Matt Rhule calls out B1G refs after Nebraska’s win over Illinois

Matt Rhule felt the need to call out B1G refs after Nebraska’s Friday win over Illinois.

In his postgame press conference, Rhule took issue with the official crew’s lack of calls on Illinois defenders getting Huskers linemen to jump offside.

“I was really, really upset at the officials tonight — and I never talk about officiating, but I want to make sure I defend my guys,” Rhule said in his postgame press conference. “For a second week in a row, a team came out and was yelling ‘move’ and ‘stem’ and you’re not supposed to be able to do that, as far as I know.”

Rhule made clear that he did not fault Illinois players for taking of advantage of the lack of calls.

“We’re not a sloppy team, OK?” Rhule said. “We’re not a sloppy team. That is not football to me. And I’m not faulting Illinois for doing it. If they say you can do it, you can do it.”

The Nebraska offense was flagged for 7 penalties, totaling 40 yards, in the Huskers’ 20-7 road victory. The final tally shows 5 false starts, 1 illegal shift and 1 personal foul.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.