Previously: Nebraska Offense 

We return to our regularly scheduled FFFF programming on this fine Friday morning. Yesterday we looked at Nebraska's offense, which was described as the Adrian Martinez show. Though the Huskers torched Northwestern on offense, it's actually the defense that has been carrying the weight for the team. The blackshirts held Oklahoma to just over 400 yards of offense and 23 points, and Michigan State barely got over the 250 yard threshold against this unit. How for real is the defense? Let's investigate: 

 

The Film: We used the Northwestern tape on offense because we had to, due to Nebraska's OL shakeup. It was not my preferred choice, and some of those clips were just astonishingly bad. Thus, free from the confines of having to use the NW tape for this side of the ball, I selected Michigan State, as they are the best team that runs a similar style of offense to Michigan that Nebraska has faced (Oklahoma's offensive philosophy is a poor match for this Michigan team). MSU won that game 23-20 in OT, a game Nebraska famously lost due to a bizarre punt return TD they ceded to Jayden Reed. Step outside of special teams, and Nebraska was clearly the better squad, especially in this side of the ball. Their defense kicked MSU's butt, and I will show you how shortly. 

Personnel: The chart 

Nebraska runs with a front seven that shifts around an awful lot in terms of how it looks. On technicality, you would say that they run a 3-4, with a NT and two DT-ish players, much like Michigan. But as we've learned from watching the Wolverines this year, the actual formations that are trotted out there rarely look like a traditional, Wisconsin-type 3-4. Also like Michigan, the "OLB's" are just defensive ends. Unlike Michigan, there's a true Hybrid Space Player who normally takes the spot of the other "OLB". We'll dig into how this looks on the field in a bit. 

The three DT-ish players are Ty Robinson and Ben Stille, with Damion Daniels as the nose. Deontre Thomas rotates in quite a bit, and those four are the extent of the true linemen you need to know. This is a Nebraska defense that is not heavy on rotation, unlike Michigan (you can tell from how all the starters are "solid red" in the chart above). The DE's masquerading as OLB's are manned by Garrett Nelson and Caleb Tannor. They may play together on pass rushing downs, or it may be just one or the other, but they are largely out there to rush the QB and don't provide much else. Phel Payne is another backup to mention who sees the field some here. 

The LB level sees two traditional ILB's, Nick Henrich and Luke Reimer. Typically it's just two of them out there, and when one comes off, we see Chris Kolarevic rotate in. The Hybrid Space Player (Nebraska does not name it, which is very disappointing) is JoJo Domann, who decided to come back to school rather than to test his chances as a potential late round draft pick. Domann lines up as a DB more often than as a LB, but he has responsibilities in both run defense and coverage. There is not an obvious replacement for him on the defense among the second-stringers. 

The secondary features veteran corner Cam Taylor-Britt, as well as first-time starter Quinton Newsome, who is a tad wobbly and earns this defense's only cyan. Braxton Clark comes on as the third option at corner, but when Nebraska rolls with 5 DB's, it's far more likely they use Domann as the fifth than go with a nickel corner. The two safeties are both grizzled veterans and returning starters, Marquel Dismuke and Deontai Williams. In total, this defense features 8 returning starters from last season and has now been operating under Erik Chinander's scheme for four years. Inexperience is not their problem. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Nebraska!]

Base Set: It's difficult to discern a true base set given how many looks that the Huskers throw out there, but if I had to choose one, I'd probably go with this: 

You have the three down linemen who are all defensive tackles: nose in the middle and two "DT's" outside of him. Then you have one stand-up edge rushing "OLB", who on this play is Garrett Nelson. At the LB level there are the two true linebackers, Reimer and Henrich, lined up in a traditional position. Then you have the two starting outside corners flanking each sideline, and JoJo Domann, the Hybrid Space Player, lined up in the slot as a "fifth DB". Lastly, there's the two deep safeties representing this Cover 2 centric team. 

However, this isn't the only look Nebraska will throw at you. There's also this: 

Here you have only one deep safety, three corners, and Domann is being used at the line of scrimmage (second from the top here). There are also only two DT's in this image, and two of the pass rushing OLB's are on the field together, Nelson on one side and Payne on the other. 

Later in the game Nebraska went with an approach even heavier on DB's to try and stop MSU from moving the football down the field through the air with a chance to win: 

With the threat of the run taken away, Nebraska can go with just three down linemen (two of which are pass rushers), and then load up on DB's. 

