After one-week blip, the Nebraska defense proves itself as one of the nation’s best

Buschini paused for a moment to take photos with his family at midfield, then was roped into a television interview. As Buschini entered the postgame media room later, quarterback Dylan Raiola paused to show his appreciation for the senior punter.

It’s not often that a punter deserves to be in the headlines after a win — but Buschini earned the plaudits with a gritty performance. Even on a day that hardly felt like fall, that type of love for a punter shows that Big Ten football is truly here. Let’s drop into coverage:

The Huskers’ loss to Illinois is increasingly looking more like an aberration than an indication of what’s to come, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Consider this — the Huskers have now allowed just 68 total points across six games played, 31 of which came against Illinois alone. Forty five percent of the points Nebraska has allowed this season were scored in just 17% of the minutes the Huskers have played, a good sign for the consistency NU has shown outside of that loss.

“We were disgusted and kind of disappointed in ourselves after that Illinois loss because that’s not who we are,” Ty Robinson said.

Instead, the Huskers’ performance against Rutgers was far more indicative of the wealth of talent Nebraska has on the defensive side of the ball.

The Huskers still have work to do against run, evidenced by Rutgers’ first-quarter success in that area, but are still a top 10 run defense nationally. They’re the only team in the nation yet to allow a rushing touchdown this season.

And after a week where the Nebraska pass rush excelled, recording four sacks, the Huskers are tied for ninth in the country with 20 team sacks.

Nebraska had 19 team pressures and 11 quarterback hurries against Rutgers and was led by sophomore James Williams in both categories. When NU finds itself facing no-doubt passing situations, it always gets Williams on the field to let the pass rushing specialist go to work.

Pro Football Focus’s win rate — a statistic which shows how often defenders beat opposing linemen when rushing the passer — isn’t perfect, but considering Williams won out on 43.8% of his snaps, it’s worth noting.

Also of interest in Nebraska’s defensive line rotations was the presence of Riley Van Poppel, a player who head coach Matt Rhule had said will likely redshirt this season. Van Poppel had sat out of Nebraska’s last three games but played 15 snaps against Rutgers to help the Huskers’ solidity up front.

Rutgers’ first quarter on offense looked nothing like the next three quarters as the Scarlet Knights went from averaging 5.9 yards per play early on to 3.3 yards per play over the game’s final 45 minutes. The reason for the turnaround? Several key defensive adjustments Nebraska which kept the Scarlet Knights from knowing what to expect.

Rhule said postgame that defensive coordinator Tony White deviated from his usual 3-3-5 defensive system at times, cycling between three different defensive looks at different times.

“Tony’s a 3-3-5 guy, but he was playing some five down (linemen) with two Jack (linebackers) today,” Rhule said. “I’m really proud of him; that was like him leaving the family almost, but he did what we needed him to do.”

Things were mostly consistent up front for the Huskers, who rotated personnel heavily, but it was in the secondary that Nebraska was able to switch things up. Senior Isaac Gifford lined up in the box on 28 different snaps, a season-high in that area, and even lined up on the line of scrimmage to blitz on multiple occasions.

“It started in practice this week for us,” Gifford said. “Tuesday and Wednesday were one of the harder days we’ve had as a defense just getting after it. The scout guys gave us a great look this week.”

Fellow safeties DeShon Singleton and Malcolm Hartzog also lined up in the box often, helping to slow down the Rutgers rushing attack. That setup for Nebraska’s safeties meant cornerbacks Ceyair Wright and Marques Buford were locked into one-on-one coverage on many occasions — and both rose to the task.

Wright, who was targeted nine times, allowed just one catch while Buford was targeted seven times for two catches as both players recorded multiple pass breakups.

On a fairly pedestrian day for the Nebraska offense — the Huskers averaged 3.7 yards per play and gained just 15 first downs — its ability to move the chains in short-yardage situations is what powered a winning effort.

