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An Old Dog Relearns Old Tricks

By Paul Myerberg   //   Aug 29, 2010

Fiery and demonstrative, Pelini has built a defense in his own image.

Once upon a time, perhaps a decade ago, Nebraska won games before the coin toss. This wasn’t solely due to the overwhelming talent, which was impressive, to be sure. It had something to do with a mentality, the idea that you, the sacrificial lamb, were in for 60 minutes of physical intimidation on both sides of the ball. Then came Nebraska’s lull, when a hard-working identity was replaced by finesse: big mistake. At its best, Nebraska was always defined by its mentality of superiority — not a birthright, but something earned through hard work and fundamentals. It seems, if last season is any indication, that this confidence has returned. And as during the glory days, it begins on defense.

Shortly before last season’s Holiday Bowl, Nebraska’s Bo Pelini suggested that not only would his defense not take a step back in 2010, it would be “five times better” than it was in 2009. Sounds almost hard to believe, doesn’t it? Not only was Nebraska due to lose five starters, including both starting safeties, it was facing life without Ndamukong Suh, the all-everything interior lineman.

Now, there’s no way Nebraska will take another significant step forward on defense in 2010. For starters, it’s nearly impossible on a mathematical level. What, the Huskers will allow 100 yards of total offense per game? Hold opponents to a field goal, that’s it? Perhaps Pelini is not implying such a statistical improvement is going to occur; he’s not saying that, obviously. In that case, there’s every reason to believe Nebraska will be sounder, more consistent and, potentially, more dominant in 2010.

That’s largely due to the added year of experience in Pelini’s system. Nebraska has made distinct improvement in each of his last two seasons, beginning with an improved, albeit still below average performance in 2008. If we remember, the 2007 defense was the worst in school history: 455 points allowed, 39.7 per game, en route to a 5-7 finish. In 2008, Pelini’s first season, the Cornhuskers improved that output to 28.5 points per game. Still poor, though far better.

Then came last season, when the defense took a monumental step into the top five units in the nation. The Huskers led the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 10.4 points per game. That’s 18 fewer points per game than it allowed in 2008, nearly 30 points per game fewer than in 2007. That’s a shocking improvement. The Huskers also ranked 18th nationally against the pass and eighth against the run, finishing seventh overall in total defense.

Nebraska also got to the quarterback: 44 times altogether, the second-most in the nation. The defense intercepted 20 passes, tied for seventh-most in the country. It’s also worth noting that the defense was on the field for 955 plays, thanks largely to an inept offense. By comparison, only one other team ranked in the top 15 nationally in defense faced more than 880 plays: Texas, at 918. If, on average, two teams combine for 135 plays in one game — roughly 65 per team — that means the Nebraska defense faced the equivalent of one additional game’s worth of plays than the other teams ranked in the top 15 in defense, minus Texas. Make sense?

The big question, of course, is whether this defense can continue to play at such a high level. Suh will be nearly impossible to replace, which hurts. Nebraska still feels it has another all-American on the interior of its defensive line in Jared Crick, a junior. He was overshadowed nationally by his teammate in 2009, but he’ll have every opportunity to make an impression come September. If Crick can demand the same type of attention given to Suh last fall, Nebraska has two solid ends who will benefit from the lack of double-teams on the edge.

The big story, unlike in 2009, will be the secondary. Nebraska has enough depth to move two starting-caliber cornerbacks, DeJon Gomes and Anthony West, to safety. In addition, Pelini will alter his base defense to have five permanent defensive backs, an alignment that will allow Eric Hagg to serve in a major role.

I don’t think we’ll see any decline in production from this defense. If anything, while the statistical output might stay the same, we’ll see an even more technically sound group in 2010. This has everything to do with Pelini, a premier defensive mind and the architect behind Nebraska’s revival. He’s turned back the clock, back to an era where Nebraska intimidated opponents with the nation’s most physical defense — the Blackshirts. An old dog has relearned his old tricks. Will such improvement yield another type of revival: a Nebraska national title run?

Tags: Bo Pelini, Eric Hagg, Nebraska

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