Nebraska defense aims for quick return to standard, not ‘wholesale changes’ after struggles

It boils down to two things.

“Just being the most physical team on the field, playing with elite execution,” Hutmacher said following Tuesday morning’s practice. “That’s kind of what we’re all about.”

But that wasn’t always the case in a 31-point win over Northern Iowa in Week 3, and it wasn’t when the Huskers desperately needed it to be in Friday’s overtime loss to Illinois.

NU finished 2023 with the country’s ninth-best run defense after allowing 92.9 rushing yards a game.

The Huskers showed that same prowess through the first two weeks of this season with commanding, run-stuffing performances against UTEP and Colorado. They held the Miners and Buffaloes to a combined 72 yards on 46 carries.

Then Nebraska gave up 100-plus on the ground to both Northern Iowa and Illinois — 79 carries for 305 yards between the two.

NU out-talented and straight-up overpowered UNI, but the Panthers ran through poor tackling and shed light on something the Huskers have been trying to clean up since training camp.

It didn’t matter much in a 34-3 blowout.

It mattered against Illinois, which wore the Huskers down for three quarters, punished them in the fourth and rode that momentum into an overtime period the Illini dominated.

“They’re not always gonna be 100%, but the prideful thing about that is (that) guys play so damn hard and so damn physical that they make up for those errors,” defensive coordinator Tony White said. “Just didn’t feel like that chip on our shoulder, that edge was there.”

Nebraska bottled up Illinois’ rushing attack through the first three quarters, especially in the first half. It was the plan, White said, to take away the run. The Huskers did that early and often, but their pass coverage struggled, and the Illini turned to that to move the ball.

That changed in the second half when White wanted to pressure Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer, who completed his first seven passes. The Huskers, in an attempt to speed up Altmyer, opened up run lanes they clogged before the break.

Illinois had 66 yards rushing through the first three quarters. After that, in the fourth and in overtime, it ran 15 times for 79 yards. The Illini finished with 166 yards rushing, the most NU has allowed since last year’s Michigan game.

“We took it very personally,” Hutmacher said. “The second half wasn’t our standard of football. We’re gonna continue to get it fixed and keep improving.

“It shouldn’t happen again.”

It can’t happen at Purdue. Not if the Huskers want to avoid starting Big Ten play in a 0-2 hole.

The Boilermakers, led by junior running back Devin Mockobee, averaged 183 yards on the ground through their first three games. Purdue put up 263 in a loss at Oregon State. Two backs — Mockobee and Reggie Love III — are averaging more than 6 yards a carry.

Stopping the run was key for Nebraska in last year’s 31-14 win over Purdue in Lincoln. The Huskers stymied the Boilermakers, who had 96 yards on 29 rushes; Mockobee finished with 42.

“If you give him the edge, he’ll take it around the edge and gain 40. But also, he has really good vision, where he sees a crease and he’ll plant a foot in the ground and cut it back against you,” White said of Mockobee. “It’s gonna be a challenge for us to make sure we have edges set and to run the ball down when he’s going sideways.”

That comes down to a couple of things, White said.

NU has to present different angles than the ones they’ve already put on tape. It also has to substitute, like they did last year, which White said requires a balance between having the best players on the field and keeping them fresh for critical moments.

Some guys, White said, were playing 30-35 reps a game last year. This season, those same players are on the field for 40, 50, 60 plays.

Linebacker MJ Sherman thinks it’s about the Huskers doing what they did all of last season and through the first two games. It’s easy to stray away from the process, he said, after you win a couple of games.

“We’re doing everything we can do in the sense of, once again, we’re being aggressive, being violent, being disciplined,” Sherman said. “Ain’t no wholesale changes need to be done with us. Everything is about us.”

That won’t just be important this weekend. It’s important every week, Hutmacher said. As Nebraska can attest, it’s the difference between beaten and unblemished.

It’s something that’s been stressed after the Illinois loss, an apparent wake-up call to a defense that preached all preseason that it wanted to be the best in the country. It was evident Tuesday — from White to Hutmacher to Sherman to defensive back Isaac Gifford.

“We gotta stop the run,” Gifford said. “That’s what we gotta do.”