Matt Rhule and Jedd Fisch share some similarities.
The fourth-year Nebraska Cornhuskers coach and third-year Washington Huskies coach have both had stops in the NFL, and each has proven to be successful at multiple schools in college as head coaches, with Fisch still working to establish himself in the Big Ten.
In Fisch's first season at UW, the program experienced Penn State's annual White Out game, a 35-6 loss at Beaver Stadium to then-coach James Franklin in 2024. The second half ended up as a baptism by fire for then-freshman backup quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who came on to begin the third quarter for veteran starter Will Rogers and led the offense on a pair of scoring drives while completing 6-of-10 attempts for 60 yards against PSU.
Whether history repeats itself this Saturday or third-year Elijah Brown gets the start in Lincoln against the 5-2 Cornhuskers, the Huskies have a tall task at hand to earn a second consecutive road conference victory under Fisch for the first time in his tenure at UW.
It's also set to be Nebraska's second annual official blackout game.
"I'm always of the belief that if you have to be motivated like that, there's probably something wrong with you," Rhule said in response to being asked about his team's response coming off a 17-14 loss at Oregon two weeks ago.
"Going into this year knowing that Washington was probably going to be the blackout game—I mean, they were preseason ranked 16th in the country, they hit their stride last week (when) they beat Purdue. I mean, it's the University of Washington, you know what I mean? It's pretty cool. I'm hoping that's all our guys need, to be honest."
WATCH: #Huskers' Matt Rhule talks about Nebraska's electric atmosphere at home going into the team's blackout game against Washington.
— Nick Eriksen (@NickEriksen88) October 26, 2026
"Just unbelievable atmospheres that rival anywhere."@Channel8ABC #GBR #CFB pic.twitter.com/sePbqqLVXN
Nebraska fell 21-17 last November to USC in its first official blackout game, where the longtime Big Ten football team shed its traditional white and red for an on-brand Halloween black with red script on the Huskers' helmets in an ode to the 1960s Bob Devaney-led team that boasted one of the best defenses in college football.
The Trojans erased a 14-6 halftime deficit with two second-half touchdown drives while holding Nebraska to a lone 39-yard Kyle Cunanan field goal and an equal number of third-down conversions (1-of-6) after allowing four in the first half.
"Even in last year's game, while we had a chance to win it and then didn't win it at the end, even just the impact on recruiting," Rhule said on the impact of the 2025 blackout. "Those guys were like, 'Coach, I've been everywhere, but I haven't seen (it like this)'. I mean, there's places that have elite atmospheres, don't get me wrong, but that's just a certain something. The way the fans embrace it, the student section embraced it."
In 2013, under then-coach Bo Pelini, the program wore black jerseys for the first time in a 41-21 defeat at Memorial Stadium to UCLA. Historically, Nebraska is an unprecedented 17-2when playing on Halloween.
Saturday's game is the first for the Huskers since a 2015 55-45 loss at Purdue, which became the second loss since a 1998 20-16 home loss to Texas. That defeat came four years after the famous 52-7 "Halloween Massacre" against Colorado in 1992, a result Fisch and UW certainly hope to avoid no matter the color on Nebraska's jerseys or who is starting at quarterback.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Matt Rhule Praises Washington Football, Jedd Fisch Before Matchup
