Matt Rhule announces Nebraska WR Marcus Washington is out for season with torn ACL

Nebraska receiver Marcus Washington is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL against Illinois, according to Cornhuskers head coach Matt Rhule.

Rhule shared the news with reporters on Tuesday, per Sam McKewon.

Marcus Washington recorded eight catches for 176 yards on the season, prior to going down with the injury. He had been a great big-play threat for Nebraska as he was averaging 22 yards per catch.

Washington made a big play during the first quarter of last week’s win over Illinois, hauling in a pass for a 39-yard gain. However, he stayed down on the field after the reception and had to be helped to the sideline.

Rhule told reporters after the game that he was unsure how serious the injury was.

“It was his knee. [I know] nothing beyond that,” Rhule said postgame. “They’ll do an MRI [Saturday], but I have no idea other than that. He was in a lot of pain when I went over there, but him and I walked off arm-in-arm. He was a captain tonight, so he was pretty fired up. We’ll have an MRI update, hopefully I [meet with the training staff] on Monday or Tuesday. We’ll see, but I hope he’s okay.”

Obviously Marcus Washington ended up not being OK, as the senior is out for the year.

Last season, Washington played in all 12 games, while making 10 starts. He caught 31 passes for 471 yards, ranking second on the team in both categories.

Nebraska has a bye this week, before hosting Northwestern on Oct. 11.

Matt Rhule ‘really upset’ with officiating in Illinois game

Even though Nebraska beat Illinois to improve to 3-3 (1-2), head coach Matt Rhule wasn’t happy with the officiating.

After the game, Rhule noted his frustration with the referee crew, explaining that he thought Illinois was getting away with some illegal vocal activity when their defense was yelling out signals before the snap to try and confuse the Cornhusker offense.

“You know, I was really upset with the officials tonight,” said Rhule. “And I never talk about officiating, but I just want make sure I defend my team, you know. That team, for a second week in a row, that 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 adding that yelling out calls before a play is supposed to be against the rules.

“I call the league, they say, ‘You can’t do that,’“ Rhule continued. “Our guys are just trying to play football. They’re yelling ‘move’ and ‘stem’ and the D-line is stemming. I’ve asked if it’s legal. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, I don’t know. But I just want to make sure I’m defending my guys.”