FILE - Terence “Bud” Crawford enters the ring in Lincoln, Neb., wearing a red No. 140 Nebraska Cornhuskers football jersey, a nod to this city being home to the University of Nebraska, for a junior welterweight world title unification bout against Julius Indongo, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, file)
FILE - Terence “Bud” Crawford enters the ring in Lincoln, Neb., wearing a red No. 140 Nebraska Cornhuskers football jersey, a nod to this city being home to the University of Nebraska, for a junior welterweight world title unification bout against Julius Indongo, Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, file)
The Nebraska football team’s theme of the week is 鈥淏e Like Bud.鈥
Coach Matt Rhule said Monday he wants his players to model themselves athletically after Terence 鈥淏ud鈥 Crawford, the unbeaten world champion boxer who has moved up two weight classes on Saturday night in Las Vegas for a shot to become the first three-division undisputed champion.
Crawford is a lifelong resident of Omaha, about 50 miles from the Nebraska campus in Lincoln, and has become a friend of the football program since Rhule took over three years ago.
Crawford is a regular at home games, and he gave a pregame talk and before last year’s Rhule and several players appeared at Crawford’s Vegas sendoff event in Omaha two weeks ago.
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鈥淲hat I love about Bud is he鈥檚 going to go out and fight Saturday night, and he’s a first-ballot boxing hall of famer, and you know he’s certainly not just doing it for the money,鈥 Rhule said. 鈥淗e could just sit back and be like, 鈥楴o, I鈥檓 not going to fight Canelo. You know, I鈥檓 the greatest there ever was.鈥 He鈥檚 such a competitor.”
Nebraska is 2-0 going into its home game Saturday against Houston Christian of the second-tier Football Championship Subdivision. The Cornhuskers open Big Ten play at home on Sept. 20 against No. 23 Michigan.
Rhule said he wants his players to respond to pressure the way Crawford responds to challenges. Crawford (41-0, 31 knockouts) has won titles at 135, 140 and 147 and 154 pounds and now will move up to 168 for the first time. Rhule said Crawford couldn’t pass on a chance to accomplish something no one else has done.
鈥淗e accepts the challenge, he moves forward,鈥 Rhule said. 鈥淗e puts his city, his state, his legacy on his back, and he goes out there. He risks it all in the ring because he鈥檚 the ultimate, ultimate competitor. So that鈥檚 an analogy for our team.鈥
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