Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule talks with an official during the first half of a NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in College Park, Md. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nebraska announced a two-year contract extension with coach Matt Rhule on Thursday, adding salary bonuses for College Football Playoff appearances but leaving his base salary unchanged. The deal runs through the 2032 season.

Rhule is in his third season at Nebraska and there was speculation two weeks ago that he might be a candidate to fill the job at Penn State following James Franklin’s firing.

“Coach Rhule has shown he is the right leader at the right time for Nebraska football,” athletic director Troy Dannen said. “Our program has seen significant progress under Matt’s leadership, and at this stage in the evolution of the program continuity and stability are critical.”

Last season, Rhule led Nebraska to its first winning season in eight years and first first bowl victory since 2015. Nebraska is off to a 6-2 start this season, its best eight-game record in nine seasons, ahead of Saturday night’s home game against USC.

Earlier this month, Rhule’s name surfaced immediately as a potential front-runner to replace Franklin because of his ties to Penn State. He was a walk-on linebacker at Penn State under Joe Paterno in the 1990s, met his wife at the school and is friends with athletic director Pat Kraft.

Kraft hired Rhule in 2012 at Temple, where he coached for four seasons before leaving for Baylor. Rhule left Baylor after three years and was the Carolina Panthers’ coach for two-plus seasons. He came to Nebraska in December 2022. The 50-year-old Rhule is scheduled to earn $7.5 million this year.

“The University of Nebraska, the city of Lincoln and the state of Nebraska are special. It is a place our family is proud to call home,” Rhule said in a statement issued by the school. “Our focus remains on building Nebraska football into a perennial championship contender.”

Say it ain’t so!

LOS ANGELES — The city of Pasadena, California, and the Rose Bowl Operating Company have sued UCLA for allegedly trying to move its college football games from one of the sport’s most iconic stadiums to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

According to the Times, the suit accuses UCLA of “profoundly” betraying its trust by attempting to relocate its home games from the facility the Bruins have called home for 43 years to the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. UCLA’s current lease runs through 2044. But the stadium is 26 miles from campus and SoFi Stadium is about 12 miles away.

The Times reported UCLA’s outside counsel, David L. Scrader, sent a letter to Pasadena attorney Nima Mohebbi in March, saying the school’s efforts to conduct “preliminary discussions” about relocating games did not constitute a “material breach” of its contract.

Indiana’s next test

Curt Cignetti’s performance at Indiana should give even more hope to schools like Maryland.

Of course, it might also ramp up the pressure.

Cignetti takes the second-ranked Hoosiers on the road Saturday to face the Terrapins. Indiana is unbeaten. Maryland was unbeaten at the end of September but hasn’t won since.

For a while the Terps (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) looked like they might be ahead of schedule with a freshman starting at quarterback, but now this season is following a familiar pattern under coach Mike Locksley — excellent against nonconference opponents, but struggling within the league.

Meanwhile, Indiana (8-0, 5-0) exists as proof that a team can go from a Big Ten afterthought to a national title contender pretty quickly. So in that sense, Cignetti is not doing his fellow coaches any favors — although he’s earned plenty of admiration from Locksley.

“Everywhere he’s been, he’s won,” Locksley said. “He’s built it the right way. Got a lot of respect for him. Extremely good in all three phases.”

Game of the week?

No. 23 USC (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) at Nebraska (6-2, 3-2), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (NBC)

Each of these teams has at least a remote chance of earning a College Football Playoff berth by avoiding any more regular-season losses. This is Nebraska’s last remaining game against a current Top 25 team. USC’s lone upcoming matchup with a Top 25 team is Nov. 22 at No. 6 Oregon.

USC is throwing for a Bowl Subdivision-leading 326.1 yards per game, while Nebraska is allowing the second-fewest passing yards per game (127.5) of any FBS team. Nebraska has lost its last 28 games against Top 25 teams.

BetMGM Sportsbook has USC as a 6.5 point road favorite.