The versatility of Domann and the interchangeability of defensive linemen allow Chinander to present a multitude of different formations and fronts for this defense, not unlike what Mike Macdonald is able to do at Michigan. But the first image I put forth is the one that is used most often by the Huskers. 

Man or zone coverage: Nebraska is a base Cover 2 team. They will rotate in other looks depending on circumstance (like the most immediate picture I just showed), with Cover 3 being the other most used approach that I noticed. This is a zone team. 

Pressure: Nebraska averaged 4.38 rushers per play in the game that I watched. That number pulls in on the higher end of teams I've charted this season, a tick below NIU but higher than either Rutgers or Wisconsin. Like a lot of teams, they send four on the average play, but ramping up to five was not unusual, and UNL did toss in some all-out blitzes that saw six or even seven (!) guys rush. I clipped a few of those and will show them later. 

Dangerman: There are a few options I could go with, but the player I came away most impressed with after watching Nebraska in this one was ILB #28 Luke Reimer. This was not something I was really expecting, as ILB was considered the area of most concern for the defense entering the season, but he had a very strong game and has also received favorable grades from PFF. MSU is a team, with the talents of Reed, Nailor, and KWIII, that wants to get to the edge and stretch the field both horizontally and vertically, and I thought Reimer did a fabulous job taking away the ability for the Spartans to really go sideline-to-sideline. Here he is tracking down an option pitch from Thorne to Walker and making a great tackle in space: 

ILB #28 

And another instance where Reimer gets to the sideline in a hurry to limit a potential chunk gain for MSU: 

He can cover too, making another critical tackle just short of the sticks: 

Tackling was the strong point of Reimer's game, I thought, and here he manages to snag Walker by the shoestring to hold him to a two yard gain: 

Nebraska bottled up Michigan State's previously potent rushing attack by winning the battle at the line of scrimmage decisively, but also by having good tacklers who were able to stop Walker from doing his usual thing of stiff-arming one dude, shredding another guy, and then requiring a gang to bring him down. Reimer was one of those good tacklers, be it running sideline to sideline or between the tackles. 

 

Overview

Let's break the Nebraska defense down going level by level, starting with the defensive line. The Husker D definitely helped bring the MSU OL expectations back down to earth after a game in which the Spartan blockers struggled to create any real separation. The first play of the game really set the tone: 

That's #93 Damion Daniels getting into the backfield in a hurry. I thought he had a terrific game for the blackshirts in this one (also notice it's Reimer making the tackle). Daniels absolutely dominated MSU's interior offensive line, and in some cases got help from his fellow linemen. #97 Ben Stille is the headliner of the unit and though he was pretty quiet against the Spartans, I did get to see a window into why he's generally lauded with this play: 

DT #97 lined up over the center

That's Stille driving MSU's center Nick Samac a full two yards back and totally mucking up the play in the process. MSU was completely unable to count on their star RB and his offensive line to convert on 3rd & short situations like they had in preceding weeks against Nebraska. Here's a 3rd & 1 that gets stuffed after Daniels and #99 Ty Robinson, the other starter I've yet to mention, get off their blocks in a hurry and meet Walker a good two yards behind the line of scrimmage: 

Compounding the trouble MSU had with the interior OL is the trouble they had with the pass rush off the edges, particularly Garrett Nelson, who could've gotten a star of his own. Here's the earlier clip of Reimer in coverage, but watch #44 to the bottom of the line of scrimmage: 

That was the third straight play in which Nelson initially got by Spartan LT Luke Campbell on the final MSU drive of regulation. Different game, but Nelson clowned Northwestern's LT last week too: 

Garrett Nelson with the sack, forced fumble and air guitar #Huskers pic.twitter.com/pxuIlEUgyb

— Huskers Top Plays (@HuskersTopPlays) October 3, 2021

He's a dangerous force that Michigan has to be ready for. Speaking of pass rushing, I said I was going to show you some of the heavy blitz packages that Chinander dialed up, and I am a man of my word: 

Yup, that's a 7 man blitz (!) with Reimer being the one who came through almost untouched until Walker made a last second "Oh Shit That Angry Man Is Going To Murder My QB" mini-block to give Thorne enough time to get the pass out incomplete. The safety blitz is also in the playbook: 

That one is executed by Deontai Williams, who does well not to tip it pre-play and the conclusion of the play is a wounded duck interception for a fellow safety down the field. 

