Nebraska Football: 3 questions that need answers after Northwestern

While Casey Thompson’s day took a real turn, the Nebraska football team’s defense never really got off to much of a start. That was especially frustrating considering that the Blackshirts were one of the big strengths of the Huskers in 2021 and most expected that defensive coordinator Erik Chinander would come up with something really special against a Northwestern team that came into the year considered one of the weakest squads in the Big Ten.

Instead, that weak squad managed to hand the ball to quarterback Ryan Hillinksi and then stand back as Hillinski diced up the Huskers secondary from the very beginning. Even when Northwestern had to settle for a field goal in their first drive, there was still some concern over how easily the Wildcats had moved down the field.

Hillinksi, who had the worst quarterback rating of any QB who played for the Wildcats a year ago, shone throughout the game, completing 27 of 38 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns.

If that wasn’t bad enough, there was also the fact that Northwestern did whatever it wanted to do, especially in the third and fourth quarters on the ground.

The Wildcats finished the game with 214 yards rushing on 47 attempts for an average of 4.6 yards per carry. And when it mattered most, the Northwestern offensive line opened up massive holes for its backs to run through.

The big question now is whether or not the Huskers simply had the wrong scheme, or whether it has the wrong players. The complete lack of participation in plays from the linebacker corps for most of the game stands out the most. However, the Nebraska football team’s defensive line didn’t get much in the way of a push all game. Just what went down with the defense likely won’t be answered anytime soon, but come Oklahoma, it seems likely we’ll get a pretty decent answer.