Saturday Blitz
Fansided

Nebraska Football: 3 things we learned about Huskers in 2020

By Chris Peterson

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 16: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers warms up before the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 16: Quarterback Adrian Martinez #2 of the Nebraska Cornhuskers warms up before the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
Syndication: HawkCentral
Syndication: HawkCentral /

Defense is improving

Like Frost, defensive coordinator Erik Chinander has drawn a lot of heat in his first three seasons with Nebraska football, but in 2020, there was some legitimate progress on defense.

Since 2018, Nebraska has gotten better on defense. The yards allowed have come down each season and even though the Huskers allowed a couple more points per game in 2020, they actually ranked 64th nationally in scoring defense compared to 66th in 2019.

The biggest issues that remain are the pass rush and also takeaways. Nebraska struggled to take the ball away last season (0.9 per game) after getting nearly two per game in 2018 and 2019.

But in a very good sign for the kind of culture Frost is building, JoJo Domann, Ben Stille, Will Honas, Deontai Williams are all coming back for another season and Nebraska is set to have nine of its top 10 tacklers returning.

That plus the development of youngsters like Ty Robinson and Garrett Nelson, has this defense headed in the right direction.

Next. 5 Bold predictions for Nebraska football in 2021. dark

Looking forward, if Nebraska can get the defense to take that next step, plus a solid season from Martinez and some more production of out their running backs, a bowl game could be on the horizon.

Home/Nebraska Cornhuskers