Nebraska Pass Defense Faces Another Test vs. Minnesota

Nebraska’s No. 1-ranked pass defense got knocked around last week against Maryland and its 19-year-old true freshman quarterback Malik Washington.

Washington passed for 249 yards on 27-of-37 passing and one touchdown. Coming into the game, Nebraska had allowed an average of 91.8 yards per game and only one touchdown pass in five games.

The 5-1 Huskers, now ranked 25th in the AP Top 25, pulled out the victory, 34-31, outscoring the Terps, 10-0, in the fourth quarter.

Huskers defensive coordinator John Butler this week faces another young, talented quarterback in Minnesota redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey. The Huskers visit Minnesota on Friday night at 7 CT, Nebraska’s second consecutive road game. Minnesota has won five consecutive meetings over the Huskers.

Lindsey has completed 113-of-188 passes for 1,284 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions in the Golden Gophers’ 4-2 season. He will present a challenge to the Huskers’ pass defense, which remains ranked first in the nation, allowing 118 yards per game.

“The number one thing [in gauging how a pass defense is performing] is affecting the quarterback and I think that’s the number one thing we did not do last week,” Butler said at a news conference Tuesday.

“That’s not just with the rush. Please do not interpret that the wrong way.

“When you’re defending the pass, in passing situations let’s say, there’s a couple of passes they [Maryland] had. They did a nice job … throwing the ball to the back in the flat. They hit that tight end on the seam route, which was contested but they won that play.”

How to affect the quarterback

Butler has a definite strategy on how a defense can control a quarterback and his passing game.

“In pass defense, you have to get into the head of the quarterback, with how you’re disguising your coverages, how you’re rushing, how you’re presenting the rush,” Butler said. “Is it a four-man rush look, it is a five-man, is it a six-man rush look?

“And then when you talk about your coverages, you really have man, zone and match. We probably played a little too much zone last week. I probably got a little — I don’t know why; I mean, I do know why.

“That’s more on me in terms of as the game got further along and we played better in the second half with our pass defense. And collectively, played better in the second half.

“I just got a little bit more aggressive with how I was calling it and a little bit more like kinda of a f— it mentality and I think that’s the way we have to play, it plays to our players’ strengths. You have to balance the three — playing the zone, playing some match stuff and then playing man.

“Usually what it comes down to is you’re affecting the quarterback and you’re challenging routes. If you’re able to do that you’re going to have a good pass defense. If you can’t then any quarterback is just going to pick you apart because you’re not hitting him and you’re not affecting the design of passes.”

Huskers’ goals for hitting the passer

Butler said a goal is to hit the quarterback five times, “minimum” a game. Against Maryland, it was one, not counting, he said, one at the end of the game.

“I would like our defensive line, our rushers, to hit the quarterback more,” Butler said. “Because a hit on the quarterback affects him a lot more than a ‘pressure’ or a ‘hurry’, however those stats come to play.

“Hitting him and knocking him on the ground is what you’re trying for. If you look at the Michigan State game, that was the key to that game. We were knocking the hell out of the quarterback. And that affected him, that affected how he played that game.

Maryland quarterback Malik Washington has time to throw behind offensive lineman Michael Hershey (61) and Amory Hills (77). — Maryland quarterback Malik Washington has time to throw as offensive lineman Michael Hershey (61) and Amory Hills (77) hold off the Huskers' defense. | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

“If you’re doing that, you’re going to have a good day at the office on the passing defense. If you don’t, you’re not. It’s just that simple. And that’s a collective thing. It’s not just your D-line. That’s all of us, and me, putting together the right plan to go do that.”

Minnesota’s plan?

Butler thinks the Gophers will attack Nebraska’s run defense.

“They have a good young quarterback, a couple of good receivers,” Butler said. “I think they’re going to try to run the football on us again and I think you’d be a fool not to try that on us.

“We’ve got to try to establish the line of scrimmage and a good job of affecting this young quarterback who makes a lot of good throws.”

Short week for both teams

Interesting that on a short week — the game being on Friday instead of Saturday — that the Huskers worked in pads at Tuesday’s practice.

“The number one thing [about a short week] is everything is about getting the players’ bodies right,” Butler said.

“The good thing is that our opponent is coming off a short week as well, so it’s not like they have an advantage on us over that. It’s such a state of mind.

“Having again coached in the NFL for 10 years, you got those Thursday games. That’s a three-day break. At least these guys, it’s an extra, really, day-and-a-half. And really, when you look at it with us, it’s about a 12-hour difference from an 11 o’clock start on Saturday.

“So, it’s really not that big of a deal as far as how we’re approaching our week.

“But it really comes back to getting the bodies right earlier in the week. And making sure, while they’re getting their bodies and their minds right, we’re still practicing like we did today.

“We went out there today and we were physical in pads, doing what we do, working on tackling, getting off blocks, being physical in our rush plan.”