10-24-24
RUN THE DAMN BALL, AND STOP IT
Nebraska faces a daunting task Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. No great insight there. Ohio State is ranked No. 4, its only loss 32-31 to No. 1 Oregon, while the Huskers are coming off . . .
OK, let’s not go any further with that.
Still, there were things to be learned. “The game came down to the run game,” Coach Matt Rhule said at Monday’s media availability. In that context, Nebraska “just didn’t tackle well.”
Later, asked about “eye-opening elements” of the 5-1 Buckeyes’ offense, Rhule said, “Their run game. Its (offensive coordinator) Chip Kelly, right? He’s gonna find a way to run the ball. I mean, they ran the ball any which way. They have an elite offensive line . . .
“And you know they’re gonna run with a lot of different schemes.”
Ohio State ranks sixth nationally in total offense, averaging 503 yards per game, while averaging just under 209 yards rushing. Nebraska went into the Indiana game ranked seventh nationally in rushing defense, only to allow a net of 215 yards on 33 carries, 6.5 yards per attempt.
Rover Isaac Gifford said the most characteristic aspect of the Husker defense in the Indiana game was “playing the run. I know our run defense hasn’t been great this year, but it hasn’t been like that, right? So obviously, that’s what stood out the most.”
Illinois rushed for 166 yards in Nebraska’s other loss.
The problem? “I think it’s tackling, is one of them, and there’s too many one-on-one tackles,” said Gifford, the Huskers’ leading tackler against Indiana with eight, five unassisted. “That’s not what we do here at Nebraska. We swarm the ball, and we didn’t do that.”
Gifford echoed defensive coordinator Tony White, who spoke earlier Tuesday. Two ways in which Ohio State’s offense willtest the Huskers are “athletically” and “schematically.”
Both apply to the Buckeyes’ ability to run the ball. “Again, (it’s a) combination of everything, right? Being schematically in too many one-on-one tackles,” White said.
“If I miss a tackle and I’m the only guy there, then those balls hit for bigger gains. But (if) there’s two or three people around there, then chances are those (runs) are minimized.”
White took responsibility for that. “It goes back to me,” he said, “schematically-wise making sure that where the ball’s going, there’s multiple guys to tackle the ball.”
Nebraska not only has to do a better job of stopping the run, it also has to do a much better job of running the ball, which influences the passing game. The Huskers had a net of 70 yards on 29 carries against Indiana. Not counting minus-11 yards on two quarterback sacks, the number was 81 yards on 27 carries, with Henrich Haarberg the leading rusher, 32 yards on five carries.
The Huskers rushed for a net of 48 yards on 33 carries in the Illinois loss and 97 yards on 42 in the 14-7 victory against Rutgers. Clearly the run game needs to improve to be successful in the Big Ten.
One factor? “Our perimeter blocking has been a deficient for us all year,” Rhule said.
“I hate when coaches say, ‘Well, we just didn’t execute.’ That’s a cop-out. What I don’t like is missed assignments. What I don’t like is not knowing what to do. In a lot of areas, thingshappened fast in that game. They pressured us. We kicked the ball out, and either we ran into the defender or we didn’t make the block. That whole component of our game was lacking.”
It can’t be lacking against Ohio State, but consider this: the Buckeye defense ranks sixth nationally against the run, allowing, on average, 86.3 rushing yards per game.
Mike Babcock
