Nebraska Football: 5 key takeaways from the Huskers 2018 season

Fixing the defense must be a priority

No matter how you slice it, Nebraska was not a good defensive team in 2018. The Blackshirts ranked 12th in the Big Ten in yards allowed, points allowed and rushing yards allowed and that more than anything, led to the poor record.

There were some bright spots, such as Nebraska tying for fifth in the Big Ten in both sacks and takeaways. However, the team has to shore up the run defense. You can’t win a ton of games if you are allowing almost 200 yards rushing on the ground and five yards per rush attempt.

Nebraska football is working on bringing in players that can help right away in the front seven, yet it might take time to really build the kind of defense that can put this team in a position to win a Big Ten championship.

The offense is definitely heading in the right direction and that will help. The defense, while it won’t be great next season, can be serviceable and as long as it can shore things up against the run, as well as continuing to take the ball away and hit the quarterback, it might be good enough to contend in the Big Ten West.