Rhule wants Nebraska players to thrive on competition as much as world boxing champ Crawford does

The Nebraska football team's theme of the week is “Be Like Bud.”

Coach Matt Rhule said Monday he wants his players to model themselves athletically after Terence “Bud” Crawford, the unbeaten world champion boxer who has moved up two weight classes to fight super middleweight Canelo Alvarez 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 led the team out of the tunnel before last year's 28-10 win over Colorado. Rhule and several players appeared at Crawford's Vegas sendoff event in Omaha two we