A Look at Nebraska’s Best-in-Nation Numbers on Pass Defense

Not only is Nebraska leading the nation in pass defense, it’s not even close.

The Huskers are No. 1 by a mile, allowing only 91.8 passing yards per game. Alabama is second, 26.6 yards behind, with 118.4 yards per game.

Yards allowed per game is how the NCAA pass-defense rankings are determined.

Another impressive Nebraska stat: The Huskers have allowed only one touchdown pass all season — the same number of touchdown passes thrown by Nebraska backup quarterback TJ Lateef. Michigan State backup quarterback Alessio Milivojevic completed a 2-yard TD pass to tight end Jack Veiling to cut Nebraska’s lead to 14-7 in the second quarter of a 38-27 Huskers win.

Huskers cornerback Ceyair Wright talked about what makes Nebraska’s pass defense click: “I think it’s just every week, being intentional about development.

“I think we’re a very tight-knit group. We always make sure to get extra work in whenever we can, go over film, concepts, stuff like that. It’s just about trying to get better every week.”

In addition to Nebraska’s imposing numbers, its secondary saved the Huskers in Week One when Malcolm Hartzog Jr. intercepted a likely game-winning pass in the end zone with less than a minute to play to hold off Cincinnati, 20-15.

Nebraska (4-1) ranks 11th in total defense with 247.4 yards allowed per game. The Huskers have allowed 10 offensive touchdowns in five games. Oklahoma leads the nation at 193 yards per game.

Nebraska also is 11th in yards allowed per play with 4.25. Oklahoma leads the nation at 3.50 yards per play.

The Huskers have intercepted seven passes, tied for 73rd nationally, a low number of picks for a team ranked No. 1 in pass defense.

Nebraska is fourth in the nation in third-down conversion rate, holding opponents to 14 first downs in 64 attempts, a .219 percentage. Again, Oklahoma is No. 1 at .174.

Nebraska, stung by three long Michigan touchdown runs in September, is tied for 88th in rushing defense at 115.6 yards per game. Missouri leads the nation at 62.4 yards per game.

Excellent pass defense doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The stronger a team’s pass rush, generally, the better the pass defense. If a defense corners an opponent into obvious passing downs, that sometimes plays into the hands of a good, opportunistic pass defense.

Nebraska’s defensive schemes obviously are causing problems for offenses.

Another factor: Quarterbacks don’t like being hit. After taking a few shots, many quarterbacks get happy feet, look to bail out on plays and sometimes fling the ball haphazardly.

On rattling the quarterback, Nebraska redshirt freshman defensive lineman Williams Nwaneri said: “You can really just tell by the energy on the field. By their language. How he’s reacting in the pocket. How he’s moving and how the ball’s coming off his hand.

“You know we’ve affected him just by those things. After the first drive, we got to him [Michigan State’s Aiden Chiles]. I feel like that’s really all it takes. Get to him and keep getting to him as much as we can.”

The Huskers have 10 sacks for 89 yards on the season. Nwaneri has 1.5 sacks, second on the team, and 15 tackles, seventh on the team.

On the pass rush, Nwaneri said: “Really just focusing on it in the bye week we had. Focusing on getting to the passer, getting off the ball, and affecting the quarterback. 

“We really just emphasized it in practice. I feel like it translated to the game.”

Nebraska defensive coordinator John Butler came to Lincoln in 2024 after six seasons as the Buffalo Bills’ defensive backs coach. Before Buffalo, Butler was the Houston Texans’ secondary coach from 2014-17.

He knows ball. He knows a dominant defensive line can help the entire defense to flourish.

“I think they continue to improve,” Butler said about the Huskers’ defensive line.

“Obviously the results show that we hit the quarterback. We created more havoc and made more plays. So, from a results standpoint, you can see that we got some rewards there.”

Butler last week said three of his defensive backs were “our better players on defense.” Butler specifically cited Wright, Andrew Marshall and Donovan Jones.

Against Michigan State, DeShon Singleton had two interceptions, earning the East-West Shrine Bowl Defensive Player of the Week, and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

Against Michigan State, here are Nebraska’s snap counts for the secondary:

* Andrew Marshall: 72
* Donovan Jones: 68
* DeShon Singleton: 64
* Ceyair Wright: 61
* Rex Guthrie: 58
* Marques Buford: 22
* Justyn Rhett: 15
* Jamir Conn: 4

Here’s how each starting quarterback has fared against Nebraska this season: 

Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati:
13-of-25 for 69 yards, 1 interception, 0 sacks

Ben Finley, Akron:
7-of-21 for 54 yards, 1 interception, 0 sacks

Jake Weir, Houston Christian:
11-of-18 for 67 yards, 0 interceptions, 3 sacks

Bryce Underwood, Michigan:
11-of-22 for 105 yards, 0 interceptions, 1 sack

Aidan Chiles, Michigan State:
9-of-23 for 85 yards, 2 interceptions, 4 sacks

Chiles’ backup, Alessio Milivojevic, was 6-of-7 for 71 yards, 0 interceptions, 0 sacks and 1 touchdown pass.

The Huskers next face Maryland (4-1) and talented freshman quarterback Malik Washington.

Washington leads the Big Ten in pass attempts with 183. His stats: 110-of-183 passes (60.1 percent) for 1,257 yards, nine touchdowns and only two interceptions.

“He looks like he’s very well coached,” Butler said. “He obviously hasn’t been sacked and he really hasn’t made many mistakes on tape so he knows where to go with the ball based on what the coverage looks like pre-snap and what the coverage looks like post-snap.

“Looks like he has some really good blitz answers. He’s a decisive kid and makes the throws. You just look at the numbers through the year. Every game he’s throwing for over 200 yards.

“He throws a nice ball. I think it’s definitely a challenge. And then he has some skill around him at receiver, some skill guys that can run. A tight end that can get open and catch the ball.

“So, it’s definitely a challenge for us. Probably one of our biggest challenges at this point in terms of the overall passing game, the operation of the passing game, how well he’s coached by their offensive staff. It’s definitely a huge challenge.”

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