It's a good time to be Matt Rhule.
His Huskers are off to a 5-0 start for the first time in his four years as head coach, and first time as a program since 2016. And not only is Nebraska winning, Nebraska is scoring. The Huskers are ninth nationally at 43.6 points per game, and have topped 30 points in five straight outings for the first time since 2018. After Saturday's 48-23 drubbing of Maryland, Nebraska has now won five straight games by 17-plus points for the first time since 2001.
This coming Saturday, Nebraska hosts sixth-ranked and defending national champion Indiana. It'll be the first time the Big Noon game has come to Lincoln since Oklahoma visited in 2022, and the first time ever for a Big Ten home game.
Speaking of TV, it was a good time for Rhule to make a somewhat-out-of-nowhere TV cameo on Saturday.
Viewers of HBO's Lanterns saw Rhule play himself in Sunday night's episode.
For those unfamiliar, the show on DC Comics's Green Lantern superhero and takes place in Rushville, Neb. Since it's Nebraska, the Huskers are a topic of conversation in the show, and Rhule played himself making a recruiting visit to the Rushville High football game. And for what it's worth, Lanterns stars Kyle Chandler as the eponymous Green Lantern, better known around these parts as Coach Taylor of Friday Night Lights.
I couldn't find a clip from the show itself, so here's a clip of a clip.
Matt Rhule in last night's episode of Lanterns. https://t.co/edQnkNxhZ5 via @YouTube
— Zach Barnett (@zach_barnett) October 5, 2026
From the looks of it, Rhule's appearance cost him no more than one night of real-life time, and it was undoubtedly shot months ago. (Update: Two summers ago, actually.) Still, the head football coach appearing in a TV show undoubtedly hits better in the homeland at 5-0 than 3-2. "I don't know that I'll be taking my talents to Broadway any time soon," Rhule said Monday after the original publication of this article. "But really cool to see Nebraska on HBO. My daughters were probably more fired up than I was. They were very concerned I would not get my line right."
And with Indiana coming to town on Saturday, a trip to Oregon waiting on Oct. 17, and Ohio State coming to Memorial Stadium on Nov. 21, Rhule has the opportunity to become an even bigger TV star through his day job.