Nebraska Football needs to do a better job of defending the run.
There is no denying that the Nebraska Football run defense has to be better. Against teams like Ohio State and Minnesota, Nebraska Football got manhandled. It was truly a worrying sight to see. Nevertheless, Indiana may provide some sort of relief for Nebraska.
It is safe to say that Indiana has a running game. It is just not as powerful as the running game of Minnesota. Nebraska Football got picked apart against Minnesota, and there were certain instances where the matchups on the line did not work out in their favor. Now, they will head into this game against Indiana looking to perform better. Statistics favor the Nebraska Football defense in their quest to stop the run.
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Running back Stevie Scott is the main man for Indiana. His statistics are not exactly going to make the front page of the news. He has 106 carries for 553 yards. He did record 108 yards against Maryland, but other than that, the passing game favors Indiana a bit more.
When Nebraska took on Minnesota, one thing was abundantly clear. The Minnesota offensive line manhandled the Nebraska defensive line. It seemed like the Gophers were able to create holes with ease. That is not something that Nebraska can afford to let Indiana do. They need to be quicker in shooting their gaps, and try their best to at least make the offensive line the work a little bit. It looked like the Minnesota offensive line did not even break a sweat. That has to change.
This is a game where Nebraska needs to play well not only as a whole, but specifically when it comes to run defense. If they allow Indiana to run all over them, that will just be another demoralizing development for this defense. I’m looking for players like Mohamed Barry and Darrion Daniels to stop the run. Barry can come down as a linebacker and provide support to the line. Daniels can use his size to stuff the gap and make a play.
To be completely honest, I don’t care who gets the job done. It just needs to be done. Nebraska has faltered defending the run over the past couple of weeks. If they want to have a solid showing over the rest of conference play, then it needs to start against Indiana. This is a team that can beat you in many ways. Nebraska needs to make sure that they can at least take away the run so that they can defend the pass.