With the way that the Nebraska football team's offense is playing this season, the expectation is that they'll move the ball exceptionally well on Michigan State's defense. But there's one indicator more than any other that shows Dylan Raiola should be able to pick the Spartans' secondary apart.
If the Huskers have one weakness on offense, it's a front line that has struggled from time to time. It struggled immensely against the Michigan Wolverines last week to the tune of 7 sacks allowed. However, the Spartans' pass rush might be just what the doctor ordered. If the past season and a half are any indication, there may not be a pass rush the Cornhuskers will face that's weaker than what Michigan State has to offer.
Nebraska football’s pass protection gets a break vs. Michigan State
The numbers are really quite astounding. In 12 games played against Power 4 opponents, Jonathan Smith's squad has registered just 9 sacks. That's bad enough. Then take into account that 7 of those 9 came against Boston College and Purdue last year. The best news for Nebraska is that MSU hasn't registered a single sack against the two Power 4 opponents it's played this year.
That's just part of the picture. Getting to the quarterback is one thing, but the Spartans aren't even putting up much of a fight in that regard. Against Boston College, they managed just one quarterback hit. They did the same against USC and managed just 6 pressures.
The Spartans aren't dominating up front even against lesser opponents. They had just one sack and one hit against Youngstown State. They had 2 sacks against Western Michigan.
Last year, they did manage 8 sacks against FAU, but just 2 against Prairie View A&M. It's a problem MSU understands it needs to fix. That fix doesn't seem forthcoming.
The pass rush isn't the only problem the team has on defense, but it's one that Nebraska can attack head-on. The flipside is that should the Huskers have issues with the Spartans' pass rush, it will be a symptom of a problem that hasn't been fixed, and one that goes deeper than talent alone.