Nebraska defense plots out improvements after Illinois loss

After being challenged by head coach Matt Rhule to come back better from NU’s loss to Illinois, the Huskers got back to work in a big way.

“You could tell by the amount of guys who were around the building last night and all that stuff that they weren’t happy with it,” defensive coordinator Tony White said.

While players have taken ownership of their performance in the loss and “practiced their tails off” on Tuesday, White said that he feels responsible for NU’s lackluster defensive performance.

In particular, White has looked back at a third-down plan he said “wasn’t coordinated well enough” with Nebraska’s pass rush and secondary not being on the same page at all times.

“We were getting home but the coverage wasn’t in the right spot and then vice-versa,” White said. “And then in the second half, what we tried to do was affect the quarterback a little bit more and it opened up some of those seams for the runs.”

* Quarterback Dylan Raiola may have two interceptions to his name this season, but it’s Nebraska’s wide receivers that offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield is wanting more from. On both interceptions, Raiola’s pass was nearly hauled in by a Husker despite an opposing defender coming away with the ball.

“We have to fight for the ball; there’s no other option,” Satterfield said. “The ball hits you in the hands, you have to come down with the ball. That’s twice it’s been wrestled away from us, and again, that’s not being treated lightly; go get the ball.”

* Purdue is allowing 269 rushing yards per game this season, but that doesn’t mean the Boilermakers are always an easy team to run against. Satterfield said that opponents who found success against Purdue either ran their quarterback heavily or simply broke off several impressive runs.

“When you watch the tape it’s hard to imagine that they have given up that amount of yards,” Satterfield said.