Nebraska football aims to slow down Rutgers’ potent run game

The Huskers host unbeaten Rutgers — featuring one of the best running backs in the country leading one of the best rushing attacks in the country — on Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

Butler isn’t taking the matchup lightly.

“It’s gonna be a statement game for me,” Butler said after Tuesday morning’s practice. “This is gonna be a game we’re gonna have to stop the run. And if I’m doing good at it, it’s gonna be a testament to all the work I’ve put in.”

That’s the key this week. Stopping the run could — and likely will — be the difference between NU (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) winning and losing.

Defensive coordinator Tony White said Tuesday that Rutgers’ offense is a “different kind of animal” than what the Huskers saw in their Week 4 win at Purdue. He’s impressed by what the Scarlett Knights (4-0, 1-0) have done on the ground.

Rutgers, led by running back Kyle Monangai, enters Saturday averaging 237.75 rushing yards per game, No. 12 in the nation and second in the Big Ten only behind Iowa.

It will be different than any challenge NU’s defense has faced this far, including an Illinois run offense that was stifled for three quarters before dominating the line of scrimmage in the fourth.

“The whole group and what they do, it’s really unique,” White said of Rutgers. “You’re seeing a team that plays with a lot of attitude and effort. It’s different.”

Monangai has been one of the best running backs in college football, a breakout that started a year ago and hasn’t stopped since. He already has 97 carries — third most in NCAA — for 589 yards and six touchdowns.

Nebraska hasn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher since last year’s season-finale against Iowa. The Huskers’ No. 15-ranked run defense has only allowed one 50-yard rusher all season.

But Monangai has gone for 100-plus in three of the Knights’ four games, including 27 touches for 208 yards against Akron two weeks ago and 19 for 165 against Washington last week. He’s averaging 6.07 yards a carry.

“He’s probably the best (running back) we’ve seen to date,” White said of Monangai. “Contact, balance, vision. I mean, the guy just does not stop his feet.”

One of the things that White pointed out was Monangai’s his ability to absorb contact and keep going. Sometimes that’s breaking a tackling, others it’s falling forward for a few extra yards.

It’s a large part of how the running back has gashed defenses through the first month of the season, and the Husker DC has made his unit aware of that this week.

Monangai — 5-foot-9, 210 pounds — has both the speed to bounce it outside, but he runs hard between the tackles of Rutgers’ experienced O-line. He might be smaller, Butler said, but he’s powerful.

Nebraska preached tackling with dominant contact after poor performances against Northern Iowa and Illinois. The Huskers did that at Purdue, and it’s vital they do it a second straight week.

“He’s a back who’s gonna bring it to you; he uses dominant contact,” Butler said. “So if we use it, that’s gonna be a lot of clacking going on.”