Of the 15 first downs Nebraska gained, 11 came from running plays: six from Dante Dowdell, two from both Rahmir and Emmett Johnson and one from Janiran Bonner.

The winning formula was visible right from the get-go when Nebraska faced a fourth-and-1 and brought offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua and fullback Barret Liebentritt into the game. Mazzccua helped clear a lane, Dowdell followed his fullback and the Huskers moved the chains in their own territory.

Mazzccua and Liebentritt both played six snaps — all runs — and made a big impact whenever they were on the field, including for Dowdell’s early touchdown run.

“We know Micah’s a big, powerful guy,” Rhule said. “…We thought it’d be a good matchup for us, him knocking the edge back.”

It was the first game action for Mazzccua in three weeks after the senior had been suspended by Rhule for the Purdue game. The former starting right guard brings plenty of quality as a sixth offensive lineman — and it’s perhaps why Nebraska hadn’t shown such an offensive package in weeks prior.

Henry Lutovsky missed the first two weeks of the season and key backup Tyler Knaak has also been limited, so with Mazzccua back in the fold the Huskers can turn to a six-man offensive line when they need the tough yards.

The success of those looks helped Nebraska go 7-for-19 on third down and convert all three of its fourth-down tries.

Alex Bullock had a key role in Nebraska’s rushing success as 15 of the 23 snaps he played were running plays. That marks the second consecutive week Bullock has played over 20 snaps following a strong performance at Purdue, and Emmett Johnson has seen a similar surge in playing time.

The sophomore led the Nebraska backfield with 33 snaps played, a season high, while Dowdell played 19 snaps and Rahmir Johnson had 18.

Speaking about his decision to go for a fourth-and-1 on Nebraska’s own 36-yard line, Rhule said something which resonated about the Huskers’ approach to the entire game.

“We were here to win today,” Rhule said.

That’s simple to say, sure, but it’s an entirely different thing to accomplish. Nebraska’s eagerness to go for the fourth-down try showed the Huskers knew they’d be in for a fight and were looking for ways to flip the game in their favor.

Rhule strategically instructed his team to receive the opening kickoff, a decision that’d give Nebraska the wind at its backs during the fourth quarter. And with a struggling special teams unit to contend with, the Huskers were determined in knowing they couldn’t simply settle for field goal tries.

Nebraska didn’t attempt a field goal against Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights attempted just one, decisions which were impacted by swirling winds inside Memorial Stadium.

Nebraska’s aggressiveness was most evident in the fake punt the Huskers successfully converted in the fourth quarter. Even with the pressure Rutgers had generated, blocking multiple punts before, a safe call in that situation would be to bring maximum protection for Buschini, perhaps adding to a punt shield which was light at times.

But Nebraska’s scouting report had shown that when Rutgers crashes the punter, it left opposing gunners uncovered at the line of scrimmage. Rhule wasn’t ready to roll the dice with a risky fake punt earlier in the game — but he knew the timing was right ahead of a Buschini pass to Jaylen Lloyd which ultimately went for a 30-yard gain.

“We knew we were going to call that fake punt, and we really almost called it the first time and then almost called it at the 5-yard line when they blocked it,” Rhule said. “They were bringing 10 guys and there was no one covering him and then we finally called it the third time.”

Nebraska’s Tommi Hill missed a second consecutive game with a foot injury, but the senior cornerback may be ready to go coming out of a bye week. Hill traveled to NU’s win over Purdue and was in uniform on Saturday, taking part in the Huskers’ defensive huddles and encouraging his teammates when possible.

Hill was a standout performer over Nebraska’s first three-plus games of the season — but how do the Huskers get him on the field when he comes back? Wright, a junior transfer from USC who played 35 snaps over NU’s first three games, has hit the ground running and provided excellent cornerback play in Hill’s absence.

Could Marques Buford play more safety if the Huskers opt to get Wright and Hill on the field at the same time? Or will Nebraska simply rotate more in the secondary? It’s a good problem to have, and it’s one that depends on Hill’s health moving forward.