Nebraska Athletics
Matchups to Watch vs. Northwestern
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Matchups to watch for Nebraska vs. Northwestern in Dublin on Saturday.
1. Mark Whipple (Offensive Coordinator) vs Jim O’Neil (Defensive Coordinator)
Nebraska’s new (but very veteran) Offensive Coordinator was described by his last coach (Pat Narduzzi, Pittsburgh) as being overly committed to passing the ball. Jim O’Neil’s NFL experience as a Defensive Coordinator with the Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers showed a coach who was focused on stopping the passing game. Northwestern’s defense struggled mightily against the run in 2021 in O’Neil’s first year, and never was it as painful as the October 2nd blowout loss to Nebraska where his defense gave up 56 points, 7 rushing TDs, and 427 yards rushing (including an 8+ yard average/carry). The showing was so bad that Northwestern afterward changed their entire defensive scheme from a 4-2-5 to the more traditional 4-3-4 defense that Northwestern had been running for years under former DC, Mike Hankwitz. Northwestern’s defense did improve after the change, but then injuries set in for a group that was already thin, so it wasn’t clear what their ceiling would have been.
Part of the issue for O’Neil’s new defensive scheme in 2021 was that he likely hadn’t had much time to install the level of detail necessary for gap assignments against the multiple option looks that Nebraska ran against them. Option football forces defenses to play honest—no cheating on assignments and/or over-pursuing—but the 4-2-5 scheme that he was running additionally required a lot more from the Safeties, who had multiple assignments to cover, many of which would shift with formation changes and/or pre-snap motion. This combination of a new defensive scheme and an uncommon offensive system that was well suited to attack that scheme is likely why Scott Frost recently said that he didn’t put too much stock in last year’s game.
Like the fans, Northwestern has no way of knowing what the balance of the Nebraska scheme will look like on Saturday; therefore, it is likely NOT a coincidence that Nebraska was running a lot of option looks to be filmed when the media was invited to practice recently. Fitzgerald and O’Neil will likely spend an inordinate amount of time preparing for the Nebraska running game, especially all of the option looks that they showed last year,… but will Nebraska actually run much of that portion of the ’21 Frost offense? Is Whipple going to be overly committed to the passing game? Is it possible to marry Whipple’s passing concepts with ALL of Frost’s running game concepts, including the option packages? Regardless of how much they run option for the rest of the game, look for Whipple to call an option play or two early to see how Northwestern defends it. This will both help Nebraska to determine what might work best later in the game, but it also will put the Northwestern defense back on its heels a bit as they will have to stay true longer to their assignments before pursuing to the ball. Thinking about the option can slow defenders down enough to open them up to be attacked in other ways. If you ever wondered why old coaches like Lou Holtz used to continue to run a handful of option plays—even when he had a drop-back passing QB like Steve Beuerlein—now you know why.
2. Nebraska running game vs Northwestern Defensive Line
This second matchup is a component of the first, but it is worthy of special consideration. If Nebraska both commits to the running game and finds success up front early, it could be another long day for the Northwestern defense. Last year’s Northwestern game was the first start for Teddy Prochazka, and it was the first start at Rt-OT for Turner Corcoran who had shifted over from Lt-OT. Things were clicking. After Prochazka’s injury the following week, the offensive line never looked as sharp again. Was that due to Northwestern’s defensive front, or had Nebraska found the right lineup before the injury? Maybe it was both.
Northwestern’s defensive line struggled a lot in 2021, and four of their five key players from that unit are not back this fall. Adetomiwa Adebawore is the one key player who returns (see below), though other players have been added through the portal and traditional recruiting. If Adebawore can be contained, it is hard to imagine their D-line being better than last year’s at the start of the season. Will Nebraska’s O-line be able to demonstrate the more aggressive style of blocking that Coach Raiola is now teaching? If Nebraska is getting a good push up front, will Whipple be content to continue to run the ball right at them? If the Wildcat Linebackers are effective inside, can they be caught in traffic when Nebraska runs outside or runs misdirection/counters?
It is hard to imagine Nebraska having a successful offensive day if they’re unable to run the ball against this Northwestern defense.
2b. Teddy Prochazka/Bryce Benhart vs Adetomiwa Adebawore
Drilling down still further into the particulars, one of the key matchups for Nebraska’s offensive line will be handling Adebawore. He can line up as a Defensive End on either side, so both Prochazka and Benhart will have to deal with him at different points throughout the game. When a defense has one exceptional talent in the line, it is much easier to run the ball away from him than it is to pass protect against him, so—again!—if Whipple and Nebraska can have success running the ball (and stick with it), the advantage will shift to Nebraska. If Nebraska drops back to pass more than 30 times, Adebawore is likely going to do some damage with the pass rush.
