Nebraska Football: 3 burning questions heading into 2020

3. Can Nebraska football’s defense take a major step forward?

It is ironic that it is the Nebraska defense that needs to take the next big step during this rebuilding phase. From Bob Devaney to Tom Osborne and Frank Solich, the “black shirt” defense was Nebraska’s bread and butter.

After Bo Pelini left and Mike Riley came, the defensive decline began. His last year at Nebraska, the Huskers gave up 36.4 points per game. Since Scott Frost has taken over, the defense has improved.

They improved by nearly five points Frost’s first season and surrendered under 30 points per game. Last season they scored more points than they gave up for the first time since their bowl season of 2016.

This is progress Frost and defensive coordinator Eric Chinander should be happy with, but the Husker defense needs to take another step if they want to reach bowl eligibility this season. They gave up under 30 points per game last season but need an even larger jump this season.

The Cornhuskers have to hold leads and stiffen against inept defenses. They surrendered 30 points seven times last season. They can give up 24 points in the fourth quarter as they did against Colorado at the beginning of last season.

One of those times was against Illinois. The Illini scored 30 points two other times against Power Five teams and one of those was against Rutgers. Then there was the Purdue game. Not only did they lose, but they also give up over 30 points to a walk-on third-string quarterback.

If they want to see the postseason and those extra practices, they have to do better than that.