Nebraska football coach Matt Rhule makes shocking schedule decision | Sporting News

In a stunning twist in the college football scheduling world Friday morning, ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Nebraska's planned home-and-home series with the Tennessee Volunteers wouldn't be played after all.

"Sources: Tennessee and Nebraska are canceling their upcoming football series, which was [scheduled] for 2026 in Lincoln and 2027 in Knoxville," Thamel tweeted.

"A driver of the move was Nebraska wanting eight home games in 2027 when they expected reduced stadium capacity because of renovations." The news came following the Cornhuskers' decision to cancel their spring game, as they are one of three schools to do so, along with USC and Texas.

Rhule has quietly become fed up with the recent state of college football as he finally went public with his thoughts Feb.

1.

"The word tampering doesn't exist anymore its just absolute free open common market," Rhule told reporters.

"I don't want these guys all being able to watch our guys." It's hard to disagree with Rhule's stance.

After all, there appears to be more fixation in the world of the transfer portal and NIL.

with the value of what a player is worth vs.

what talent they can actually bring t o help a program be sustainable.

Tennessee Athletic Director Danny White didn't criticize Thamel's reporting but provided more context.

He tweeted Nebraska, not Tennessee, decided to pull the plug.

Correction: Tennessee is not canceling this series.

Nebraska did, White wrote.

We are very disappointed that they didnt want to play these games, especially this close to 2026.

Barring a playoff appearance from both sides, it appears a matchup between the two schools will have to wait.

Tennessee lost in the College Football Playoff opening round this past season to eventual national champion Ohio State.

Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers took down Boston College to give them their first bowl win in nearly a decade.

For now, the off-season in college football moves along..

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