3. Northwestern running game vs Nebraska Defensive Line and Erik Chinander (Defensive Coordinator)
Much more than Nebraska, Northwestern needs to be able to run the ball in order to be productive offensively. Cam Porter had solidified himself in the latter half of 2020 as the Running Back of the future, but he then suffered a season-ending injury in summer camp prior to the 2021 season. In stepped Evan Hull who ran for over a thousand yards. Both are back for 2022, as well as other good RBs, including a good freshman out of Arkansas, Joseph Himon II.
With lots of questions at Quarterback and Wide Receiver, Northwestern needs its stable of RBs to grind out yards. Four of the five starters on the O-line return from 2021, with the star being preseason All-American pick at Lt-OT, Peter Skoronski (see below). The Wildcats offensive line was not consistent last year, Skoronski is an anchor, and another year of experience will certainly help solidify the situation.
What defensive package will Erik Chinander choose to put on the field? If you know that they’re going to want to run the ball, should he go heavy up front and ditch the Nickel-LB for another thumper at LB? Does Nebraska have the necessary depth at interior defensive line to keep at least two DTs in the game along with a Strongside-Defensive End? If Nebraska’s defensive strength is now having three great Edge defenders, what package does Coach Chinander come up with when they need to stop the run and probably won’t have a lot of opportunities to pass rush?
If I had to guess, I’d expect to see a lot of 4-man front with Ty Robinson, Nash Hutmacher, Colton Feist, Stephon Wynn and Devin Drew rotating through continually to stay fresh in the middle. Chris Kolarevic made the shift from LB to Nickle, and he’s currently splitting time with Javin Wright and Isaac Gifford, but this might be the sort of game to use the bigger Kolarevic more to stop the run.
4. Peter Skoronski vs Ochaun Mathis/Garrett Nelson/Caleb Tannor
Peter Skoronski is a preseason All-American at Lt-OT, and he’s the anchor for the entire Northwestern offensive line. If Northwestern has success running the football, it would likely come by running behind Skoronski. On the other hand, if Nebraska can force Northwestern to throw the ball, Skoronski will be expected to solidify the left side of the pocket. Mathis, Nelson, Tannor are highly touted as Edge defenders at their combination DE/OLB positions, and even their backups—Jimari Butler and Blaise Gunnerson—are expected to make plays for the defense.
Regardless of the scheme, one of them will be lined up across from and slightly outside of Skoronski on every play, and this will be an opportunity to shine against future NFL talent.
Skoronski can’t win the game by himself, but any Nebraska Edge defender who gets the better of him would be creating film that NFL scouts will be reviewing.
5. Bill Busch and Cosmic Karma vs. Northwestern Special Teams
Nebraska has been consistently bad at every area of Special Teams to the point that it’s hard to think of ways that they haven’t hurt themselves. Safety when returning a punt? Check, Illinois in ’21. First down on the world’s slowest fake punt? Check, Illinois in ’20. Blocked punt for a TD?
Check, Iowa in ’21. Punt return for a TD? Sure, why not do that by punting to the wrong side of the field in a game where the defense hasn’t given up a first down in the second half? (see Michigan State, ’21) Kickoff return for a TD? Check, [sigh] including one by Aron Cruickshank for two separate teams (Wisconsin ’19 & Rutgers ‘20) in two consecutive years. Nebraska was the only team in America in ’21 that had to worry about giving up 2 points when lining up to kick an extra-point, which they somehow managed to do against Oklahoma.
Enter Bill Busch.
Have Nebraska fans ever been so invested in the position of Special Teams Coach as they are now with Bill Busch? He has a proven track record, and it’s hard not to like a coach who says that his three favorite people in the world are 1) his wife, 2) his daughter, and 3) his punt returner. Bill Busch comes across as a driven professional who strives for perfection, but if he can merely get the Special Teams to be somewhere between Not-Sucky and Average, Nebraska would win more games because of it. If we could actually win multiple games due to stellar special teams play, Busch could probably get elected as governor.
It helps that Brendon Franke returns as Place Kicker for the kickoff team, which may have been the sole bright spot in last year’s Special Teams as he did a very good job of limiting yardage on those returns that weren’t touchbacks. It certainly feeds optimism that Nebraska brought in an FCS All-American transfer at Punter from Montana in Brian Buschini. It helped even more to add fuel to the fire when Buschini showed off his howitzer of a leg during the Red-White Game last spring. Add in a good field-goal kicker who transferred in from Fordham—Timmy Bleekrode—as well as return specialist from LSU who has managed to score some points on kick returns—Trey Palmer—and suddenly Nebraska’s Special Teams don’t feel like Russian Roulette with a revolver full of bullets.
Nebraska has so many key players who need to shine this year, starting with Casey Thompson at QB, but it will likely be the matchups listed above that will show how far Nebraska has come since last year. There are many reasons for hope in Huskerland,… and there is also reason to wait and see how things go.
