026 college football season, giving the Cornhuskers their first 5-0 start in a decade.
It may not have even been the coolest thing to happen to their coach over the weekend.
Fourth-year Nebraska coach Matt Rhule made a surprise cameo appearance in the season finale of the HBO show “Lanterns” on Sunday, Oct. 4.
Spoiler alerts for fans who haven't watched the episode yet.
Rhule appeared as himself, walking onto the field after a high school football game wearing a black Nebraska jacket and black Nebraska hat before handing one of the show’s characters, Noah Macon (played
by Shea Pritchard), a red Nebraska cap. The coach’s brief role even came with a line:
“You know, I think you might have just forgotten to put this on today,” Rhule said as he gave Macon the hat. “You wanna see how it fits?”
An enormous week for Nebraska football kicks off with Matt Rhule making a cameo, and having dialogue in the season finale of Lanterns on HBO.
— Jacob Bigelow (@JacobABigelow) October 5, 2026
Just when I thought I’d seen it all. pic.twitter.com/rlRTZ9JaMk
Unexpected as it may have been, Rhule’s cameo didn’t entirely come out of nowhere.
Based on the characters Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) from the Green Lantern comic book series, “Lanterns” was primarily set in the town of Rushville, Nebraska, where Jordan and Stewart investigate a murder. One of the subplots of the show’s first season has revolved around Macon, a highly touted quarterback recruit who is deciding where he wants to play college football.
References to the Huskers have been made throughout the season, with Jordan even mentioning legendary former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne (Chandler himself can’t even be separated from football, as he famously played coach Eric Taylor on the TV series “Friday Night Lights”).
Rhule’s star turn inadvertently came at an opportune time. The Huskers, who are just outside the top 25 of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll, will put their unblemished record on the line when they host No. 5 Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 10 in one of the most anticipated games of Week 6.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nebraska football's Matt Rhule makes surprise cameo on 'Lanterns' season finale