The LB level sees the aforementioned Reimer, but also Nick Henrich, who I also felt was quite good against Michigan State. But the real player to watch out for there besides Reimer is the HSP himself, JoJo Domann. This wasn't the most high-event game for JoJo, but you could see glimpses of why PFF rates him among the best players in college football: 

#13 making the tackle

Domann gets off that block in a hurry and makes a potentially TD-saving tackle. He was just as important as Reimer in helping to shut off Michigan State's ability to exploit the sidelines. 

The secondary has some room to be targeted. By virtue of playing Cover 2, there are going to be some soft yards in the flat that are available for the taking if you want them: 

The Spartan offense was generally sputtering like a car stuck in the mud, but their greatest successes came when they were able to mix in the plays that take those free yards with the occasional deep strike. And what I mean by that is this:

That's backup safety Myles Farmer getting toasted by Jayden Reed on the ole Flea Flicker, and it was one of Michigan State's few big plays in this game. Sometimes you have to be tricky to beat a good defense. 

I also felt the secondary was more vulnerable to bad tackling than anyone in the front seven was, personified by this blunder from starting safety Marquel Dismuke, who goes for the hit instead of the tackle on Connor Heyward:  

Not significantly better tackling from the other safety, Deontai Williams, either. That's a play that goes for 34 yards, despite Heyward's speed being best described as "38-year-old Victor Martinez with two bad knees". This game was a thorough beating by Nebraska's front seven on MSU's OL, but when vulnerabilities popped up for the Huskers, they were in the secondary. 

 

So why did Nebraska lose?

I've gone on for awhile about how well I thought Nebraska's defense played in this one, so why did they come out with an L? And why is the team only 3-3? This picture sums it up: 

Notice that that picture details the miscues from "last week", referring to the Oklahoma game. Then they went out and made another batch in this one. This screencap comes from an instance in which the Huskers extended an MSU drive because a defensive linemen suplex'd Payton Thorne for no apparent reason after having made what was supposed to be the drive-ending sack. And then of course, there was the punt return debacle, which I mentioned earlier: 

Jayden Reed in a 23-20 OT win vs. Nebraska : 4 catches for 59 yards & a TD, 2 kick returns for 59 yards & a 62-yard punt return for a touchdown pic.twitter.com/JPOxHxFxa3

— Lee Harvey (@AyeThatsLee) September 26, 2021

Throw in MSU executing the Flea Flicker, and that was enough for the Huskers to come out with a loss in a game where they outgained their opponent by nearly 200 yards. This stuff just keeps happening to Nebraska, and every time they do something incomprehensibly stupid, we get treated to images like the one above, with Scott Frost looking bewildered on the sideline. Nebraska's defense can execute 50 consistently good to great snaps and then there are three that are so mind-numbingly atrocious that they negate the cumulative impact of those other 50. And that's how they lose games they should win. 

After going through the components of both sides of the ball for FFFF, I believe this is a good football team. Not a great one, but one with solid players on both offense and defense, one that should be far closer to the Top 25 than to fighting for its Bowl Eligibility Life. But they keep finding ways to lose games, and if you're a Michigan fan, that has to be a ray of optimism entering tomorrow night. 

 

What does this mean for Michigan? 

A lot like on the other side of the ball, where I said that the matchup hinges on Michigan's DL and their ability to get to the QB/shut off the read option game, this one also hinges on the line of scrimmage. Nebraska has completely neutered their opposition's running game for two straight weeks, but I also feel secure in saying that Michigan boasts a better offensive line than either Michigan State or Northwestern. Oklahoma was able to rush for 5.5 yards per carry, and though they run a different kind of offense for Michigan, there is reason to think that a better coached and more talented OL could get push up front. The Wolverines have to hope those descriptors apply to them. 

But more crucially, Michigan needs to pick up the blitzes. They need to have a plan for how to deal with Garrett Nelson, and they have to be ready for both safety blitzes and overload blitzes when Chinander sends the house. Giving McNamara time to throw the ball is pivotal, because I think this one will be won through the air. Remember, this is the same Nebraska defense that let Artur Sitkowski gain yards consistently through the air. Taking the available free yards is step one, and then getting McNamara to hit on a couple deep shots is step two. 

Lastly, just don't make mistakes. Let Nebraska beat themselves, because they have a whole book's worth of experience doing that this season. If Michigan comes in with a game plan and executes it reasonably well, there's a decent chance that UNL will do something boneheaded at least a couple times, and the Maize & Blue can be in position to walk out of Memorial Stadium with a win.