Matt Rhule Defined What He Needed From His Defense, But Huskers Didn’t Deliver

The Huskers’ defensive shortcomings are shown in where they stand in some national statistics.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule walks the sidelines during the Black Friday game against Iowa. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

After Nebraska’s 40-16 loss to Iowa, Huskers coach Matt Rhule told the media his definition of what defense should be.

“Defense is about big hits, picking balls off, sack-fumbles, scoop and scores, and all those things, and we’re just not getting those versus the higher-quality opponents,” Rhule said during his postgame news conference.

Rhule might have been setting the stage on that snowy Black Friday afternoon for the dismissal of defensive coordinator John Butler. The dismissal was made public Monday.

Nebraska finished the regular season 7-5, a one-game improvement over the Huskers' 6-6 regular-season record in 2024.

Let’s examine Rhule’s defensive rules:

“Big hits” are not defined by conventional statistics.

“Picking balls off” is. Nebraska had six interceptions in 12 games, 95th in the nation. None was returned for a touchdown. The longest interception return was 14 yards by Javin Wright vs. Northwestern. The six passes Nebraska intercepted were returned a total of 21 yards. With such a low total, and so few yards returned, the defense wasn’t turning games around.

Nebraska linebacker Javin Wright has one of the Huskers' six interceptions in 2025. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“Sack-fumbles” is not an area in which Nebraska excelled. The Huskers recovered seven fumbles in 2025 (39th in the nation). They ranked 102nd in the nation with 19 sacks (1.58 sacks per game).

“Scoop and scores” is definable, too. Nebraska returned one fumble for a touchdown — Williams Nwaneri’s 29-yard return after Riley Van Poppel sacked Houston Christian quarterback Jake Weir.

Nebraska ranked 11th in total defense in the 18-team Big Ten. That included all 12 games, so that includes the big-margin wins over Akron and Houston Christian.

Nebraska's Williams Nwaneri, pressuring Northwestern QB Preston Stone, had a 'scoop-and-score' against Houston Christian. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

The defensive story

Nebraska’s defense fell apart in its last two games. The Huskers allowed 77 points in the last two games, 38.5 points per game. In the first 10 games, Nebraska allowed 199 points, a 19.9 average.

The numbers story

We looked at where Nebraska ranked in NCAA defensive stats. (Later in the week, we will have where Nebraska ranked in NCAA offensive and special-teams stats.)

For context, we added the nation’s top-ranked team in each category and the worst-ranked team.

Statistics don’t always tell the story of a game or a season. But they can reveal a team’s tendencies. Nebraska ranked high in some categories, low in others, middle of the pack in others.

Some numbers jump out:

• Nebraska ranked 133rd in the country in red-zone defense. Opponents scored 24 touchdowns and six field goals for a hard-to-believe 30 scores in 31 attempts.
• Nebraska ranked second in passing defense, but only 95th in interceptions.
• Nebraska ranked 95th in rushing defense.
• Nebraska ranked 90th in tackles for loss. Making tackles for loss can help get the defense off the field.

Here are the rankings, from NCAA.com:

Third down conversion rate
1. Texas A&M: .227 (35-of-154)
54. Wisconsin: .383 (57-of-149)
55. Nebraska .383 (59-of-154)
134. UCLA: .548 (80-of-146)

Fourth down conversion rate
1. Iowa: 263 (5-of-19)
119. Nebraska: .667 (14-of-21)
134. Oklahoma State: .818 (18-of-22)

Defensive touchdowns
1. Louisiana Tech: 8 (2 fumble returns; 5 interception returns)
55: Nebraska: 1 (Williams Nwaneri’s fumble return)
* 35 other teams had one defensive touchdown

First downs defense (how teams earned first downs)
1. Indiana: 148 (53 rushing; 91 passing; 4 penalties)
23. Nebraska: 207 (114 rushing; 70 passing; 23 penalties)
134. Charlotte: 311 (136 rushing; 157 passing; 18 penalties)

Fumbles recovered
1. Kansas State: 13
39. Nebraska: 7
132-134: Oregon State, Texas State and Wisconsin: 1 each

Passes intercepted
1. UConn: 11 in 436 pass attempts
95. Nebraska: 6 in 283 attempts
134. Cincinnati: 2 in 374 attempts

Passing yards allowed
1. Ohio State: 121.3 yards per game
2. Nebraska: 141.1 yards per game
134. Stanford: 288.9 yards per game

Red-zone defense
1. Ohio State: 13 scores in 20 attempts, .650 (4 rushing TDs; 3 passing IDs; 6 FGs)
133. Nebraska: 30 scores in 31 attempts, .968 (20 rushing TDs; 4 passing TDs; 6 FGs)
134. Rice: 37 scores in 37 attempts, 1.000 (19 rushing TDs; 9 passing TDs; 9 FGs)

Rushing defense
1. Texas Tech: 68.9 yards per game
95. Nebraska: 171.3 yards per game
134. Eastern Michigan: 232.1 yards per game

Scoring defense
1. Ohio State: 7.75 points per game
53. Nebraska: 23.0 points per game
134. Massachusetts: 38.58 points per game

Team passing efficiency defense
1. Arizona: 95.15
15. Nebraska: 112.12
134. UAB: 176.30

Team sacks
1. Oklahoma: 3.42 sacks per game (41 sacks)
1. Texas A&M: 3.42 sacks per game (41 sacks)
102. Nebraska: 1.58 sacks per game (19 sacks)
134. UCLA: .83 sacks per game (10 sacks)

Team tackles for loss
1. Oklahoma: 115.0 (9.6 per game)
90. Nebraska: 61.0 (5.1 per game)
134. UCLA: 40.0 (3.3 per game)

Total defense
1. Ohio State: 203.0 yards per game
23. Nebraska: 312.3 yards per game
134. Sam Houston: 483.5 yards per game

Turnover margin
1. Indiana: 1.42 turnovers per game (24 turnovers gained; 7 turnovers lost)
47. Nebraska: 0.25 turnovers per game (13 turnovers gained; 10 turnovers lost)
134. Florida Atlantic: -1.75 turnovers per game (8 turnovers gained; 29 turnovers lost)

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