While the final score of the Pinstripe Bowl didn’t really reflect it thanks to some special teams miscues, the Nebraska football team’s defense under new coordinator John Butler was very close to dominant. After the game, head coach Matt Rhule said as much, noting that the transition from former coordinator Tony White was “seamless.”
Rhule had to be pretty happy about the way that unit played, especially with several key players gone in the portal. Instead, those who stayed, like Ty Robinson made things uncomfortable for Boston College all day. Even if the Huskers had to gut out a 20-15 win.
After the game, Rhule talked about a wide range of subjects. Including what he felt about the defense and his new coordinator.
Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule happy about defensive performance
“Yeah, John Butler, first-time coordinator for us, first time calling it,” Rhule told the media after the game. “I felt like it was seamless. There was no drop-off. Obviously there was a couple players that didn’t play in the game from the season and the other guys stepped up. John did a great job.”
Rhule did say that not everything was perfect. However, he also noticed that one play that BC had success with was because the Huskers’ defensive front was getting through the offensive line as often as it was.
“At the end of the day, Boston College did a nice job with some screens. They hit us on some screens that really hurt us. But for the most part, I thought the defense played really, really well. Down there we were trying to make them force — they only kicked four field goals coming into this game this season, and then they obviously missed the first one. So we felt pretty good about our opportunity to, hey, they’re not going to kick a field goal, it’s going to be four downs. Kind of knew how to address it, and John did a really good job.”
With the season officially over, it’s now time for Nebraska football to play the waiting game until spring practice to see what the defense looks like in 2025.